The Moth Catcher (Vera Stanhope Series #7)

by Ann Cleeves

Overview

From Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—comes The Moth Catcher.

“Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers.”—Louise Penny

Life seems perfect in the quiet community of Valley Farm. Then a shocking discovery shatters the silence. The owners of a big country house have employed a house-sitter, a young ecologist, to look after the place while they’re away. But his dead body is found by the side of the lane—a lonely place to die.

When DI Vera Stanhope arrives on the scene, she finds the body of a second man. What the two victims seem to have in common is a fascination with studying moths—and with catching these beautiful, intriguing creatures.

The others who live in Valley Farm have secrets too: Lorraine’s calm demeanor belies a more complex personality; Annie and Sam’s daughter, Lizzie, is due to be released from prison; and Nigel watches, silently, every day, from his window. As Vera is drawn into the claustrophobic world of this increasingly strange community, she realizes that there may be many deadly secrets trapped there . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250144690
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Series:	Vera Stanhope Series , #7
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	68,388
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind three hit television series—Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn, and The Long Call, starring Ben Aldridge—all of which are watched and loved in the United States. All three are available on BritBox.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She was awarded the OBE in 2022 for services to reading and libraries. Ann lives in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Reviews

"Atmospheric and well-wrought." —Publishers Weekly

“It’s easy to admire Vera’s brainpower. . . her adventures have been a hit on British television, and readers devoted to Cleeves’ tales of Jimmy Perez will want to give Vera a try.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A nice mixture, in the British tradition, of social comedy and detective work. More Vera, please.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Excellent . . . Intricate plotting makes for a compulsive read.” —The Independent (UK)

“Detective Vera Stanhope is a remarkable creation.” —Bookseller (UK)

“Cleeves has hit the big time . . . This is going to be a winner!” —BBC Front Row (UK)

"The Moth Catcher is set in the picturesque part of Vera's bailiwick. The great strengths of Cleeves' writing are the beautiful and convincing characterization and the storming story line." —Crime Squad

"Ann Cleeves is a skillful technician, keeping our interest alive and building slowly up to the denouement. Her easy use of language and clever story construction make her one of the best natural writers of detective fiction." —Sunday Express (UK)

"If you're a fan of Frances Fyfield, Minette Walters, or Val McDermid, get to know Cleeves." —The Globe and Mail (Canada)

From the Publisher

08/08/2016
In British author Cleeves’s atmospheric and well-wrought seventh mystery featuring Det. Insp. Vera Stanhope (after 2015’s Harbour Street), 25-year-old graduate student Patrick Randle has come from London to house-sit for a grand family in the gentle Northumberland community of Valley Farm, but shortly into his stay, he’s found dead by the roadside. Vera later discovers the body of a middle-aged man in Patrick’s room; the two turn out to be connected only through enthusiasm for Lepidoptera. Suspicion falls on an unlikely group, the town’s clique of couples enjoying early retirement. Cleeves expertly draws Vere’s complex relations with her fellow detectives as well as the hidden springs of tension in the circle affected by the crime, touching on class relations, the ennui of middle age, and the deceits, frailties, and tenderness of long marriage. Though the book’s deliberate pace may lose pure thrill seekers, patient readers will be rewarded as dread builds and old secrets surface. Agent: Sarah Menguc, Sarah Menguc Literary Agent (U.K.). (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

05/01/2016
In this latest from Dagger Award winner Cleeves, DI Vera Stanhope finds herself in the peaceable Northumberland community of Valley Farm, where a house sitter at a grand country home has just been found murdered in the lane. Then there's that second body in the attic. Look for this as episode three in Series 6 of ITV's popular Vera.

Library Journal

2016-07-20
A series of murders in a rural area has the neighbors on edge.When a housesitter is found dead in a ditch in the Valley Farm area, DI Vera Stanhope (Harbor Street, 2015, etc.), who lives nearby, is first on the scene. Patrick Randle had been watching the house and caring for the dogs of the Carswell family, who are visiting relatives in Australia. When the police check out Randle’s attic apartment, they find another body with no identification. Vera’s team of steady Joe Ashworth and ambitious Holly Clarke soon identify the second body as that of computer specialist Martin Benton. Randle was on a break from university, and Benton was just going off invalidity benefits, claiming he’d be self-employed. The only connection the team can find between the two men is that they were both interested in moths. A nearby barn and farmhouse conversion is home to three retired families: Nigel and Lorraine Lucas, whose stunningly modern place is a real status symbol; professor John O’Kane and his wife, Janet, a former social worker; and Sam and Annie Redhead, locals who owned a highly successful restaurant in nearby Kimmerston. Although they all appear to lead idyllic lives, background checks and local gossip reveal hidden secrets and problems. The Redheads’ daughter is in jail, and the lover and employer she robbed forced Sam and Annie to sell him their restaurant. Lorraine is hiding the return of breast cancer from Nigel, and Janet is getting fed up with her husband’s domineering ways. When a third murder follows, Vera and her team must dig deep into the past and present of all involved to find the reason three seemingly unconnected people were killed. Characteristically well plotted, with plenty of complex characters to enjoy.

Kirkus Reviews