The Crow Trap by Ann Cleeves: A review

I have long enjoyed the BBC television adaptation of Ann Cleeves' Vera Stanhope mysteries as well as the other television series based on her books, Shetland. The actor who plays Vera, Brenda Blethyn, is absolutely perfect in the role, as is the man who plays her sergeant, Joe. Now that I've finally gotten around to reading the first book in the Vera series, I imagined those two actors speaking their lines as I read them. It certainly enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

Not that my enjoyment especially needed enhancing. I thought the book was wonderful in its plotting and in the characters that were introduced along the way. I can't think of a single thing that I would change about it.

All of the main characters in the story are women. We first meet Bella Furness, a middle-aged wife caring for her invalid husband. She walks out of her house one day and is next seen by Rachael Lambert who arrives in the area to lead an environmental study. When Rachael arrives at the cottage that is to be home base for the environmental study team, she is horrified to discover the body of Bella Furness hanging in the barn, an apparent suicide.

The death is ruled a suicide and meantime the other two women members of the team arrive at the cottage: Botanist Anne Preece and mammalogist Grace Fulwell. Anne is hoping to combine her work on the study with some extracurricular time spent with her lover, now that she is away from her husband. Grace, who shares a name with the prominent local family but says she isn't related, is hiding secrets of her own and is uncommunicative and unsocial with her fellow team members.

The study, which is to determine if there is an ecological reason to call a halt to a plan for a quarry nearby, begins and we spend time with each of the three women scientists. The first two-thirds of the book is spent in their company as we get to know them and follow them in their work, and through them, we get to know the surrounding community and residents who are supporting and opposing the quarry.

During all of this time, Vera Stanhope doesn't make an appearance. (Well, actually, she does make one appearance but she is never identified; however, I recognized her from her description.) But then a second death occurs and this time it is clearly murder and that brings Vera and her team on the scene. Then we get to watch her in her unique investigative style as she gets to know the characters and potential victims and/or suspects and homes in on the perpetrator. I had seen the show that was based on this book but it had been some years ago and, frankly, I did not remember who that was and so I was surprised once again when the murderer was unmasked.

The best thing about the book for me was the way that Cleeves was able to draw me into the lives of each one of the main characters and explore the psychology behind their actions. Plus there were sufficient red herrings to keep me guessing. Good stuff! A thoroughly enjoyable read.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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