The ending finds history repeating itself, and one wonders whether these old sins, too, will return to haunt the characters. Probably not, since they have the privilege of headlining the show. As new evidence comes to light that Jeanie Long had been wrongfully convicted with the murder of schoolgirl Abigail Mantel, DI Vera Stanhope travels to the East Yorkshire village of Elvet to uncover the truth as the real killer is still at large. It has been ten years since Jeanie Long was charged with the murder of fifteen-year-old Abigail Mantel. Now residents of the East Yorkshire village of Elvet are disturbed to hear of new evidence proving Jeanie’s innocence. Abigail’s killer is still at large.

This book and the TV series are so remarkably in sync it's a delight for the reader. Excellently written and thought out in each detail with the characters playing their parts on the surface and uncovering their darker sides beneath. A nice mixture, in the British tradition, of social comedy and detective work. More Vera, please." — Booklist (starred review) This second book in the Vera Stanhope series was better than the first, but I think there’s still lots of room for improvement. Much of the book is spent getting the reader comfortable with all the players, but I still had to stop every now and then to keep them straight in my head. Michael and Peg Long have a daughter, Jeanie, who lived with a man, Keith Mantel, whose daughter, Abigail, was murdered. Abigail's friend, Emma Bennett, wife of James and mother of Matthew, found the body. Jeanie is convicted, but ten years later, the case is reopened. Emma's parents are Robert and Mary Winter. Robert was Jeanie's probation officer. Their son, and Emma's brother, Christopher, is found murdered. That’s basically it in a nutshell. The interrelationships with these characters sometimes made me want to scream. Emma especially needed straightening out. Vera: Series 1 - 9 (DVD)". Ezy DVD. Archived from the original on 11 July 2020 . Retrieved 22 August 2022.Now Inspector Vera Stanhope is making fresh enquiries amongst the residents of Elvet, the small East Yorkshire village where Emma and Abigail grew up. Everyone is feeling vulnerable and uneasy, even guilty. On Sunday, her head filled with confused memories, Emma attends church with her husband, James, and her infant son. As she sits holding her son, Matthew, on her lap, she wonders if the tragedy will be announced from the altar. Vera: Series 1 - 7 (DVD)". Ezy DVD. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017 . Retrieved 22 August 2022. We also follow Jeanie's father who is a broken man after realizing that his daughter was innocent and he didn't see her or defend her. He and Vera end up making an unlikely friendship I thought with him doing what he could to help her out on the case, and Vera trying to not get too irritated with him.

The season as a whole? A solid introduction to a good show. It has glorious scenery and cinematography, a fascinating partnership between Vera and Joe, good secondary cast in Kenny, Billy, and Holly - it's a shame it's so often overshadowed by other detective shows with more buzz - it's a glorious hidden gem. The woman was in a shapeless Crimplene dress covered with small purple flowers and a fluffy purple cardigan. Despite the cold, on her feet she wore flat leather sandals. Then, Emma notices a large woman in the church, a stranger, and wonders who she is. By the description, we readers know immediately. At the center of this is silent, enigmatic Adam. Vera isn’t tremendously enthusiastic about that, since she doesn’t really know how to deal with kids. I suppose one could call this the Spielberg Episode: inevitably, if a lonely adult has issues relating to kids, they must be thrown together in a dangerous situation and learn to bond ( Jurassic Park, anyone?) This is the case in Little Lazarus as well. Ten years ago fifteen-year-old Abigail Mantel was murdered, her cold body discovered lying in a ditch. Her father’s girlfriend was found guilty of the crime. Now, evidence has emerged that proves her innocence and means that Abigail’s killer still roams free.

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)

Telling Tales revisits a 10-year old murder after the woman convicted of the crime kills herself in prison and after a new witness comes up clearing her of the murder. Vera Stanhope is assigned to go to the Yorkshire village of Elvet to re-open the investigation. Another murder takes place while Vera is there, begging the question if this murder is related to the previous. Keith Mantel's young girlfriend, Jeanie Long, had moved into his home and Abigail vowed to get her out. She was pleased when she managed to do just that. But Jeanie was arrested for Abigail's murder; she had no alibi and was convicted. Ten years later a witness has come forward who saw her in London on the day of the killing; too late, however, for Jeanie has hanged herself in prison. ITV Vera role for Hollyoaks villain Rhiannon Clements as cast 'shaken up' for new series". Chronicle Live . Retrieved 31 August 2023.We also follow up with the original investigator and another officer on the case and we find out how their lives changed too. Vera’s father has just died and Joe reluctantly scatters old man Stanhope’s ashes over the river. It's the beginning of a long character arc. Vera's father shaped every facet of who she is - that she moves into his home and begins to drive his car is quite a strong symbol. Ten-years-ago when Emma Winter moved to the village of Elvet, East Yorkshire and her early days were filled by her sole friendship, with the vibrant and ethereal beauty of best friend, fifteen-year-old Abigail Mantel. Both misfits in their own way, Emma longed for escape to the Old Chalet and Abigail’s glamorous lifestyle with her widowed and charismatic father, Keith. Within six-months of moving to Elvet, Emma’s life was blighted by the discovery of her friends body, strangled to death. The much younger girlfriend of Keith, Jeanie Long, was sentenced to life imprisonment, unable to offer a corroborated alibi and given her fractious relationship with Abigail and Keith asking her to move out of the home she had spent three-months living at. However, ten years later and turned down for parole, Jeanie Long’s suicide prior to a new witness coming forward sees DI Vera Stanhope casting fresh eyes over an investigation that the neighbouring force of Yorkshire originally presided over. It doesn’t take Vera too long to unsettle villagers and enthuse Elvet with her mischievous energy and get to grips with the very ferocity of human emotions and the lengths that it can drive people to. Only my second Vera Stanhope book but strong writing, humanly messy characters and a sense of place are becoming the hallmarks of this series. I’m so glad it’s a long-lived series because I look forward to being drawn in, again and again. The dead woman was the boy’s mother, it turns out, and she’s been on the run. Most of the story is spent trying to determine who she really was, where she came from, who was pursuing her. As it turns out, it was one sin, long ago, which snowballed into this tremendous mess of death and betrayal.