Looking for Vera Stanhope books in order? I’ve got the full reading order here, including the main Vera novels, short stories, and the TV adaptation.
Vera Stanhope is Ann Cleeves’s Northumberland detective, and she’s one of those characters who feels fully formed from the moment she walks onto the page. She’s blunt, sharp, messy, lonely, funny, and very hard to fool.
This guide is just for Vera. If you want Cleeves’s full bibliography, including Shetland, Matthew Venn, Palmer-Jones, Inspector Ramsay, and her standalones, I cover that separately in my Ann Cleeves books in order guide.
Jump to:
- Vera Stanhope Complete Reading Order
- Vera Stanhope Books in Publication Order
- Vera Stanhope Short Stories
- Do You Need to Read Vera Stanhope Books in Order?
- Vera TV Series
Vera Stanhope Complete Reading Order
If you want the full Vera Stanhope reading order, including the short stories, I’d use this list. The novels are the main event, but the short stories are worth knowing about if you’re trying to read everything connected to Vera.
- The Crow Trap (1999)
- Telling Tales (2005)
- Hidden Depths (2007)
- Silent Voices (2011)
- The Habit of Silence (2011) (Short Story in Best Eaten Cold and Other Stories)
- The Glass Room (2012)
- Drop Dead Gorgeous (2012) (Short Story)
- Harbour Street (2014)
- The Starlings (2015) (Short Story in The Starlings & Other Stories)
- The Moth Catcher (2015)
- The Seagull (2017)
- Frozen (2020) (Short Story)
- The Darkest Evening (2020)
- The Woman on the Island (2022) (Short Story, previously published as “Hector’s Other Woman”)
- The Rising Tide (2022)
- The Dark Wives (2024)
Vera Stanhope Books in Publication Order
If you only want the main novels, use this list. This is the simplest version of the Vera Stanhope book order.
- The Crow Trap (1999)
- Telling Tales (2005)
- Hidden Depths (2007)
- Silent Voices (2011)
- The Glass Room (2012)
- Harbour Street (2014)
- The Moth Catcher (2015)
- The Seagull (2017)
- The Darkest Evening (2020)
- The Rising Tide (2022)
- The Dark Wives (2024)
Vera Stanhope Short Stories
You don’t need the short stories to follow the main Vera novels, but I’d include them if you’re a completionist. Some are easier to find than others, so I like keeping them separate from the core book list too.
- The Habit of Silence (2011) (Short Story in Best Eaten Cold and Other Stories)
- Drop Dead Gorgeous (2012) (Short Story)
- The Starlings (2015) (Short Story in The Starlings & Other Stories)
- Frozen (2020) (Short Story)
- The Woman on the Island (2022) (Short Story, previously published as “Hector’s Other Woman”)
Do You Need to Read Vera Stanhope Books in Order?
Yes, I’d read the Vera Stanhope books in order. You can jump into many of the mysteries without being completely lost, but publication order is still the better choice.
The cases change from book to book, but Vera herself is the reason to read the series. Her relationships with Joe, Holly, and the rest of her team build over time, and the books gradually give you a better feel for who Vera is underneath all the sharp edges.
The simplest place to start is The Crow Trap. That’s where Vera first appears, and it gives you the best foundation for the rest of the series.
Vera TV Series
The Vera Stanhope books were adapted into the ITV series Vera, starring Brenda Blethyn as DCI Vera Stanhope. The show began in 2011 and ran for fourteen series.
I’d treat the TV series as its own version of Vera rather than a straight replacement for the books. Brenda Blethyn’s Vera is iconic, but the novels give you a different, deeper version of the character and her Northumberland world.
Reading the books first is my preference, especially if you care about meeting Vera the way Cleeves originally wrote her. But if the show is what brought you here, The Crow Trap is still the right place to start.
Looking for similar books in order?
If you want more mystery authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Mystery Books in Order index.