The Sleeping and the Dead

Really liked this book, had no idea who had committed the crimes until it was revealed in last chapter, couldn't out it down !

As with some of the other previewers I found this story disappointing. i am not keen on this Part 1, Part 2 etc, as going into Part 2 felt like starting another story. I did read the whole story but as with others I much preferred the "Shetland" series. To me DI Porteus seemed a bit distant as though he was working from another place. Sorry A.C. !!

Very well set up storylines which keep the interest tugging you along. The red herrings are subtle enough without giving anything away. Good twist at the end.

Somehow, this felt like a quite different novel to Ann Cleeve’s previous books; perhaps because the focus of attention was less on the police team and more on the other players. I didn’t give it 5 stars as I wasn’t totally convinced about the police lead’s character; maybe I need to see it fleshed out in another novel. Nevertheless, an unpredictable plot made for an intriguing and enjoyable read.

Was really looking forward to reading this, but was quite disappointed. This was not on a par with the Shetland series, but readable just the same. Give me Jimmy Perez anyway, this detective (Porteous) was not in the same lass.

3.5-4*.The Sleeping and The Dead is a stand-alone novel. The main characters are Detective Peter Porteous, Detective Stout and Hannah Morton a prison librarian.When a body is found after being in a lake for over a decade it coincides with a reunion that Hannah Morton has been avoiding for several years. This year, however, she decides to go. She is divorced so asks her daughter to go with her. Staying with an old school friend, who is now married to one of their teachers, Hannah and her daughter find out that the body is that of Michael Grey. Michael and Hannah were an item back in the day. Porteous and Stout want to speak with all Michael friends, schoolmates to help find out what happened and how he ended up in the lake.Stout has strong feelings that a chap who was ‘known’ to have been a peadophile at the time must have been involved. There had been another child found dead around the same time Michael went missing but nothing could be proved.Porteous is a thorough detective. He had been moved to this quieter station after having a breakdown and his superiors felt it would be less stressful. Now he’s in charge of a murder investigation.Porteous and Stout have there differences but seem to manage to make a reasonable fist of working together and with the team. They are both meticulous and determined to resolve what happened the night Michael died.We have what is happening from the point of view of Hannah too. She has become friendly with a colleague to whom she turns for advice. He becomes interested in the investigation and does a little sleuthing too.It is however Porteous whose steadfast investigation, along with Stout and the team, that enables him to make the connections which lead to solving the murder.This one-off book, first published nearly two decades ago, gives the reader a strong indication of Ann Cleeves writing ability. She’d already had the George and Molly books published. Then the DCI Vera Stanhope series of books had started to be published in 1999 and that, as we all know, has gone onto become a beloved series not only in book form but on television. With The Sleeping and The Dead it is as if the author was demonstrating just how well she could write a male lead character. However, it seems Porteous was not the one to equal Vera – a character that Ann Cleeves has written into all of our hearts. No, we would have to wait until an isolated Shetland Island Mystery series and a certain DI Perez, a few years later, for that.I enjoyed reading this book, I quite liked Porteous and whilst there was enough about him in this book it did seem as though this could have gone on to be more than just one book if Ann Cleeves had wanted to expand his character and, of course, had in mind other cases or had wanted to venture down the cold case road.The Sleeping and The Dead is well written, an enjoyable cold case/murder mystery and one I was glad to find and catch up with. If you’re looking for an Ann Cleeves book whilst awaiting her newest Vera or the second book in the Two Rivers books I would certainly recommend this.

Well written - if a little bleak in parts. Rebecca Trope books always give a real sense of place and communities.

I really enjoyed this story, it was fast paced, and I liked the way the characters came to life for me. The background detail was very interesting too.