Vera, Joe and co. are back in fine form.  Sadly they are all still grieving the loss of their colleague, Holly.  A new DC has been deployed with the team and she is big, brash, bold and everything Holly was not.  Which is probably just what they need!

Called out to a local private children's home, they find the body of Josh, student and volunteer, and 
 one of the young residents is missing.  Is she a victim, witness or suspect?

The hunt for Chloe leads the team around Northumbria and into the remote hills.  Another murder of a resident of Rosebank muddies the clues and Vera has to make some logic leaps to unravel the mess. 

I love that Vera is so untypical of most fictional detectives.  She's straightforward, down to earth and can be awkward.  She is gruff and caring at the same time.  As someone who actually works with these kinds of teams I can vouch for the warring personalities, dark humour survivor skillset and the pints in the pub after work! 

There are numerous twists and turns and red herrings. I can honestly say that I did not guess the murderer this time (don't tell my colleagues!). It illustrates the wash of money lining private companies pockets instead of looking after their vulnerable charges.

The description of the remote Northumbria is so evocative and really adds to the atmosphere of doom surrounding the area.

Another worthy read!