'Gripping from start to finish.' - Booklist 'Creates a dark enough mood to keep you straining to see what will come to light next.' - People “Nothing short of riveting.' -Louise Penny 'Cleeves's softly, softly approach delivers a powerful punch.' - The Observer 'It's a dark, interesting novel with considerable emotional force behind it.' - The Spectator Cleeves in the Rendell class.' - Peterborough Evening Telegraph 'Trauma, obsession, and murder entwine in a suspense-packed crime story that puts Ms. The Columbo-esque Vera, who hides a fierce intelligence and razor sharp instincts under garish clothing, uses every tool at her disposal to solve the crime.'- Publishers Weekly 'Fans of the Vera Stanhope novels already available in the U.S., as well as the TV series Vera, will welcome Cleeves’s intricate series opener. Only when the next death occurs does a fourth woman enter the picture-the unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope, who must piece together the truth from these women's tangled lives in The Crow Trap. Bella, it appears, has committed suicide-a verdict Rachael finds impossible to accept. When Rachael arrives at the cottage, however, she is horrified to discover the body of her friend Bella Furness. And then there is Grace Fulwell, a strange, uncommunicative young woman with plenty of her own secrets to hide. Botanist Anne Preece, on the other hand, sees it as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own.

Three women who, in some way or another, know the meaning of betrayal.For team leader Rachael Lambert the project is the perfect opportunity to rebuild her confidence after a double-betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp.

Three very different women come together to complete an environmental survey on the Northumberland countryside. “Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers.”-Louise Penny From Ann Cleeves- New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows-comes The Crow Trap, the first in the Vera Stanhope series.

The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves