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The plot is brilliant. I read a lot of crime fiction and I usually have at least some idea of whodunnit - even if I'm regularly wrong - but this time I really had no idea. Right up to the final denouement I still thought it could have been any one of about five people, but when Vera explains the reasoning to her sergeant, Joe Ashworth, it was all perfectly obvious and I couldn't understand why I hadn't spotted the clues.
The best of books can be ruined when turned into an audiobook by a poor narration and I'll confess that I havered about this one. Stanhope is Northumbrian to the core and unless the accent is done well it can sound ridiculous, but the narrator, Anne Dover, does a superb job. The brogue sounds completely natural and I had no problems is distinguishing every other cast member. The download lasted for nearly eleven hours and I enjoyed every minute. I'd happily listen to more from Dover.
This is the point where I usually thank the publishers for sending a copy of the book - but this time I bought the download!
For more crime as an audio download , we can recommend [[The Soul of Discretion (Simon Serrailler) by Susan Hill|The Soul of Discretion]] by Susan Hill - the final Simon Serrailler novel.
[[Ann Cleeve's D I DI Vera Stanhope Novels in Chronological Order]]
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