Wednesday, August 12, 2020

Review: Frozen: A Vera Stanhope Short Story by Ann Cleeves


Frozen: A Vera Stanhope Short Story by Ann Cleeves begins with Vera having the day off and wanting to get out and about. After getting some fresh air and seeing the sights, Vera decides to go to the small town of Corbridge for some tea and cakes. She has some and then goes across the street to Forum Books as she is enjoying her day off and not ready to go home just yet.


The store is situated in a unique building that has historical significance. It also has a body. The body has been there awhile, but, from the various items with the body, Vera is very sure of the identity. Jenny Summerhill vanished years ago, and her case has haunted Vera ever since it happened. Vera believes Jenny has now finally been found.


It is long past time to find out what happened to Jenny and Vera and her team set out to do just that in the fast moving Frozen: A Vera Stanhope Short Story. If you are like me and have never read any of the books or anything else the television series is based on and have only watched the series, there is not a lot here in terms of what Vera looks like or her past history. In fact, there is almost nothing about the background of the characters in the story except for the family of the deceased. There is some background history of them but, only in a limited sense. The focus here in this atmospheric story is pretty much only on the case and the complications caused by the winter weather as Vera and her team work to finally solve the case. You may also get the television theme song stuck in your head while reading the short story and still have it stuck in your head days later.


An enjoyable and fast read that I picked up for free after reading Lesa Holstein’s recent review of the first book in the series, The Crow Trap. Because of her review, I put a hold on a copy and that book is now in transit in my local library system headed to my Lochwood Library Branch for my next curbside pickup.




Frozen: A Vera Stanhope Short Story
Ann Cleeves
Minotaur Books
August 2020
ASIN: B08CT5FFPD
eBook
22 Pages


Kevin R. Tipple ©2020

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