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The Sleeping and the Dead
The Sleeping and the Dead is a tense psychological crime thriller from CWA Gold Dagger award-winning writer, Ann Cleeves.
Detective Peter Porteous is called to Cranwell Lake where the body of a teenager has been discovered. After trawling through the missing persons files, he deduces that the corpse is Michael Grey, an enigmatic and secretive young man who was reported missing by his foster parents in 1972.
For country prison officer Hannah Morton it is the shock of her life. Michael had been her boyfriend, and she had been with him the night he disappeared. The news report that a body has been found brings back dreaded and long buried memories from her past . . .
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
1466 people are currently reading
2496 people want to read
About the author
Ann Cleeves
131 books8,817 followersAnn is the author of the books behind ITV's VERA, now in it's third series, and the BBC's SHETLAND, which will be aired in December 2012. Ann's DI Vera Stanhope series of books is set in Northumberland and features the well loved detective along with her partner Joe Ashworth. Ann's Shetland series bring us DI Jimmy Perez, investigating in the mysterious, dark, and beautiful Shetland Islands...
Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.
While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person's not heavily into birds - and Ann isn't - there's not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.
In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.
For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony
Ann's short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.
In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA's Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world's largest award for crime fiction.
Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: "I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock - but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I'd lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn't have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!"
The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).
Ann's books have been translated into sixteen languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200
Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.
While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person's not heavily into birds - and Ann isn't - there's not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.
In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.
For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony
Ann's short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.
In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA's Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world's largest award for crime fiction.
Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: "I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock - but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I'd lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn't have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!"
The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).
Ann's books have been translated into sixteen languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 453 reviews
April 29, 2012
The plot had me interested for most of the book; however, the method in which the resolution was presented was rather rushed and forced and the final sentence was so twee it made me wince.
October 29, 2018
I really enjoyed the first 95% of the book but I found the ending rather disappointing, it felt rushed and muddled. Such a shame after having hooked me with an intriguing plot.
August 27, 2024
This is a standalone mystery by Ann Cleeves which I listened to it with my partner while on a trip to Vienna. We found that we preferred her series, especially 'Vera Stanhope.'
One quote that stood out is Ann Cleeves' portrayal of Michael Gray as a "sort of verbal chameleon," which I thought was very descriptive.
One quote that stood out is Ann Cleeves' portrayal of Michael Gray as a "sort of verbal chameleon," which I thought was very descriptive.
December 20, 2021
As everyone knows, I'm a Ann Cleeves addict and when I'll retire, I want to be like Vera: living in a cottage on the hill, driving a Defender wearing wellies and with two corgies at the back. There, I've said it out loud !
So it is a bit of a mystery to me that I didn't have this standalone on my radar, it just got drowned in my TBR list, and now was a good time to set this right. Unfortunately, I must be honest and say that it isn't Mrs. Cleeves best work. It is well written of course, but there are so many characters that I got lost every now and then, not helped by the fact that one even changes names. And every one of them is a possible suspect: the ex-girlfriend, the elusive father, the man who likes children too much, two teachers, one of them married to a journalist who also happens to be the bestie of the ex-girlfriend, the friend with benefits, the ex of the journalist, etc etc... Red herrings flying everywhere and thoroughly distracting from the core mystery. The conclusion is brought in a hurry; five pages to explain the -convoluted- motive, but also leaving some loose threads.
Hum, if anyone wants to start reading Cleeves, I strongly recommend Vera, Shetland or the latest series Two Rives, but stay away from this standalone.
So it is a bit of a mystery to me that I didn't have this standalone on my radar, it just got drowned in my TBR list, and now was a good time to set this right. Unfortunately, I must be honest and say that it isn't Mrs. Cleeves best work. It is well written of course, but there are so many characters that I got lost every now and then, not helped by the fact that one even changes names. And every one of them is a possible suspect: the ex-girlfriend, the elusive father, the man who likes children too much, two teachers, one of them married to a journalist who also happens to be the bestie of the ex-girlfriend, the friend with benefits, the ex of the journalist, etc etc... Red herrings flying everywhere and thoroughly distracting from the core mystery. The conclusion is brought in a hurry; five pages to explain the -convoluted- motive, but also leaving some loose threads.
Hum, if anyone wants to start reading Cleeves, I strongly recommend Vera, Shetland or the latest series Two Rives, but stay away from this standalone.
July 2, 2022
A good enough story but oh boy I hate it when I'm left with unanswered questions... why did he do that or what happened to him are a couple...
Peter Porteous is a likeable character and to be honest I enjoyed the parts in which he was leading the story!
The parts where Hannah and her daughter Rosie where involved felt to me a bit tiresome!
The setting as always in Ann Cleeves's books is excellently portrayed and that's the reason I miss her Shetland series so much!
The plot isn't fast paced but has a satisfactory rhythm!
Peter Porteous is a likeable character and to be honest I enjoyed the parts in which he was leading the story!
The parts where Hannah and her daughter Rosie where involved felt to me a bit tiresome!
The setting as always in Ann Cleeves's books is excellently portrayed and that's the reason I miss her Shetland series so much!
The plot isn't fast paced but has a satisfactory rhythm!
July 14, 2017
I can always trust Anne Cleeves to deliver a good story. This one didn't disappoint me at all, although I did find the ending a bit muddled.
April 6, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I can’t wait to read more of this new investigator. I loved all of the characters and the twisting plot line. I’m a big fan of her other series and books and connected with this one just as much. I’m super hopeful it would get made into a TV series. Can’t wait to read another in this series.
July 24, 2011
This is a stand-alone, but it could easily be the start of a series. I'm guessing, though, that since it was published in 2001 and there hasn't been a follow-up, Cleeves decided against a series. The book takes place during a hot summer drought, when a reservoir gets so low that a body floats to the surface. The twisting connections between those living in the area now, other murders, and the murder from the past make for a very engaging psychological mystery. I couldn't put it down, wondering how all the different threads would be pulled together. Some of the background characters were not as well-developed as the major players, which is all that keeps this from a "5" in my rating.
February 8, 2025
I usually really enjoy Ann Cleeves books but this one didn't quite do it for me. It took me a while to get into and it wasn't easiest to follow. The plot felt disjointed and at times just too out there to find it believable.
Overall an ok book but not to usual standard I'm used to from Ann Cleeves.
Overall an ok book but not to usual standard I'm used to from Ann Cleeves.
January 31, 2020
Enjoyed this read the end was a bit disappointing
May 23, 2022
2.75* rounded up......
December 14, 2025
Vijf sterren voor een detectiveverhaal. Ik denk niet dat ik dat al eerder deed.
Ik moet iets bekennen. Wanneer ik ’s avonds van de trein naar huis stap, dan ga ik vaak even nog Utopia (de Aalsterse BiB annex Academie voor Woord en Muziek) binnen voor een kleine boodschap. Wanneer de tijd het toelaat passeer ik nog eens langs de Engelse afdeling. Zo ook vorige week. Ik nam er een Ann Cleeves (who else?) mee omdat ik wat nood had aan ontspanning. Geen Vera of Jimmy Perez deze keer, maar een alleenstaande whodunnit die 20 jaar geleden of zo verscheen, en die nu opnieuw is uitgegeven.
Wel, ik heb mij geamuseerd.
Het was een boeiend verhaal, het verhaal bleef spannend. Het boek is opgedeeld in 4 delen waar er verschillende gezichtspunten worden ingenomen: de speurder, Hannah, Rosie, …
Het einde was zeer onverwacht, maar goed.
Ja, voor ontspanning en spanning dus een tien op tien, of zoals het hier op Goodreads geldt: een volle sterrenhemel.
Ik moet iets bekennen. Wanneer ik ’s avonds van de trein naar huis stap, dan ga ik vaak even nog Utopia (de Aalsterse BiB annex Academie voor Woord en Muziek) binnen voor een kleine boodschap. Wanneer de tijd het toelaat passeer ik nog eens langs de Engelse afdeling. Zo ook vorige week. Ik nam er een Ann Cleeves (who else?) mee omdat ik wat nood had aan ontspanning. Geen Vera of Jimmy Perez deze keer, maar een alleenstaande whodunnit die 20 jaar geleden of zo verscheen, en die nu opnieuw is uitgegeven.
Wel, ik heb mij geamuseerd.
Het was een boeiend verhaal, het verhaal bleef spannend. Het boek is opgedeeld in 4 delen waar er verschillende gezichtspunten worden ingenomen: de speurder, Hannah, Rosie, …
Het einde was zeer onverwacht, maar goed.
Ja, voor ontspanning en spanning dus een tien op tien, of zoals het hier op Goodreads geldt: een volle sterrenhemel.
November 22, 2016
Although the plot was good I found this surprisingly flat and uninteresting compared with the other Ann Cleeves books I've read. I couldn't get interested in the characters, and elements of the plot were familiar. I couldn't get a sense of the place at all.
April 6, 2020
It only just made a 3 star rating. I found it dull and the plot relied far too much on coincidence to be remotely believable. Some books just don't do it for you, even if you have liked others by the same author and this is one of those for me.
August 5, 2024
Ann Cleeves należy do grona nielicznych autorów, z którymi moje pierwsze spotkanie nie należało do udanych. Postanowiłam jednak dać autorce drugą szansę i skusiłam się na najnowszą powieść kryminalną jej autorstwa „Uśpieni i martwi”.
Detektyw Peter Porteous dostaje wezwanie nad jezioro Cranwell, gdzie znaleziono przywiązane do kotwicy ciało. Wszystko wskazuje na to, że są to zwłoki zaginionego przed laty Michaela Greya. Zarówno jego życie, jak i okoliczności śmierci owiane są tajemnicą.
Hanna Morton, funkcjonariuszka więzienna, a zarazem była partnerka życiowa Greya prawdopodobnie była jedną z ostatnich osób, które widziały go żywego. Wznowienie śledztwa budzi w Morton dawno pogrzebane wspomnienia, a ją samą czyni podejrzaną w sprawie o morderstwo.
„Uśpieni i martwi” to powieść kryminalna, co do której nie miałam zbyt wielu oczekiwań. Po pierwszym spotkaniu z twórczością autorki, które nie do końca spełniło moje oczekiwania, nie liczyłam, że tym razem między nami zaiskrzy. I cóż, poniekąd miałam rację.
Historia, którą stworzyła Ann Cleeves zaczyna się dość mocno i przyznaję, że początek zaintrygował mnie do tego stopnia, że do pewnego momentu czytałam tę książkę jak zahipnotyzowana. Do czasu, gdy mnogość wątków i bohaterów zaczęła mnie przerastać. Tempo akcji w pewnym momencie również zwolniło i krocząc po kolejnych stronach powieści, czułam się coraz bardziej znużona.
Sama intryga i pomysł na fabułę były świetne, jednak wykonanie już nie do końca. Podobne odczucia miałam, czytając poprzednią książkę autorki, nie wiem, być może taki właśnie jest styl Cleeves – początek, mocny, później wolno rozwijające się śledztwo, mozolna akcja, a na koniec zaskakujący finał. Niewątpienie dużym atutem tej powieści jest osadzenie fabuły w małej miejscowości, klimat hermetycznej społeczności jest tutaj dość mocno wyczuwalny.
„Uśpieni i martwi” to ciekawie skonstruowana powieść kryminalna, aczkolwiek Ci z Was, którzy cenią sobie szybką akcję, nieustające napięcie i dreszczyk emocji z pewnością będą rozczarowani. Dla tych, którym powolne tempo akcji nie przeszkadza, a ważną rolę w powieści odgrywa analiza postaci pod względem psychologicznym, ta książka z pewnością będzie dobrym wyborem.
Detektyw Peter Porteous dostaje wezwanie nad jezioro Cranwell, gdzie znaleziono przywiązane do kotwicy ciało. Wszystko wskazuje na to, że są to zwłoki zaginionego przed laty Michaela Greya. Zarówno jego życie, jak i okoliczności śmierci owiane są tajemnicą.
Hanna Morton, funkcjonariuszka więzienna, a zarazem była partnerka życiowa Greya prawdopodobnie była jedną z ostatnich osób, które widziały go żywego. Wznowienie śledztwa budzi w Morton dawno pogrzebane wspomnienia, a ją samą czyni podejrzaną w sprawie o morderstwo.
„Uśpieni i martwi” to powieść kryminalna, co do której nie miałam zbyt wielu oczekiwań. Po pierwszym spotkaniu z twórczością autorki, które nie do końca spełniło moje oczekiwania, nie liczyłam, że tym razem między nami zaiskrzy. I cóż, poniekąd miałam rację.
Historia, którą stworzyła Ann Cleeves zaczyna się dość mocno i przyznaję, że początek zaintrygował mnie do tego stopnia, że do pewnego momentu czytałam tę książkę jak zahipnotyzowana. Do czasu, gdy mnogość wątków i bohaterów zaczęła mnie przerastać. Tempo akcji w pewnym momencie również zwolniło i krocząc po kolejnych stronach powieści, czułam się coraz bardziej znużona.
Sama intryga i pomysł na fabułę były świetne, jednak wykonanie już nie do końca. Podobne odczucia miałam, czytając poprzednią książkę autorki, nie wiem, być może taki właśnie jest styl Cleeves – początek, mocny, później wolno rozwijające się śledztwo, mozolna akcja, a na koniec zaskakujący finał. Niewątpienie dużym atutem tej powieści jest osadzenie fabuły w małej miejscowości, klimat hermetycznej społeczności jest tutaj dość mocno wyczuwalny.
„Uśpieni i martwi” to ciekawie skonstruowana powieść kryminalna, aczkolwiek Ci z Was, którzy cenią sobie szybką akcję, nieustające napięcie i dreszczyk emocji z pewnością będą rozczarowani. Dla tych, którym powolne tempo akcji nie przeszkadza, a ważną rolę w powieści odgrywa analiza postaci pod względem psychologicznym, ta książka z pewnością będzie dobrym wyborem.
June 8, 2023
3.75 Stars. It took me a really,really long time to get into this book. But somewhere along the way, I was hooked. I really wanted to know who killed Michael Grey. A charismatic but secretive teenager who everyone thought disappeared years ago.
There are lots of characters and twists and turns but I am never disappointed when I spend time reading one of Ann Cleeves’s mysteries. I enjoyed reading Ann’s forward that speaks to when she wrote the book and her fondness for detectives Porteous and Stout. Especially with the mention that they may be a forerunner to the lovely detective Matthew Venn.
There are lots of characters and twists and turns but I am never disappointed when I spend time reading one of Ann Cleeves’s mysteries. I enjoyed reading Ann’s forward that speaks to when she wrote the book and her fondness for detectives Porteous and Stout. Especially with the mention that they may be a forerunner to the lovely detective Matthew Venn.
May 27, 2024
A very abrupt ending and a few too many coincidences, but still quite entertaining and kept me interested. I'm not sure I really liked all the changes of POV but I can see why they were the easier way to go with a story like this. All in all, a pretty decent book.
November 12, 2020
The first few pages of the book had me hooked. It was really interesting and I was drawn in pretty quick. But then I get to 'part two' and instead of the detective I get this woman who I don't know and don't even like. Hannah was infuriating at times and every time I thought there's something to make me like her even a bit, she'd (not) say something or think something that would make me dislike her a little bit more.
I liked part one and three and I would have enjoyed the book way more if it would have been all written from Porteous' point of view. I was really interested in the investigation, how they figure it out, who they suspect, why, what does the forensics find, and all that exciting stuff, but instead I got this insecure librarian who's just been through a divorce, and her rebel teenage daughter who thinks she's all grown up. At some point I was so bored and ready to drop it. The only thing keeping me reading was wanting to know who did it.
On a second thought, I might have disliked Porteous too if I would have read more of his thoughts. After all I didn't really like anyone.
The plot was fine. It was interesting at first, but then I got caught up in Hannah's drama and lost focus, too busy being baffled at her. I see some reviews saying that the ending was rushed and thinking about it, yes, it was rushed, and it did rely on coincidence. One thing I like is that I did not expect the murderer to be who it was, although I probably should have seen it coming; also I was myself in a rush to finish the book so I can get to read something more entertaining.
Now that I think about it, there were also a few things left unexplained. Needless to say I do not recommend this book. There are far more interesting detective novels out there.
I don't know who wrote the synopsis, but it got two things wrong:
Michael Grey, an enigmatic and secretive young man who was reported missing by his foster parents in 1972.
Michael was reported missing after his foster parents died in a car crash by the guy who managed their wills. They didn't even know he'd been missing.
Michael had been her [Hannah] boyfriend, and she had been with him the night he disappeared.
Hannah had been with Michael the day before he went missing. He phoned her the next day in the morning, but she refused to meet him.
I liked part one and three and I would have enjoyed the book way more if it would have been all written from Porteous' point of view. I was really interested in the investigation, how they figure it out, who they suspect, why, what does the forensics find, and all that exciting stuff, but instead I got this insecure librarian who's just been through a divorce, and her rebel teenage daughter who thinks she's all grown up. At some point I was so bored and ready to drop it. The only thing keeping me reading was wanting to know who did it.
On a second thought, I might have disliked Porteous too if I would have read more of his thoughts. After all I didn't really like anyone.
The plot was fine. It was interesting at first, but then I got caught up in Hannah's drama and lost focus, too busy being baffled at her. I see some reviews saying that the ending was rushed and thinking about it, yes, it was rushed, and it did rely on coincidence. One thing I like is that I did not expect the murderer to be who it was, although I probably should have seen it coming; also I was myself in a rush to finish the book so I can get to read something more entertaining.
Now that I think about it, there were also a few things left unexplained. Needless to say I do not recommend this book. There are far more interesting detective novels out there.
I don't know who wrote the synopsis, but it got two things wrong:
Michael Grey, an enigmatic and secretive young man who was reported missing by his foster parents in 1972.
Michael was reported missing after his foster parents died in a car crash by the guy who managed their wills. They didn't even know he'd been missing.
Michael had been her [Hannah] boyfriend, and she had been with him the night he disappeared.
Hannah had been with Michael the day before he went missing. He phoned her the next day in the morning, but she refused to meet him.
August 24, 2020
It took me a while to get into this story and also some time to finish it. It felt a bit disjointed in places and I didn't really care for any of the characters although that is not essential for me to like a book, but it just felt a bit flat and plodded along. I guess we are all used to a much faster pace of mystery these days so maybe it was just me!?
August 10, 2015
A good stand alone novel by Ann Cleeves. You really can't go wrong with any of her books.
July 1, 2018
This book rushed to the ending leaving a few loose ends......
April 18, 2021
Hm, I was about 2/3 of the way through this before it got anywhere close to gripping my attention. And then it was all very unsatisfactorily resolved in a rush in the last 5 pages or so. Overall, not awful but not great.
I had thought it was a new book from Ann Cleeves but then realised it was written in 2001, before the Shetland series, which I loved. Maybe I’m just missing Jimmy Perez but I’d say that this a long way from Ann Cleeve’s best.
I had thought it was a new book from Ann Cleeves but then realised it was written in 2001, before the Shetland series, which I loved. Maybe I’m just missing Jimmy Perez but I’d say that this a long way from Ann Cleeve’s best.
September 2, 2025
The blurb sounds much more exciting than the book is.
A slow paced murder mystery, the ending of which was not much to my liking. Ann Cleeves has written more wonderful books than this.
A slow paced murder mystery, the ending of which was not much to my liking. Ann Cleeves has written more wonderful books than this.
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October 5, 2025One of the "too close for comfort" variety of murder mysteries. I sometimes have a fair sense, after having read hundreds of them, of who the killer is but not this time.
March 4, 2023
I've read a lot of novels by Ann Cleeves lately - why is that, you ask? Answer: she's written a lot of books, and our local libraries have a lot of them on the shelves. Not to mention the fact that I have liked most of the ones I have read.
In this novel we are introduced to a new protagonist, in Detective Peter Porteous. He's a man who likes his life well ordered, no mad rush, no stress. Should have been an accountant, maybe?
A body is discovered when drought has caused the level of a lake to fall - damn that global warming! Apparently the chap threw himself off a jetty with an anchor attached to his feet, about ten years ago ....? Pretty soon another body is discovered and the police realise there is a connection. There's a little back story going on behind the investigation. Porteous was parachuted in over his subordinate, the stout Sgt. Stout, whose nose is seriously out of joint. He's a guy with some pretty strongly held views for an investigative officer, and Porteous doesn't quite know how to handle him.
The investigation drags on, with red herrings galore as new connections are found in the distant past. The real problem with this book is that it's too long at 400 pages. I just got bored towards the end and skipped a lot of pages. It's obvious the author was paid by the word.
Mental illness figures prominently throughout the book, and not always where you may expect.
I don't know if Porteous figured in any more stories, I certainly haven't noticed any. Maybe he left the force and became an auditor or something.
I rated this 3.9.
In this novel we are introduced to a new protagonist, in Detective Peter Porteous. He's a man who likes his life well ordered, no mad rush, no stress. Should have been an accountant, maybe?
A body is discovered when drought has caused the level of a lake to fall - damn that global warming! Apparently the chap threw himself off a jetty with an anchor attached to his feet, about ten years ago ....? Pretty soon another body is discovered and the police realise there is a connection. There's a little back story going on behind the investigation. Porteous was parachuted in over his subordinate, the stout Sgt. Stout, whose nose is seriously out of joint. He's a guy with some pretty strongly held views for an investigative officer, and Porteous doesn't quite know how to handle him.
The investigation drags on, with red herrings galore as new connections are found in the distant past. The real problem with this book is that it's too long at 400 pages. I just got bored towards the end and skipped a lot of pages. It's obvious the author was paid by the word.
Mental illness figures prominently throughout the book, and not always where you may expect.
I don't know if Porteous figured in any more stories, I certainly haven't noticed any. Maybe he left the force and became an auditor or something.
I rated this 3.9.
August 27, 2022
This is one of Ms. Cleeves earlier standalone novels, preceding most of Vera and all of Shetland. A detailed police procedural, it has her usual careful narrative and credible characters, as well as her trademark twists and turns and what was to me a completely surprising though, in retrospect, a completely appropriate ending.
The story concerns two murders which took place thirty years apart and seem oddly linked, at first by one character then later by several. The point of view switches among the police and their witnesses, between events over forty years of history in small town, coastal England. As a result it is written as if from a distance, at times almost dreamlike in its reminiscence. The title is apt.
I am a great fan of Ms. Cleeves, and look forward to each new novel she publishes. I'm delighted to find that going back in time to her earlier works is just as satisfying.
The story concerns two murders which took place thirty years apart and seem oddly linked, at first by one character then later by several. The point of view switches among the police and their witnesses, between events over forty years of history in small town, coastal England. As a result it is written as if from a distance, at times almost dreamlike in its reminiscence. The title is apt.
I am a great fan of Ms. Cleeves, and look forward to each new novel she publishes. I'm delighted to find that going back in time to her earlier works is just as satisfying.
September 1, 2021
Yet another damaged detective and another cold case. This one concerns the suspicious death of a teenage boy whose body is only discovered almost 30 years later when a drought causes the water in the lake to recede far enough to expose it. Then another body is found and it is suspected that the two are connected somehow. Things get a bit confusing at times since some of the characters are present at the time of both murders but not all and therefore potential suspects. Keeping all that straight and who was who and who was connected to who and what became somewhat challenging. (Somewhat like reading this review) Nevertheless, an interesting mystery with the obligatory surprise ending – which of course we all think we should have seen coming. At any rate, I do. lol
May 7, 2014
Enjoyed this. A few of the reviews complain about the ending, and I agree with them, but I don't think that is peculiar to this book. I love Ann Cleeves, but I always find the endings rushed, formulaic and unconvincing. And she has a way of doing it which reduces tension rather than ramping it up. Despite that, though, I still love her. In all her books, it's the characters which count. The interest lies mainly in the character of the detective, but also in one or two of the main suspects. That's true of this book, too, and if they are not as well -rounded as her later books, they're still pretty well-realised.
August 2, 2020
I really like Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series and her Shetland Island books...but her standalones just have always lacked something for me. This was an interesting plot line with a great deal of promise but it seemed to just plod along and never really got off the ground. I found her main character...Peter Porteous...to be a bit of a dud. He was a loner and didn't display much personality and didn't work and play very well with others. It was almost as if he was tired of the whole thing. It's not a cozy mystery but it is very close. If that genre is what you enjoy then you will probably like this one.
September 13, 2014
This is a good detective story that avoids the stereotypical hard living, hard drinking protagonist so beloved of crime fiction. The plot is well placed and the characterisation excellent. My only criticism was the ending was a bit convoluted but then it has this in common with many crime novels.
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