Harbour Street

A Vera Stanhope Mystery

By: Ann Cleeves

Narrated by: Janine Birkett

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 Harbour Street.

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

As the snow falls thickly on Newcastle, the shouts and laughter of Christmas revelers break the muffled silence. Detective Joe Ashworth and his daughter Jessie are swept along in the jostling crowd onto the Metro.

But when the train is stopped due to the bad weather, and the other passengers fade into the swirling snow, Jessie notices that one lady hasn't left the train: Margaret Krukowski has been fatally stabbed.

Arriving at the scene, DI Vera Stanhope is relieved to have an excuse to escape the holiday festivities. As she stands on the silent, snow-covered station platform, Vera feels a familiar buzz of anticipation, sensing that this will be a complex and unusual case.

Then, just days later, a second woman is murdered. Vera knows that to find the key to this new killing she needs to understand what had been troubling Margaret so deeply before she died - before another life is lost. She can feel in her bones that there's a link. Retracing Margaret's final steps, Vera finds herself searching deep into the hidden past of this seemingly innocent neighborhood, led by clues that keep revolving around one street...Harbour Street.

Told with piercing prose and a forensic eye, Ann Cleeves' gripping novel explores what happens when a community closes ranks to protect their own-and at what point silent witnesses become complicit.

©2014 Ann Cleeves (P)2011 Isis Publishing Ltd

too convoluted

I just got tired of reading it. Fault may be mine. I wanted to say: just get on with it.

Love Vera. The narration, not so much.

What didn’t you like about Janine Birkett’s performance?

Birkett reads this like you would read a children's book. Her 'Joe Ashworth' sounds comical, like a cartoon character. A perfect example of how substandard narration can ruin the overall experience. Maybe this narrator would be good for another story, but not an Anne Cleeves mystery!

As always, a great Vera Stanhope book.

I really really disliked the way Tom’s voice was presented. In my opinion it gave the impression he was a dolt.

Vera is a delight

Cleeves always is brilliant. It was refreshing to have a strong female lead with no distracting romance. Characters and plot were well/developed.

Wonderful, as usual

It's Ann Cleeves, so it's a given that it'll be a marvelous read. Janine Birkett does a fantastic job bringing the characters to life, especially Vera. I highly recommend this book. I just wish Audible would have more available from this series.

Pretty good

good story, but a couple of jumps were required to figure out the case

Another lovely read!

I’m so happy to hear this wonderful read of another Vera Stanhope book. These are novels that make me happy. Intelligent, stories well told, and engaging characters.

Many Surprises

Characters are not what they appear to be. Secrets from the past revealed after two murders that Vera and Joe and the team must unravel. Another excellent Vera Stanhope mystery.

so intriguing

I love the TV series. didn't Hink they could be better until I bought the audio books. The narrator is great. I can picture the TV versions of Vera and Joe as she reads. I drive a lot for work and the books make it so enjoyable I can't wait to get back in my vehicle....

Poor narrator.

My first review ever!
Prompted by narrator"s performance. Janine Birkett is really awful in this, Poor accent and intonations, dreadful reading skills. All the previous narrators in The Ann Cleeves series were great , male or females. Fortunately the storyline is engrossing as always. Sad to see that Janine Birkett is the narrator in book 8 that I just purchased. Pity!