Chloe Spence is on the run. And since she’s only 14, she is literally running. She had been living at a home for troubled teens, and now she’s disappeared. And Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope needs to find her. A local dogwalker had discovered the body of Josh in a local park, and it’s up to Vera and her team to find out what had happened. Josh Woodburn had worked at the care home where Chloe had been staying, and he was a good friend to her. Now she’s missing.

That means that Chloe is on the run because she is in danger, or because she is a killer.

Chloe was in the care home because her father had left, and her mother had a depressive episode that she had to be hospitalized for. Chloe was hoping to find someone who could help her, but instead she was just put into the home. The workers there do they best they can, but they have limited resources. It’s a privately run home, but there is still only so much in the budget. Chloe left behind her journal, so Vera could get a glimpse into the teen’s mind, but there are no clues as to who could have killed Josh.

Vera knows this case will be more difficult than usual. First, she’s just hired a new officer to join the team, Rosie, and Vera is trying to be conscientious about making her feel at home. And because the private care homes for teens have been in the news, since a lot of the citizens of Northumberland were against privatizing them. So Vera is also having to balance working the case and keeping her boss informed on what the team is learning.

Meanwhile, they’re trying to track down Chloe, and they’re getting close. But Chloe is smart, and she moves on just before they get to her. In one of those spots, they find the body of another young man. On the surface, it looks like an overdose, but Vera and her team are skeptical and not find of a coincidence. And they know that it’s that much more urgent that they find Chloe.

It all comes to a head the night of the Gillstead Witch Hunt, where one of the adults dresses up like a witch and hides in the hills. Kids are sent out to try to find her, first the younger kids and after dark, the older ones. People drive from all over to join in the witch hunt, and Vera thinks that Chloe will use the witch hunt as cover. But if she’s there, then the killer will be also, and they may have only one chance to get Chloe back home safe and sound.

The Dark Wives is book eleven in the popular Vera Stanhope series from Ann Cleeves. Between the books and the television show, Vera is such an iconic character, and this story stands up to her reputation. It’s told from alternating viewpoints of Vera and her second-in-command Joe and new recruit Rosie, so you get the chance to see what different members of the team are doing and thinking, which is fun since Vera is apt to play her cards very close to her chest and not give anything away.

I listened to the audio book, narrated by Janine Birkett, who did an amazing job with those varying British accents. She gave each character a distinctive voice, and added so much texture and interest to the story. I loved this audio book so much, but I also got drawn into the story and maybe sped it up to get to the end. I would love to listen to it again knowing what’s going to happen, so I can just let myself get caught up in the story and relax into it. I think it says a lot that when you want to read a book again after you’ve just read it, so that is high praise indeed. Fans of Vera won’t want to miss this The Dark Wives.

Egalleys for The Dark Wives were provided by Minotaur Books, and an early copy of the audio book was provided by Macmillan Audio, both through NetGalley, with many thanks.