The Darkest Evening Summary
Ann Cleeves

The Darkest Evening Overview

The Darkest Evening, a mystery/crime narrative by Ann Cleeves, is the story of Vera Stanhope, an accomplished detective shaped by her past. Clever and strong, Vera is a formidable force at work. On a personal level, she is lonely and regrets opportunities either not taken or not given to her as a result of her heritage. However, Vera begins to reconcile her past with her present when a murder case forces her to interact with relatives she hardly knows and opens opportunities to let family into her life. Told primarily from the third-person perspective of Vera, members of her team, and Vera’s relative, Juliet, the narrative explores themes related to public perception, survivor's guilt, family dynamics, effects of secrets, and the influence of the past on the present.