The MacMillan audio edition of Telling Tales, read by Julia Franklin, was shortlisted for an 'Audie' Award for best Mystery. Why a body (or two), of course, which draws the attention of our less-than-attractive police inspector, Vera Stanhope. On hearing the news, Emma Bennett is haunted once more by memories of her vibrant best friend, Abigail, and by the thought that her killer is still at large.

Within six-months of moving to Elvet, Emma’s life was blighted by the discovery of her friends body, strangled to death.And in the end, those dots led to the doorstep of a killer that may have surprised both Vera and this reader. My first introduction to Vera Stanhope is the second installment of the self titled series where Vera finds herself in Northumbria investigating a case that may have sent the wrong person to jail ten years earlier. Again as in the first Vera Stanhope mystery, The Crow Trap, Vera is not center but is slowly coming forward to have the suspects circle her instead of the other way around. Now that Jeanie's innocence has been established there is a killer on the loose who thought they had gotten away with murder. Both misfits in their own way, Emma longed for escape to the Old Chalet and Abigail’s glamorous lifestyle with her widowed and charismatic father, Keith.

Vera is genuine and astute, lacking in airs and graces and is often intrusive and tactless, but she also represents a brand of detective that the reader can identify with. And what of Emma’s husband, the genial pilot James Bennett and why is Keith Mantel so keen to send Vera chasing after him? This was my 1st Vera book and the 2nd in the series although I've been watching the Vera series on TV. Enter Vera and Joe who have been asked to look into this case and figure out who the first investigation got things wrong.

The Humberside location is vividly brought to life, the coldness of the North Sea was felt throughout. Michael and Peg Long have a daughter, Jeanie, who lived with a man, Keith Mantel, whose daughter, Abigail, was murdered. Now residents of the East Yorkshire village of Elvet are disturbed to hear of new evidence proving Jeanie's innocence.

Blessed with good looks Abigail could have any fellow she took a fancy to, including the much older ones as well. Ten years after Jeanie Long has been convicted for the murder of 15 year old Abigail Mantel, Jeanie commits suicide after being turned down again for parole. As this was Vera’s first full appearance, I found myself mainly focusing on her traits and mannerisms. It has been ten years since Jeanie Long was charged with the murder of fifteen-year-old Abigail Mantel. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary.

And as I’m beginning to see, don’t let the leading characters trick you into going down their rabbit holes with their inner dialogue, human frailties or their (obvious or subtle) connections to the murder, or murders, in this case. Telling Tales is the second book in Ann Cleeves’ Vera Stanhope series – which is now a major ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera . The plot was more powerful but the pacing for television better (at least for tv--who wants to wait for half the story before Vera appears?

Hopefully there will be more character-building in the third book which I will probably read at some point. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award. He and Vera end up making an unlikely friendship I thought with him doing what he could to help her out on the case, and Vera trying to not get too irritated with him. Her husband, James, is very private, thoughtful and considerate, but why does Vera think he is hiding something. She pulls you into the story and doesn't let you go; you will want to stay up late to finish this book.But Jeanie commits suicide in her prison cell, unable to face the people who had believed her capable of killing a child. As Inspector Vera Stanhope makes fresh enquiries on the peninsula and villagers are hauled back to a time they hoped to forget, tensions begin to mount.