by Ann Cleeves
Part of Vera Stanhope, book 1
First published 2001
Rachael Lambert leads an environmental survey team to a remote cottage, seeking to restore her confidence after her lover and boss Peter Kemp betrayed her trust. She works alongside botanist Anne Preece, who harbors deceptive intentions of her own, and Grace Fulwell, a secretive young woman who barely communicates with the others. When Rachael reaches the cottage, she finds her friend Bella Furness dead in what appears to be suicide. Rachael refuses to believe Bella took her own life. A second death brings Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope into the investigation. Vera must unravel the complicated relationships between these women and discover what really happened. Each woman carries secrets that shaped their presence at this isolated location. The environmental survey becomes secondary as betrayals surface and hidden motives emerge through Vera's unconventional detective work.
Genres: mystery, crime, contemporary, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, intimate, suspenseful
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Remote Cottage
560 pages · ebook · Minotaur Books