Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Macmillan (2014), Edition: Open market ed
Description
Fiction. Mystery. HTML: Harbour Street is the next spellbinding installment in Ann Cleeves' series of crime novels about Vera Stanhope, played in the TV detective drama VERA by Brenda Blethyn. As the snow falls thickly on Newcastle, the shouts and laughter of Christmas revelers break the muffled silence. Detective Joe Ashworth and his daughter Jessie are swept along in the jostling crowd onto the Metro. But when the train is stopped due to the bad weather, and the other passengers fade into the swirling snow, Jessie notices that one lady hasn't left the train: Margaret Krukowski has been fatally stabbed. Arriving at the scene, DI Vera Stanhope is relieved to have an excuse to escape the holiday festivities. As she stands on the silent, snow-covered station platform, Vera feels a familiar buzz of anticipation, sensing that this will be a complex and unusual case. Then, just days later, a second woman is murdered. Vera knows that to find the key to this new killing she needs to understand what had been troubling Margaret so deeply before she died - before another life is lost. She can feel in her bones that there's a link. Retracing Margaret's final steps, Vera finds herself searching deep into the hidden past of this seemingly innocent neighborhood, led by clues that keep revolving around one street... Why are the residents of Harbour Street so reluctant to speak? Told with piercing prose and a forensic eye, Ann Cleeves' gripping new audiobook explores what happens when a community closes ranks to protect their own-and at what point silent witnesses become complicit..… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Olivermagnus
Detective Joe Ashworth is on his way home after picking up his daughter when, due to excessive snowfall, the Metro they are on stops suddenly at Mardle, outside of Newcastle. They are asked to leave and catch a bus, but Jess is worried when she sees an elderly woman who has fallen asleep. She goes
Vera and Joe are puzzled as to why the woman, identified as Margaret Krukowski, has been killed. She was a quiet but elegant woman who appears to have fallen on hard times. She was a volunteer at a local shelter that helped disadvantaged women. When another woman is found murdered, it becomes obvious to Vera and Joe that there are secrets in Harbour Street that no one wants revealed.
I really enjoyed this story. I think Ann Cleeves always gives the reader a great story populated by characters who are all totally believable, including the minor characters. She did an exceptional job of creating an atmospheric feel for the seaside town in winter. The plot is fast moving with plenty of suspects to choose from. This is a good story that can be read by both fans and new readers of the series.
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back to wake her up. It looks like she has been stabbed, despite being surrounded by the passengers, as well as Joe. After sending Jess home, he waits for Vera to arrive. They discover the victim was living and working at a small hotel in Harbour Street.Vera and Joe are puzzled as to why the woman, identified as Margaret Krukowski, has been killed. She was a quiet but elegant woman who appears to have fallen on hard times. She was a volunteer at a local shelter that helped disadvantaged women. When another woman is found murdered, it becomes obvious to Vera and Joe that there are secrets in Harbour Street that no one wants revealed.
I really enjoyed this story. I think Ann Cleeves always gives the reader a great story populated by characters who are all totally believable, including the minor characters. She did an exceptional job of creating an atmospheric feel for the seaside town in winter. The plot is fast moving with plenty of suspects to choose from. This is a good story that can be read by both fans and new readers of the series.
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LibraryThing member smik
Again Ann Cleeves has written a good 'un. And I love Janine Birkett's voice for Vera. There really isn't anything predictable about this plot and red herrings abound. Perfect travel listening but I'm sure reading the book would be just as good.
Just a note: I'm sure having read the earlier books in
Just a note: I'm sure having read the earlier books in
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the series assists in your appreciation of Vera's character, but if you start with this one, you will want more. Show Less
LibraryThing member Icewineanne
Another fun puzzler involving Vera Stanhope & her sidekick Joe Ashworth. This one involves the murder of an old woman on the metro (subway), her secrets, the secrets of the residents in the guest house where she lived, and the secrets people in the neighbourhood. I enjoy books where the violence is
Solid 3.5 stars.
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off-page and the problems and relationships between the characters are the focus of the story.Solid 3.5 stars.
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LibraryThing member NHreader
Vera is so "whiney"; I find her very irritating...but I do enjoy the character. Like Ann Cleeves as an author.
LibraryThing member Carol420
Harbour Street by Ann Cleeves
Vera Stanhope series Book #6
4.5★'s
From The Book:
As the snow falls thickly on Newcastle, the shouts and laughter of Christmas revelers break the muffled silence. Detective Joe Ashworth and his daughter Jessie are swept along in the jostling crowd onto the Metro. But
My Thoughts:
I'm a real fan of both the Vera Stanhope TV series..."Vera" and these wonderful books featuring this character. This book was made so much more enjoyable because it was read as a group read and I got not only to share my feelings and opinions as we went along but got to read and how my fellow readers saw the story.
An elderly woman, who resides at a remote boarding house located on Harbour Street in a small coastal town that has few visitors...is dead. Those few visitors, as well as the dead woman herself... all hold pieces as to how and why she was brutally killed. This is just Vera's cuppa of tea...she can' t wait to sink her teeth into it and root out the suspects and the entire truth, which these people are so reluctant to tell.
It's addictive storytelling at it's best. The character of Vera is a larger than life force to be reckoned with. The tenacity and single mindedness she brings to each murder inquiry confounds suspects, her own team, and readers as well. It soon becomes obvious that Vera is the one in charge and we...rather first time or long time readers... are simply along for the enjoyable ride.
Vera Stanhope series Book #6
4.5★'s
From The Book:
As the snow falls thickly on Newcastle, the shouts and laughter of Christmas revelers break the muffled silence. Detective Joe Ashworth and his daughter Jessie are swept along in the jostling crowd onto the Metro. But
Show More
when the train is stopped due to the bad weather, and the other passengers fade into the swirling snow, Jessie notices that one lady hasn't left the train: Margaret Krukowski has been fatally stabbed. Arriving at the scene, DI Vera Stanhope is relieved to have an excuse to escape the holiday festivities. As she stands on the silent, snow-covered station platform, Vera feels a familiar buzz of anticipation, sensing that this will be a complex and unusual case. Then, just days later, a second woman is murdered. Vera knows that to find the key to this new killing she needs to understand what had been troubling Margaret so deeply before she died - before another life is lost. She can feel in her bones that there's a link. Retracing Margaret's final steps, Vera finds herself searching deep into the hidden past of this seemingly innocent neighborhood, led by clues that keep revolving around one street. Why are the residents of Harbour Street so reluctant to speak?My Thoughts:
I'm a real fan of both the Vera Stanhope TV series..."Vera" and these wonderful books featuring this character. This book was made so much more enjoyable because it was read as a group read and I got not only to share my feelings and opinions as we went along but got to read and how my fellow readers saw the story.
An elderly woman, who resides at a remote boarding house located on Harbour Street in a small coastal town that has few visitors...is dead. Those few visitors, as well as the dead woman herself... all hold pieces as to how and why she was brutally killed. This is just Vera's cuppa of tea...she can' t wait to sink her teeth into it and root out the suspects and the entire truth, which these people are so reluctant to tell.
It's addictive storytelling at it's best. The character of Vera is a larger than life force to be reckoned with. The tenacity and single mindedness she brings to each murder inquiry confounds suspects, her own team, and readers as well. It soon becomes obvious that Vera is the one in charge and we...rather first time or long time readers... are simply along for the enjoyable ride.
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LibraryThing member Laura400
This entry in the series has excellent atmosphere, but it may be a little long and a little depressive. All the characters are sad, or dull, or both. And I thought the author threw in too many improbable red herrings for the detectives to follow, until, boom, out of the blue, at the very end, they
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focus on the hitherto-unsuspected killer. But it's well-written, and the pages do turn. It's a solid series that I very much enjoy, even if this may not be the very best. Show Less
LibraryThing member scot2
I've found a new author whose books I enjoy. Vera Stanhope is a great. detective. She's not gorgeous, leggy, brilliant and quick on the draw. Instead she is down to earth, insecure and plods along till she finds the answer. I will read more from this author.
LibraryThing member Andrew-theQM
This was definitely one of the best books in this series so far. Vera is an interesting character, although I sometimes feel her feeling sorry for herself does grate on me, I also wished she would communicate more to us as readers what she is thinking. This is the only thing that stops this from
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being a five star read. This book had a very intriguing plot with a double murder that you kept trying to work out as to whether the murder was linked to events in the past or to current day events. Very intriguing overall and it was good to see Vera give her colleagues more to do rather than doing it all herself. Ann Cleeves is one of my favourite authors and I would strongly recommend this series to others. Show Less
LibraryThing member edwardsgt
Cleverly crafted story about the murder of a woman, who appears a model citizen about which little appears to be known, but who harbours secrets that end in her death. As always with this author, she populates the story with interesting, well-drawn characters, a number of whom could be the
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perpetrator, but I admit she had me fooled when the reveal came! Show Less
LibraryThing member thorold
An elderly woman is murdered in a busy Metro train during the pre-Christmas rush, and the investigation leads DI Vera Stanhope to a small former fishing community on the fringes of Newcastle.
I found this a perfectly competent crime story, with a few nice features — turning Columbo into an
So, very much in the "mostly harmless" category.
I found this a perfectly competent crime story, with a few nice features — turning Columbo into an
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unglamorous middle-aged Geordie woman is a clever touch, and I liked the way the investigation proceeded by careful interviewing of witnesses and piecing together of things that happened a long time ago, rather than any fancy stuff with forensics or computer hacking — but it didn't really have anything to make me want to rush out and buy all the other books in the series. The dialogue is sound but not exactly witty, the location stuff isn't overdone, there's a refreshing absence of usual staples like divorces, heavy drinking, comic pathologists and you're-off-the-casery, but she does give in to a couple of clichés (maybe TV pressure?): the detective has a quaint old car, and one of her colleagues has a young daughter who finds herself in jeopardy at the climax of the story (tip for young women: avoid having parents who are fictional detectives). So, very much in the "mostly harmless" category.
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LibraryThing member laytonwoman3rd
Vera Stanhope's protege, Joe Ashforth, and his young daughter Jessie are on scene when a saintly elderly woman is stabbed on the crowded Metro shortly before Christmas. Although neither of them witness the actual crime (and no one else in the carriage seems to have seen it either), it is poor
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Jessie who discovers that the woman is dead. As Vera's investigation proceeds, everyone's past seems to hold clues, and the dead woman's history is particularly interesting to Vera, although honestly not terribly surprising to this reader. There are many connections among characters, and we bite our nails waiting for the inevitable peril our girl Jessie must find herself in (nice twist on that, though). I still struggle with the author's attitude toward her main character--I feel Cleeves does not like Vera very much, and certainly does not approve of her personal habits. Yet she has created a complicated woman with emotional baggage, whose skills and talents are admirable, who recognizes her own prejudices but does little about them, and who makes some nearly earnest attempts to modify her behavior for the sake of her health, not her appearance. Show Less
LibraryThing member LARA335
Vera investigates the murder on a train of a woman who is a long time lodger of a once famous musician.
I was convinced the lover of one of the characters would turn out to be her father. Was this a red herring, or was I just making connections where none existed?
An interesting mix of characters.
I was convinced the lover of one of the characters would turn out to be her father. Was this a red herring, or was I just making connections where none existed?
An interesting mix of characters.
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And I do like how Vera is depicted, a hard-worker who is a bit lonely, which makes for a sympathetic detective. Show Less
LibraryThing member thornton37814
A woman is stabbed aboard a train in which Joe and his daughter are passengers. The deceased woman resided at a boarding house on Harbour Street. The woman loved doing good works for the unfortunate, particularly women with a less than savory past. The more they investigate, the more Vera is
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convinced the murder is tied to the woman's past. What is the woman's well-guarded secret? Other secrets might be uncovered during the investigation as well. The setting is in the days leading up to Christmas although it's not really a Christmas story. Show Less
LibraryThing member ritaer
An elderly woman is killed on Metro, another woman killed later. Does the reason for murder lie in the past. Was surprised by the perp.
Original language
English
Original publication date
2014
Physical description
400 p.; 6.06 inches
ISBN
1447254465 / 9781447254461