The Vera Stanhope is a Crime Fiction / Police Procedural series by Ann Cleeves, made up of 13 books published between 1999 and 2024. It begins with The Crow Trap (1999), and is best read in publication order. The most recent entry is The Dark Wives (2024), spanning 25 years of storytelling.
Vera Stanhope series: frequently asked questions
What order should I read the Vera Stanhope series?
Start with The Crow Trap (1999), the first book in the Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves. Follow the books in publication order for the best reading experience.
How many books are in the Vera Stanhope series?
There are 13 books in the Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves, published between 1999 and 2024.
What is the first book in the Vera Stanhope series?
The first book in the Vera Stanhope series is The Crow Trap, published in 1999 by Ann Cleeves.
What is the latest book in the Vera Stanhope series?
The most recent book in the Vera Stanhope series is The Dark Wives (2024) by Ann Cleeves.
About the Vera Stanhope series
Ann Cleeves's Vera Stanhope novels — the basis for the long-running ITV series — are intelligent, atmospheric British mysteries set in the wild landscapes of Northumberland. DCI Vera Stanhope is brusque, brilliant, unglamorous and lonely, hiding a sharp empathy beneath a rumpled exterior and a fearsome manner with her team.
Cleeves excels at community and place: the cases grow out of the secrets of tight-knit rural and coastal lives, and the northern setting is as much a character as Vera herself. The plotting is fair and satisfying, the emotion understated and real.
The mysteries largely stand alone, but Vera and her team develop across the series, which begins with "The Crow Trap."