Telling Tales

A Vera Stanhope Mystery

By: Ann Cleeves

Narrated by: Julia Franklin

Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins

Publisher's summary

"Demonstrating singular adeptness with mood and pacing, narrator Julia Franklin shines in this character-rich mystery set in northern England...Franklin's performance is direct and punchy, matching the speed and shrewdness of Vera's first-rate mind." — AudioFile Magazine

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 Telling Tales.

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

It has been ten years since Jeanie Long was charged with the murder of fifteen-year-old Abigail Mantel. Now residents of the East Yorkshire village of Elvet are disturbed to hear of new evidence proving Jeanie’s innocence. Abigail’s killer is still at large.

For one young woman, Emma Bennett, the revelation brings back haunting memories of her vibrant best friend—and of that fearful winter’s day when she had discovered her body lying cold in a ditch.

As Inspector Vera Stanhope makes fresh enquiries on the peninsula and villagers are hauled back to a time they hoped to forget, tensions begin to mount. But are people afraid of the killer or of their own guilty pasts?

With each person’s story revisited, the Inspector begins to suspect that some deadly secrets are threatening to unfurl…

©2005 Ann Cleeves (P)2017 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"Demonstrating singular adeptness with mood and pacing, narrator Julia Franklin shines in this character-rich mystery set in northern England. ...While Franklin's careful portrayals of persons of interest are clear and emotionally detailed, it's her portrayal of Vera that steals the show. Though much is made of Vera's appearance—she's squat and disheveled—she is not to be underestimated. Franklin's performance is direct and punchy, matching the speed and shrewdness of Vera's first-rate mind." -AudioFile

Love that Vera

Ann Cleves does a wonderful job of character building. I especially love Vera. After reading another book in the Vera Stanhope series and not finishing it because after 24 chapters Vera was no where in sight, this book was very refreshing. The reading was outstanding!

Wonderful

I love the Ann Sleeve mystery books. I love the Vera series mystery books. I look forward to reading them all. Thank you, Ann Cleeve for sharing your talent with us all.

Too Suspenseful? Is That A Thing

With incredibly tight writing, Cleeves makes it impossible to know who dunnit until the very last. Yet I found myself disappointed at having to leave such clearly written, fully realized characters. The narrator too did a stellar job, as I couldn't have told you that I wasn't reading this myself and hearing the words in my own head!

As usual, excellent!

Moved smoothly from chapter to chapter as a fascinating story unfolded with a rather surprising wrap-up. A good listen & a good tale.

Good not great

Some difficulty staying with it. Dragged until Vera came into the story. Vera is such a strong character, it feels like she can bully the story through to its conclusion.

Very Vera

Glad to see this new reading of an early Vera Stanhope! The reading is the one downside of the production for me. Fluctuation of the reader's voice coupled with diminished sound volume of the recording itself often made for a tortuous listen. Ann Cleeves' writing rescued the overall experience IMO. If you like Vera, you can't wrong with this one.

A wonderful who done it

Another exciting mystery by Cleeves. So much fun following Vera as she works through the evidence. The narrator kept slipping into an Irish accent and that was jarring.

Enjoyed the story but beginning was slow.

It took awhile to sort out the characters. The reader was able to do voices which helped.

Was the story as good as the reader?

As an American am I qualified to judge the quality of the portrayal of English regional accents? Probably not but that will not stop me. I was totally sold on the portrayals by this reader. She was so good ( for me) it is hard to judge the merits of the story. She made it 5 stars for me. Can’t wait to start next in the series.

Love Ann Cleeves

I Really enjoyed this book it is an earlier book I think and was less police procedural , more an in depth look at the characters. Great story telling and Vera was a bit out of her comfort zone in another police area. Vera and I come from the same part of the world where the accent is very distinct I thought the narrator did a good job with Vera's voice and was excellent over all .