The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 24 books · 1999 to 2026 · Often set in Newcastle upon Tyne

Ann Cleeves

Crime and mysteryPolice proceduralRural crime

Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope works Northumberland, Jimmy Perez works Shetland, and Matthew Venn works North Devon’s Two Rivers. All three series became long-running television dramas.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The Final Vera (2027) is not yet out. The early Inspector Ramsay and Palmer-Jones books are left out.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

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Ann Cleeves books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Vera Stanhope

11 books · Set in Newcastle upon TynePolice procedural
  1. 1The Crow Trap1999Buy on Amazon
  2. 2Telling Tales2005With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Hidden Depths2007With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Silent Voices2011With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon
  5. 5The Glass Room2012With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Harbour Street2014With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon
  7. 7The Moth Catcher2015With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon
  8. 8The Seagull2017With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon
  9. 9The Darkest Evening2020With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon
  10. 10The Rising Tide2022With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon
  11. 11The Dark Wives2024With Vera StanhopeBuy on Amazon

Shetland (Jimmy Perez)

9 books · Set in LerwickPolice proceduralRural crime
  1. 1Raven Black2006With Jimmy PerezBuy on Amazon
  2. 2White Nights2008With Jimmy PerezBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Red Bones2009With Jimmy PerezBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Blue Lightning2010With Jimmy PerezBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Dead Water2013With Jimmy PerezBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Thin Air2014With Jimmy PerezBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Cold Earth2016With Jimmy PerezBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Wild Fire2018With Jimmy PerezBuy on Amazon
  9. 9The Killing Stones2025With Jimmy PerezBuy on Amazon

Two Rivers (Matthew Venn)

4 books · Set in BarnstaplePolice procedural
  1. 1The Long Call2019With Matthew VennBuy on Amazon
  2. 2The Heron’s Cry2021With Matthew VennBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Raging Storm2023With Matthew VennBuy on Amazon
  4. 4The Dying Light2026With Matthew VennBuy on Amazon

Characters

14 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Vera Stanhope

Shetland

Two Rivers