Vera Stanhope book 1 · 1999
The Crow Trap
Rachael Lambert, an environmental surveyor, arrives at a remote cottage in the North Pennines and finds her friend Bella dead. Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope does not believe it was suicide. Her first case.
Spoiler-free summary written for The Recurring Cast.
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Book facts
- Author
- Ann Cleeves
- Series
- Vera Stanhope, book 1 of 11
- Published
- 1999
- Setting
- Set in Newcastle upon Tyne
- Characters charted
- 3
- Chart confidence
- Medium
The Crow Trap on screen
- Vera (2011–2025, series, ITV). Brenda Blethyn plays the shabby, brilliant DCI Vera Stanhope across fourteen series of cases in Northumberland and Tyneside, mixing adaptations of the novels with original stories.
Who is in The Crow Trap
3 recurring or key characters from Ann Cleeves’s chart. Introduces Vera Stanhope, Joe Ashworth and Hector Stanhope.
Major 1
- Vera StanhopeFirst appearanceDetective Inspector in NorthumberlandArrives partway through the story
Minor and cameo 2
- Joe AshworthFirst appearanceVera’s detective sergeant
- Hector StanhopeFirst appearanceVera’s late father, a collector of birds’ eggs
Also featuring these characters
Other Ann Cleeves books that share the most characters with The Crow Trap.
- The Seagull2017 · Vera Stanhope · 3 shared charactersBuy on Amazon
- Hidden Depths2007 · Vera Stanhope · 2 shared charactersBuy on Amazon
- Silent Voices2011 · Vera Stanhope · 2 shared charactersBuy on Amazon
- The Glass Room2012 · Vera Stanhope · 2 shared charactersBuy on Amazon