Bücher von Ann Cleeves

The ninth novel in the Vera Stanhope series from the Sunday Times bestseller Ann Cleeves; now a major TV series from ITV.

A body is found by an early morning dog walker on the common outside Rosebank, a care home for troubled teens. The victim is Josh, a staff member, who never showed up to work. DI Vera Stanhope is called out to investigate. Her only clue is the disappearance of fourteen-year-old resident Chloe. Vera can’t bring herself to believe that a teenager is responsible for the murder, but even she can’t dismiss the possibility. Vera, Joe and new team member Rosie are soon embroiled in the case, but when a second body is found near the Three Dark Wives standing stones in the wilds of the Northumbrian countryside, folklore and fact begin to collide. Vera knows she has to find Chloe to get to the truth, but it seems that the dark secrets in their community may be far more dangerous than she could ever have believed.

Sunday Times bestselling author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope series, Ann Cleeves returns with the first in a brand new series set in North Devon and featuring Detective Matthew Venn. In this rural idyll, where two rivers meet, crime is always there waiting to rise from the water.

Für Fans von Agatha Christie und «Inspector Barnaby» Die dunkelsten Nächte verbergen die tödlichsten Geheimnisse ... Der ungeduldig erwartete neue Fall für die schrullig-sympathische Ermittlerin Vera Stanhope, die sich unvermindert großer Beliebtheit erfreut. Als Vera Stanhope sich während eines Wintersturms im Schneegestöber verfährt, stößt sie auf ein verlassenes Fahrzeug - mit offener Fahrertür quer über die Straße geparkt, auf der Rückbank ein Kleinkind. Um das Kind vor dem sicheren Erfrieren zu retten, nimmt Vera es kurzerhand mit. Zum Glück erreicht sie schon bald Brockburn, das heruntergekommene Herrenhaus eines entfernten Familienzweigs, in dem ihr Vater aufwuchs. Auf Brockburn ist eine Vorweihnachtsfeier in vollem Gange, die jedoch zu einem jähen Ende kommt, als man draußen im Schnee eine junge Frau findet - tot. Könnte sie die Mutter des Kindes sein? Und ist es Zufall, dass sie ausgerechnet in der Nähe von Brockburn zu Tode gekommen ist?

A Bird in the Hand is the first novel featuring George and Molly Palmer-Jones by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.In England's birdwatching paradise, a new breed has been sighted - a murderer . . .Young Tom French was found dead, lying in a marsh on the Norfolk coast, with his head bashed in and his binoculars still around his neck. One of the best birders in England, Tom had put the village of Rushy on the birdwatching map. Everyone liked him. Or did they?George Palmer-Jones, an elderly birdwatcher who decided quietly to look into the brutal crime, discovered mixed feelings aplenty. Still, he remained baffled by a deed that could have been motivated by thwarted love, pure envy, or something else altogether.But as he and his fellow "e;twitchers"e; flocked from Norfolk to Scotland to the Scilly Isles, in response to rumours of rare sightings, George - with help from his lovely wife, Molly - gradually discerned the true markings of a killer. All he had to do was prove it . . . before the murderer strikes again.

Blue Lightning is the fourth in a stellar suspense series from Ann Cleeves set on the Shetland Islands, the basis for the hit BBC show Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall. Inspector Jimmy Perez takes his fiancé home to Fair Isle, the tiny island he comes from, to meet his parents. The island is a magnet for bird watchers, who congregate at the local inn and lighthouse. When a local married celebrity, who had an eye for the lads, is murdered, Perez discovers that the suspects are very close to him indeed. With a sensational ending destined to create much buzz in the mystery world, Blue Lightning will thrill suspense fans everywhere.

The basis for the hit series "Shetland" now airing on PBS.Winner of Britain's coveted Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award, Ann Cleeves's Raven Black introduces a dazzling suspense series to U.S. mystery readers.It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a splash of color on the frozen ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbor, Catherine Ross. The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man--loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when detective Jimmy Perez and his colleagues from the mainland insist on opening out the investigation, a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbors nervously lock their doors, while a killer lives on in their midst.

Der achte und letzte Band der beliebten Shetland-Krimis um Kommissar Jimmy Perez - in Großbritannien von Fans und Presse gefeiert: Um dem hektischen Großstadtleben zu entkommen, ziehen Helena und Daniel Fleming mit ihren beiden Kindern auf die Shetland-Insel Northmavine. Das fragile Gleichgewicht der Familie wird jedoch jäh erschüttert, als der autistische Sohn eine erhängte junge Frau in der Scheune findet. Schnell steht fest, dass sie getötet wurde. Kommissar Jimmy Perez und seine Vorgesetzte Willow Reeves erkennen bald: Um die Tote, die als Nanny bei einer Familie im Ort angestellt war, ranken sich zwar zahlreiche Gerüchte - doch niemand scheint die junge Frau wirklich zu kennen. Oder zu wissen, wozu sie fähig war ...

Ein schöner Ort zum SterbenDas Leben in Valley Farm scheint perfekt: Hier im Nordosten Englands leben vier Ehepaare in einem abgeschiedenen Tal seit Jahren ganz für sich. Doch die Idylle trügt: Der junge Patrick Randall, als Haussitter im luxuriösesten Anwesen des Tals beschäftigt, wird tot am Wegesrand aufgefunden. Kommissarin Vera Stanhope übernimmt mit ihrem Team die Ermittlungen. Bei der Durchsuchung des Anwesens stoßen sie auf eine zweite männliche Leiche. Die einzige Gemeinsamkeit der zwei Opfer: eine Faszination für seltene Falter. Als die Sozialarbeiterin Shirley Hewarth kurz darauf ermordet wird, steht Kommissarin Vera Stanhope vor ihrem schwierigsten Fall: Drei Tote, die nichts verbindet, und vier Familien, die ganz eigene Leichen im Keller haben ...Ann Cleeves erhielt für «Die Nacht der Raben» den Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award. Das Buch wurde unter dem Titel «Mord in Shetland» mit Douglas Henshall als Inspektor Perez verfilmt wurde. Mit Vera Stanhope hat sie eine eigensinnige, aber dennoch liebenswerte Ermittlerin erschaffen. Unter dem Titel «Vera - ein ganz spezieller Fall» wurde die Serie mit Brenda Blethyn in der Hauptrolle von der BBC erfolgreich verfilmt.

Eine sturmumtoste Insel. Abgeschnitten von der Außenwelt. Doch das Verbrechen ist schon da.Fair Isle, die einsamste Insel der Nordsee. Hier ist Detective Jimmy Perez geboren, hier möchte er seine Verlobte Fran den Eltern vorstellen. Doch statt des harmonischen Familienwochenendes erwartet die beiden ein Albtraum: Nach ihrer Ankunft wird die Leiterin der Vogelschutzwarte erstochen. Kurz darauf geschieht ein zweiter Mord.Durch einen Sturm ist die kleine Insel bald von der Außenwelt abgeschnitten. Auf sich gestellt beginnen Perez und Fran zu ermitteln. Nur eines ist gewiss: Der Mörder muss mitten unter ihnen sein.«Die Handlung ist atemberaubend, das Setting einzigartig.» (THE INDEPENDENT)

Dead Water is the fifth book in Ann Cleeves' Shetland series - a major BBC1 drama starring Douglas Henshall. When the body of journalist Jerry Markham is found in a traditional Shetland boat, outside the house of the local public prosecutor, down at the Marina, young Detective Inspector Willow Reeves is drafted in to head up the investigation. Since the death of his fiancee, Inspector Jimmy Perez has been out of the loop, but his interest in this new case is stirred and he decides to help the inquiry. Markham - originally a Shetlander but who had made a name for himself in London - had left the islands years before. In his wake, he left a scandal involving a young girl, Evie Watt, who is now engaged to a seaman. He had few friends in Shetland, so why was he back? Willow and Jimmy are led to Sullum Voe, the heart of Shetland's North Sea oil and gas industry. It soon emerges from their investigation that Markham was chasing a story in his final days. One that must have been significant enough to warrant his death . . . Also available in the Shetland series are Raven Black, White Nights, Red Bones, Blue Lightning and Thin Air.

Winner of the 2017 Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger.The Glass Room is the fifth book in Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series - which is now a major ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn, Vera. DI Vera Stanhope is not one to make friends easily, but her hippy neighbours keep her well-supplied in homebrew and conversation. But when one of them goes missing, her path leads her to more than a missing friend . . . Vera tracks the young woman down to the Writer's House, a country retreat where aspiring authors work on their stories. Things get complicated when a body is discovered and Vera's neighbour is found with a knife in her hand. Calling in the team, Vera knows that she should hand the case over. She's too close to the main suspect. But the investigation is too tempting and she's never been one to follow the rules. There seems to be no motive. When another body is found, Vera suspects that someone is playing games with her. Somewhere there is a killer who has taken murder off the page and is making it real . . .Enjoy more of Vera Stanhope's investigations with The Crow Trap, Telling Tales, Hidden Depths, Silent Voices, Harbour Street, The Moth Catcher, and The Seagull.

Winner of the 2017 Crime Writers' Association Diamond Dagger.Silent Voices is the fourth book in Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series - which is now a major ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn, Vera. When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym, she wonders briefly if, for once in her life, she's uncovered a simple death from natural causes. Then Vera spots ligature marks around the victim's throat - death is never that simple . . . Vera revels being back in charge of an investigation again, working with Sergeant Joe Ashworth to find a motive. While Joe struggles to reconcile his home life with the demands of the case, death has never made Vera feel so alive. The duo investigates the victim's past and discovers a shocking case, involving a young child. Probing the secretive community, they try to stop a killer in the present who can't seem to let go of the past . . .Enjoy more of Vera Stanhope's investigations with The Crow Trap, Telling Tales, Hidden Depths, The Glass Room, Harbour Street, The Moth Catcher, and The Seagull.

A Lesson in Dying is the first mystery novel in the Inspector Ramsay series by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.Who hung the headmaster in the playground on the night of the school Halloween Party?Almost everyone in Heppleburn either hated or feared the viper-tongued Harold Medburn. Inspector Ramsay is convinced it was the headmaster's enigmatic wife but Jack Robson, school governor and caretaker, is determined to prove her innocence.With the help of his restless daughter Patty, Jack digs into the secrets of Heppleburn, and uncovers a cesspit of lies, adultery, blackmail and madness . . .

Killjoy is the fourth mystery novel in the Inspector Ramsay series by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.The youth theatre cast are in their places but Gus Lynch's female lead is missing, that is, until she's found in the boot of his car . . .Detective Inspector Stephen Ramsay and Sergeant Gordon Hunter are assigned to head the murder enquiry, meanwhile violence is escalating on the Starling Farm Estate as police battle to contain the latest outbreak of joyriding. Is the death of Gabriella connected to the events at Starling Farm?When another death occurs, investigations suggest a possible link, and Ramsay realizes what could have provoked someone to kill . . . and kill again.

A Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy is the third novel in the Inspector Ramsay series by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.For Dorothea Cassidy Thursdays were special. Every week she would look forward to the one day she could call her own, and would plan to visit people she wanted to see as a welcome respite from the routine duties that being a vicar's wife entailed. But one Thursday in June was to be more special than any other. It was the day that Dorothea Cassidy was strangled.As the small town of Otterbridge prepares for its summer carnival, Inspector Stephen Ramsay begins a painstaking reconstruction of Dorothea's last hours. He soon discovers that she had taken on a number of deserving cases - a sick and lonely old woman, a disturbed adolescent, a compulsive gambler, a single mother with a violent boyfriend and a child in care - and even her close family have their secrets to hide. All these people are haunted, in one way or another, by Dorothea's goodness. But which of them could have possibly wanted her dead?It is not until a second body is discovered that Ramsay starts to understand how Dorothea lived - and why she died. With the carnival festivities in full swing and dusk falling in Otterbridge, Ramsay's murder investigation reaches its chilling climax . . .

High Island Blues is the eighth and final mystery novel featuring George and Molly Palmer-Jones by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.Swarms of migrating birds fall from the sky seeking shelter as the spring storms begin, but the birders are distracted by a far more shocking sight, Mick Brownscombe's dead body . . .Old college friends Rob, Oliver and Mick reunite on a bird watching tour to America. It is the first time in twenty years the three have been together - since the fateful holiday to America during which they met the enigmatic Laurie . . . The tour party is hoping for spectacular sights at High Island on the Upper Texas coast, but as the rain pours down and the birds descend, Mick is discovered dead. Back in Britain PIs George and Molly Palmer-Jones are working on a minor fraud case with name of Brownscombe Associates attached. So when George receives a desperate transatlantic call from his friend Rob, he is on the first plane to Texas.His investigations make little progress - until the second body is found . . .

The Baby-Snatcher is the sixth and final mystery novel in the Inspector Ramsay series by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.Marilyn Howe's and her mother Kathleen are an inseparable duo, until one night Kathleen doesn't come home . . .Fifteen year old Marilyn turns up alone and frightened on Inspector Ramsay's doorstep so he takes the young girl home to the isolated coastal community known as the Headland. And in the Howes' dark and cluttered kitchen they find Kathleen safe and apparently well, though acting rather mysteriously. Six months later, Ramsay has more or less forgotten the strange incident, busy as he is on the trail of a local child abductor. Until he receives news that Mrs Howe has disappeared once more. And for the second time he is drawn into the strange relationships of the families living on the lonely Headland.Then a woman's body is washed up on the beach . . .

Another Man's Poison is the sixth mystery novel featuring George and Molly Palmer-Jones by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.Molly Palmer-Jones arrives at her aunt Ursula's house one morning, only to find her body slumped lifeless on the sofa . . .Ursula Ottway's beautiful cottage is wanted by her landlord, politician Marcus Grenville, so he can convert it into a holiday residence. So when Ursula discovers that the illegal use of poisoned bait on Grenville's land has killed not only a rare bird of prey but her two beloved cats, she storms to his house and threatens revenge. Shocked and saddened to find Ursula's body the morning after this conflict, Molly and her husband George decide to piece together a picture of Ursula's last days. And it soon becomes clear that, for many people on the estate, hers was a very convenient death.The Palmer-Joneses embark on a murder investigation but even their professional expertise doesn't prepare them for what is to follow. A lifetime's worth of secrets must surface before a killer can finally be brought to justice . . .

Sea Fever is the sixth mystery novel featuring George and Molly Palmer-Jones by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.A rare and unrecorded sea bird captures all the birders attention whilst right under their noses the most fanatical birder of them all disappears . . .Later, Greg Franks' corpse, the head bludgeoned, is found floating in the sea. Had it not been for Greg Franks, amateur detective George Palmer-Jones would not have been on the bird watching trip in Cornwall to the first place. He had been hired by Greg Franks' anxious parents to try and persuade their errant son to return home. George would have turned the case down flat but the offer of a free weekend's bird watching was too tempting to resist. Now, he must unhappily shoulder the burden of finding why the young man had been murdered.Who hated Franks enough to kill him? Almost everyone, it seems . . .

The Mill on the Shore is the seventh mystery novel featuring George and Molly Palmer-Jones by Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope crime series.Meg Morrissey refuses to believe that her husband James committed suicide.James was in high spirits because he'd finally completed his long awaited autobiography. He didn't leave a suicide note. But even more suspiciously the record of his life's environmental achievement, his magnum opus, has gone missing. Troubled, Meg calls in amateur sleuths George and Molly Palmer-Jones to investigate. They soon uncover that life in the Morrissey family is not as idyllic as it seems - relations with ex-wife Cathy are not as friendly as Meg makes out and James appears to have fallen for another women. But the disappearance of his autobiography is most puzzling of all, did he uncover a secret so damaging someone was prepared to kill for it?George and Molly must try to fit together the missing pieces of information to reveal who could have wanted James dead . . .