Publishers Weekly
08/08/2016
In British author Cleeves’s atmospheric and well-wrought seventh mystery featuring Det. Insp. Vera Stanhope (after 2015’s Harbour Street), 25-year-old graduate student Patrick Randle has come from London to house-sit for a grand family in the gentle Northumberland community of Valley Farm, but shortly into his stay, he’s found dead by the roadside. Vera later discovers the body of a middle-aged man in Patrick’s room; the two turn out to be connected only through enthusiasm for Lepidoptera. Suspicion falls on an unlikely group, the town’s clique of couples enjoying early retirement. Cleeves expertly draws Vere’s complex relations with her fellow detectives as well as the hidden springs of tension in the circle affected by the crime, touching on class relations, the ennui of middle age, and the deceits, frailties, and tenderness of long marriage. Though the book’s deliberate pace may lose pure thrill seekers, patient readers will be rewarded as dread builds and old secrets surface. Agent: Sarah Menguc, Sarah Menguc Literary Agent (U.K.). (Oct.)
From the Publisher
"Atmospheric and well-wrought." —Publishers Weekly
“It’s easy to admire Vera’s brainpower. . . her adventures have been a hit on British television, and readers devoted to Cleeves’ tales of Jimmy Perez will want to give Vera a try.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A nice mixture, in the British tradition, of social comedy and detective work. More Vera, please.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Excellent . . . Intricate plotting makes for a compulsive read.” —The Independent (UK)
“Detective Vera Stanhope is a remarkable creation.” —Bookseller (UK)
“Cleeves has hit the big time . . . This is going to be a winner!” —BBC Front Row (UK)
"The Moth Catcher is set in the picturesque part of Vera's bailiwick. The great strengths of Cleeves' writing are the beautiful and convincing characterization and the storming story line." —Crime Squad
"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)
"If you're a fan of Frances Fyfield, Minette Walters, or Val McDermid, get to know Cleeves." —The Globe and Mail (Canada)
Library Journal
05/01/2016
In this latest from Dagger Award winner Cleeves, DI Vera Stanhope finds herself in the peaceable Northumberland community of Valley Farm, where a house sitter at a grand country home has just been found murdered in the lane. Then there's that second body in the attic. Look for this as episode three in Series 6 of ITV's popular Vera.
Kirkus Reviews
2016-07-20
A series of murders in a rural area has the neighbors on edge.When a housesitter is found dead in a ditch in the Valley Farm area, DI Vera Stanhope (Harbor Street, 2015, etc.), who lives nearby, is first on the scene. Patrick Randle had been watching the house and caring for the dogs of the Carswell family, who are visiting relatives in Australia. When the police check out Randle’s attic apartment, they find another body with no identification. Vera’s team of steady Joe Ashworth and ambitious Holly Clarke soon identify the second body as that of computer specialist Martin Benton. Randle was on a break from university, and Benton was just going off invalidity benefits, claiming he’d be self-employed. The only connection the team can find between the two men is that they were both interested in moths. A nearby barn and farmhouse conversion is home to three retired families: Nigel and Lorraine Lucas, whose stunningly modern place is a real status symbol; professor John O’Kane and his wife, Janet, a former social worker; and Sam and Annie Redhead, locals who owned a highly successful restaurant in nearby Kimmerston. Although they all appear to lead idyllic lives, background checks and local gossip reveal hidden secrets and problems. The Redheads’ daughter is in jail, and the lover and employer she robbed forced Sam and Annie to sell him their restaurant. Lorraine is hiding the return of breast cancer from Nigel, and Janet is getting fed up with her husband’s domineering ways. When a third murder follows, Vera and her team must dig deep into the past and present of all involved to find the reason three seemingly unconnected people were killed. Characteristically well plotted, with plenty of complex characters to enjoy.
