Despite Vera being the focal point of her tight knit team, Cleeves never neglects her supporting cast, with Charlie benefitting from a recent boost of his daughter's return home, pet DS Joe Ashworth becoming more assertive, although still torn between the demands of his wife and ‘other woman’ and DC Holly Clarke starting to shape up quite nicely. Recent instalments to the Vera series have included parts of the narrative as seen from the perspective of both Joe and Holly, and this has proved beneficial in terms of delivering a more well-rounded feel to the series.

I have read and loved this author's Shetland series for years. Only recently, with her book before this one, have I read her Vera series. Only took one book to hook me with this series, and these characters.

Ann Cleeves is best known as the brainchild behind popular British television series Vera and Shetland, both series are based on her bestselling books on detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez. Cleeves has obvious worldwide appeal and her latest novel, The Seagull, marks her eighth novel in the Vera Stanhope series. The Seagull is a startling crime novel, about the tenuous nature of family relationships and the extortion that is entrenched in the core of a sleepy seaside community.

Readers will enjoy Vera’s relentless quest for the truth in this astutely observed, atmospheric crime novel."— Express By this stage, we were beginning to lose the thread. Other than a conviction that Sidden’s hard-nose wife Elaine (Clare Higgins) was guilty of something, and that Vera’s dad must have been innocent despite the damning evidence, we didn’t really have a clue what was going on. Of the rest of the gang, Hector escaped a similar sentence by virtue of dementia then death. The mysterious “Prof” disappeared, as did wheeler-dealer Robbie Marshall, who was rumored to have far-flung criminal connections. Now, John is willing to tell Vera where Robbie’s body is, so long as she helps Patty cope with the aftermath of her husband walking out on their family. The dome of the Spanish city still shines bright over the town and it’s apparently going to be an art gallery in the future. The aroma of the best fish and chips in town still lingers and there might not be The Seagull but there are plenty of the chip stealing , dive-bombing variety so hold on to your hats on your booktrail! Janine Birkett's marvelous narration enhances this riveting mystery... Listeners will appreciate Birkett's handling of the dry humor, particularly Stanhope's. Birkett's portrayal of the strong personality of elderly Mrs. Marshall intensifies the story's conclusion."As Vera’s past collides dangerously with the present, she will have to confront her unwanted memories and face the possibility that her father was involved in what happened. The truth is about to come out, but is Vera ready for what it will reveal? Vera is a bit off in this one at times. Being thrown information about Hector throws her and also worries her what her father was up to besides stealing eggs. It would be foolish to discount Vera because she doesn't dress smartly--she can outfox even the wiliest of criminals, while wearing whatever she pleases, and readers will delight in getting the chance to see how such a quirky character evolved."— Library Journal on The Crow Trap Brace chats with Vera later. He tells her that he would be willing to give details about the disappearance of a certain bad guy, Robbie Marshall, who may hold the key in this cold case. But Brace leans in on a bargain for this information. He wants Vera to look in on his daughter Patty and her children. Patty is coming undone after her wayward husband left her. Vera has no idea of what is lurking behind this door of negotiations. The Seagull is the name of a night club that never existed. In my head, it was an art deco palace, sleek and curved like a luxury liner. There are still a few deco houses on the road that leads to St Mary's Island and perhaps they triggered my imagination. The lighthouse at St Mary's no longer guides ships into the Tyne, but it's a symbol of the place and it too plays a major part in the story.

Winning. It is Stanhope herself—a homely, overweight spinster with blotchy skin, a fondness for alcohol, and a toxic personality—who, using intuition and subtle intimidation, brings all the disorganization to an illogical but satisfying conclusion.”— Publishers Weekly on Silent Voices

Her evidential insights in this series have rarely amounted to much more than going through phone records, bank statements and CCTV, so we can’t say we’re that impressed with her detective abilities; but she is becoming a more rounded character, and all the better for it. Her father is seemingly involved with her latest case and when she visits one of his associates in prison, finds a body and then is asked to look out for someone on the outside, Vera finds herself walking a very fine line. I’ve never found her vulnerable yet still with that frown and those vinegar laced comments. Vera is fearful of facing the past and with the way the present day case pans out, I’m not surprised. Bodies at St Mary’s Light house, a dodge club at Whitley Bay – this is her most personal case yet.

Vera opens up to Aiden about her concerns, while Donahue finds another skeleton in the drain – it proves not to be Mary, but another club girl, the under-age Rebecca. Was Rebecca a witness to Marshburn’s murder, and had Scott Keane been asking awkward questions about the past events?Brace promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer, if she will look out for his daughter and grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall is dead, his body is buried close to St Mary's Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search team investigates, officers find not one skeleton, but two. 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. I loved The Seagull — quite simply it reminds me why Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers! - Louise Penny