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Reconnecting with Vera Stanhope in Ann Cleeves' sixth in the series, HARBOUR STREET, is like connecting back up with a good friend. Vera has her prickly side, but she has a very good heart, and Cleeves is as a master of characterization as Vera shares her insecurities and loneliness. With each book, the reader comes to better understand what motivates Vera and the younger (and thinner) detectives who work for her. That said, Cleeves doesn't forgo an intricate plot in deference to character. Plot, character, and location all play well together in her work.
Harbour Street is on the rundown side of town, on the fishing harbor, where Kate Dewar has attempted her own bit of gentrification by turning an old boarding house into a bed and breakfast. For years, Kate has had the assistance of Margaret, an elderly woman with a soft spot for homeless and abused women. As the book opens, Vera's favorite detective, Joe Ashworth, is in a train car when Margaret is murdered. The investigation of the murder draws us into the life of the bed and breakfast and its regulars, the women's shelter where Margaret volunteered, and the very tightly knit web of relationships in the small fishing town. Margaret had a great secret from her past that hides behind recent events, and before the secret is revealed, another murder has taken place and a third is threatened.
Vera and her detectives have difficulty coming up with a theory to tie the past to the present, and attempts toward that resolution contain enough truth to be convincing while heading into some dead ends until, of course, the last piece falls into place. The frustrations of trying to get information from closed-mouth locals who distrust the police are keenly felt by both Vera and Joe. Vera takes a more active role in the investigation than her position would actually require, and she feels deep guilt as the slow pace of progress results in a second murder and an abduction. The reader is caught up in the anxiety of the characters more than in the suspense of the decades old intrigue, resulting in an engaging but not particularly fast-paced read. Cleeves brings the setting to life so that the reader can almost smell the fish and see the land- and seascape. HARBOUR STREET, while not the most beautiful seaside locale, is a fascinating place to spend a few hours.
§ Sharon Mensing is the Head of School of Emerald Mountain School, an independent school in the mountains of Colorado, where she lives, reads, and enjoys the outdoors.
Reviewed by Sharon Mensing, December 2015
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