The Rising Tide: A dark, atmospheric mystery from bestseller Ann Cleeves, featuring Vera Stanhope, star of ITV's Vera

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Due to her sloppy appearance, people tend to underestimate her as a detective but come to admire her sharp intelligence and crime-solving skills. When the group were still in their early 20s and at their very first five-year reunion, one of their members perished in the dangerous waters that surround the island. Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. I know the island well, and many of the other locations, so, for me, this really adds another layer of pleasure to this favourite series. Taking place on Holy island, an island that is blocked off when the tide rises, a group of now elderly school friends meet for a scheduled reunion, but not all survive.

DS Joe Ashcroft uncovers information about Rick including allegations of harassment but this proves to be just the tip of the iceberg in this increasingly troublesome investigation. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding, and whether the events of many years before could have led to murder then, and now. Ann is also a passionate champion for libraries and was a National Libraries Day Ambassador in 2016. Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook, and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing.The story takes place on Holy Island, connected to the mainland by a causeway, The rising tide covers the causeway twice a day, making it inaccessible by car when the tide is high, and isolating the site. Sometime, she supposed, she’d have to release him and send him out into the world beyond her sphere of influence, but not yet. This was the first Vera book I've read (thought I'm a faithful fan of the TV series), and I've come to the surprising conclusion that the television version is better.

However, when a second member of the group is murdered, she also begins to wonder whether secrets in the group’s past may be the key to solving this case. Vera Stanhope is a person who likes very few people, she can be grumpy and tetchy if things don't go her way, but is an excellent detective.This is a superb setting especially as the tide rises and rolls in adding an extra dimension of atmosphere especially as concealed secrets find their way to the surface, bubbling up like the waves. And, as is usual in these books, the conclusion of the case brings its own poignancy and heartache to the investigative team.

Rick was a popular TV presenter who has recently been stood down by his network for allegations of sexual assault by an intern, so Vera wonders that one of his female victims could have exacted her own revenge. Yet, somehow, every mention of Vera Stanhope implies she eats like she’s never going to get another meal, or like her meal will be taken from her so she shovels it in as fast as she can and is constantly thinking about eating. So begins a case that seems at first to be slowly progressing as Vera and her team try to figure out if this is a crime that stems from the last or present.

Her main suspects are a group of men and women, all in their sixties, who’ve been friends for decades, all of whom have their worries, problems and issues…. Holly is a wonderful but young police detective who is always looking for validation from Vera, her boss. I am late to the party of reading the Vera Stanhope series (not just watching the wonderful tv series). Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published. she’s so unconventional, and unaffected by what others may think of her, but she’s an excellent detective, she’s demanding when it comes to her murder squad team, but they are only too eager give her their best efforts, and please her.