The moth catcher

The Moth Catcher is the seventh book in Ann Cleeves’s Vera Stanhope series – which is now a major ITV detective drama starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera. As though to a flame, they were drawn to their deaths . . . Life seems perfect in Valley Farm, a quiet community in Northumberland.

Then a shocking discovery shatters the silence. The owners of a big country house have employed a house-sitter, a young ecologist named Patrick, to look after the place while they’re away.

But Patrick is found dead by the side of the lane into the valley – a beautiful, lonely place to die. DI Vera Stanhope arrives on the scene and when searching the attic of the big house – where Patrick had a flat – she finds the body of a second man.

The only thing connecting the two victims is a fascination with studying moths – and catching these beautiful, rare creatures. Those who live in the close-knit Valley Farm development have secrets too, and as Vera is drawn into the claustrophobic world of this increasingly strange community, she realizes that there may be deadly secrets trapped there . . . Enjoy more of Vera Stanhope’s investigations with The Seagull and The Darkest Evening.