The Glass Room: Ann Cleeves (Vera Stanhope)

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There were awards for VERA at the North East Royal Television Society Awards, presented at a star-studded event at the Hilton Newcastle-Gateshead in February 2022. The programme, starring Brenda Blethyn as the tenacious Detective Vera Stanhope, won the prestigious Best Drama award and the actress won for Best Drama Performance. Accepting the awards, Brenda Blethyn thanked the Royal Television Society, and said: "I am absolutely thrilled to bits. This year sees us embarking on season 12 of Vera, so that means we'll have made 50 feature length Vera films." When one of them is found hanged, Vera is called in. Learning that the dead man had recently been fired after misconduct allegations, Vera knows she must discover what the friends are hiding, and whether the events of many years before could have led to murder then, and now . . . It’s nice that we have Joe’s internal thoughts as well. They reveal information about the character, his relationship with Vera—“You’re my eyes and my ears, Joe. I’m a simple soul; I can’t talk and observe at the same time.”--and about Vera herself as she is perceived by others. In fact, the way in which we are introduced to the supporting characters is very well done. Rather than the author introduce them to us, many of them introduce themselves to another character.

DI Vera Stanhope is not one to make friends easily, but her hippy neighbours keep her well-supplied in homebrew and conversation. But when one of them goes missing, her path leads her to more than a missing friend . . . I’ve got a birthday treat for you, lad.’ And he listened as she talked about the murder, recognizing her excitement. Hearing too his wife’s voice in his head: That woman’s a ghoul – the delight she takes in other people’s misery. As in all of the books, one of the most enjoyable features is the relationship of Vera to the various members of her team and the way she manipulates and uses them, especially her sergeant, Joe. Cleeves' characterizations paint masterful portraits of Vera and the team and she allows us to eavesdrop on the interior dialogues of Vera and Joe which gives added depth to their relationship. one of the most appealing fictional detectives to emerge since Andy Dalziel got into his stride..." All eleven previous series of TV's crime drama VERA are now available to fans in both the UK and the US. They have been widely broadcast; VERA was nominated for an Edgar Award, for Dark Road, the first episode of series 6 (an original screenplay by Martha Hillier). VERA was ranked sixth best TV series of all time in a recent poll. In February 2019 it won the Judges' Award at the Royal Television Society NE Awards in Gateshead.

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Ann is the author of the books behind ITV's VERA, now in it's third series, and the BBC's SHETLAND, which will be aired in December 2012. Ann's DI Vera Stanhope series of books is set in Northumberland and features the well loved detective along with her partner Joe Ashworth. Ann's Shetland series bring us DI Jimmy Perez, investigating in the mysterious, dark, and beautiful Shetland Islands... From the 'puzzle' standpoint this makes for a very satisfying read, but there can be an element of friction between puzzles and procedurals. Puzzles thrive on all things mystic and symbolic, while procedurals demand a higher level of credibility. Taking account of this distinction I have some misgivings about the closing scenes of the investigation, and I had similar misgivings about 'Hidden Depths', the third Vera Stanhope novel. These misgivings are the reason for the phrase 'not quite a classic' in the heading of the review - and also the reason for awarding four stars rather than five. although she is lonely, obsessed with her job and over fond of a beer, Vera is one of the few fictional detectives who seems not only like a real person, but one capable of conducting a murder enquiry. Ann Cleeves brings the same skill to all her characterisations in this highly impressive story." Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan. Cleeves crafts a subtle, complex mystery, and the curmudgeonly Vera and her distinctive view of the world make this series stand out in a crowded genre."

First Sentence: Vera Stanhope climbed out of Hector’s ancient Land Rover and felt the inevitable strain on her knees. The Glass Room is the fifth book in Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope series - now the major ITV detective drama Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn. No! I did. As I’ve just said. And as I told your colleagues. On my way to the glass room, while Mother was still screaming, I bumped into the woman here in the corridor She had a knife in her hand.’ TGR is set mainly at a retreat called, The Writer's House, which was once a grand old farming property. Now, it's a business set up for budding writers who pay a hefty fee for residential courses provided by experts in the field, " … a civilized writers’ salon."The premise of The Glass Room is murder at a writers' retreat house. (One room is of course made of glass, hence the name). The plot is complicated enough that it took my full attention to follow and made it harder to name the culprit and the solution was satisfying. I did find the final scene a little predictable and therefore less exciting than it was supposed to be but even guessing how it would turn out, i was engaged. Speaking as a person who more or less devours large quantities of crime fiction – not to mention true crime – I find Vera Stanhope utterly unique. Although it is Vera’s restless intellect with which we’re primarily engaged, Joe is an important character as well, a vital sounding board for her wide-ranging thoughts and speculations. Vera is somewhere in middle age, lives alone, has no children. This in no way hinders her powers of empathy. Joe is somewhat younger, married with three small children. But for me, the interest of the book hinges on the character of Vera. Not your typical hero, especially as a woman. Middle aged (and almost beyond that), unattractive, and abrasive. And in her unassuming appearance, masking her sharp mind and superlative detecting skills, she reminded me a bit of Columbo, another favorite of mine (in fact, she does an equivalent of his casual "Oh, one more thing" after which he pounces for the kill). She irritates her colleagues but she has their (albeit sometimes grudging) respect. She is passionate about her work and while capable of sympathy and compassion for both victims and (sometimes) perpetrators, ruthless in her pursuit of justice. Plus she likes to solve the riddle: who did it?

I'm currently reading Telling Tales which I saw dramatized as one of the TV episodes. Even though I know who the killer is, I'm enjoying the writing and the characters. And the difference in the perspective of the book (a lot of which takes place before Vera arrives on the scene) is interesting.Cleeves plots skilfully, the clues are all there in this clever and convincing mystery, but most readers I suspect will miss them, so subtly and delicately are they laid. But where Cleeves excels is in characterisation, particularly with the lovable, exasperating Vera, about whom she writes with all the easy, slightly contemptuous familiarity of the long-standing best friend. Enjoy more of Vera Stanhope’s investigations with Harbour Street, The Moth Catcher, The Seagull and The Darkest Evening.

Vera does take transparent delight in her work. She’s in her element with a dead body and a crime to be solved. This is the fifth novel featuring the flawed but engagingly perceptive DI Vera Stanhope, recently portayed on TV by Brenda Blethyn. It's also the twentyfifth novel of Ann Cleeves' writing career, which - together with much else - embraces the truly excellent Shetland Quartet, a series of four novels featuring the enigmatic Fair Isle-born DI Jimmy Perez.

Summary

I love this series. I'm about to branch off into another of Cleeves' series (the Shetland series) because she's so wonderful. But it may just be that I love Vera Stanhope. I'm obsessed with the series and it's faithful to the spirit of the book (even though although Brenda Blethyn manages to look dowdy as Vera she's certainly a lot more attractive than the Vera in the book!). Cleeves is very obviously having a little postmodern fun at the expense of her more pretentious peers... a solid and enjoyably old-fashioned police-procedural yarn"