The Dark Wives

When Josh Woodburn’s body is found outside Rosebank, a home for troubled teens, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope’s team is sent to investigate the staff member’s death; Josh was supposed to work a shift at Rosebank the night before. The murder investigation quickly expands into a search for 14-year-old Chloe Spence, who disappeared from Rosebank the same night as Jonathan’s death. Is Chloe a killer, another victim, or a terrified witness? Frantic to find the missing girl, Vera expands the search northward to the wilds of Northumberland, an area that Chloe is known to love. When the body of a different Rosebank resident is found there, Vera knows that Chloe is in danger. The ongoing search coincides with the legendary stories of the area’s standing stones, called the Three Dark Wives, and the annual ceremonial witch hunt in the community. Although the event is meant as a treat for local children and a draw for tourists, Vera knows that when the lights go out in town, she has to be prepared to find a killer—or another body. She just hopes that the next victim won’t be Chloe Spence.