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Two Rivers #4
The Dying Light
Not yet published
Expected 29 Sep 26DI Matthew Venn peels back layer upon layer to discover the dark secrets one family is keeping in this searing new novel, brimming with energy and taut with claustrophobic tension.
A scorching heatwave marks the start of the summer in Devon. Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death, when the body of a young woman, Lottie, is found in the swimming pool of a luxurious holiday home. The girl’s best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing. The girls had arrived in Devon a few days ahead of the family to celebrate the end of their school exams, and had managed to make waves during their short time there; they disrupted the folk music festival at the neighboring farm, with Lottie posting incendiary videos on social media mocking what she snobbishly considered to be a parochial community.
When further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community filled with secrets. Hannah’s father, Paul Armstrong, is a rising political star, a fact that quickly draws intense media scrutiny to the case, not least because there are many who would want to take him down. With the summer heat come holidaymakers, and it emerges that some of them may have more connections with the Armstrong family than first thought.
Caught between a powerful family's secrets and a powder keg of local tensions, Venn and his team must navigate a treacherous path. He knows all too well that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silence that they keep . . .
A scorching heatwave marks the start of the summer in Devon. Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death, when the body of a young woman, Lottie, is found in the swimming pool of a luxurious holiday home. The girl’s best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing. The girls had arrived in Devon a few days ahead of the family to celebrate the end of their school exams, and had managed to make waves during their short time there; they disrupted the folk music festival at the neighboring farm, with Lottie posting incendiary videos on social media mocking what she snobbishly considered to be a parochial community.
When further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community filled with secrets. Hannah’s father, Paul Armstrong, is a rising political star, a fact that quickly draws intense media scrutiny to the case, not least because there are many who would want to take him down. With the summer heat come holidaymakers, and it emerges that some of them may have more connections with the Armstrong family than first thought.
Caught between a powerful family's secrets and a powder keg of local tensions, Venn and his team must navigate a treacherous path. He knows all too well that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silence that they keep . . .
Kindle Edition
Expected publication September 29, 2026
About the author
Ann Cleeves
130 books9,187 followersAnn is the author of the books behind ITV's VERA, now in it's third series, and the BBC's SHETLAND, which will be aired in December 2012. Ann's DI Vera Stanhope series of books is set in Northumberland and features the well loved detective along with her partner Joe Ashworth. Ann's Shetland series bring us DI Jimmy Perez, investigating in the mysterious, dark, and beautiful Shetland Islands...
Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.
While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person's not heavily into birds - and Ann isn't - there's not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.
In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.
For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony
Ann's short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.
In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA's Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world's largest award for crime fiction.
Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: "I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock - but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I'd lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn't have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!"
The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).
Ann's books have been translated into sixteen languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200
Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.
While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person's not heavily into birds - and Ann isn't - there's not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.
In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.
For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony
Ann's short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.
In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA's Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world's largest award for crime fiction.
Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: "I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock - but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I'd lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn't have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!"
The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).
Ann's books have been translated into sixteen languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200
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May 31, 2026
Two Rivers series - Matthew Venn #4
The Tides is the North Devon holiday home of government minister Paul Armstrong and it’s where the body of a young woman is found in the swimming pool and from where Paul‘s daughter Hannah goes missing. DI Matthew Venn and his team are called to investigate in the knowledge that all their moves will be heavily scrutinised by the media who will be desperate for answers as well as a scoop. Can the team navigate the secrets and lies and get to the truth before pressure is brought to bear from the Home Office and the investigation is taken out of Matthew’s hands?
I enjoy this latest addition to the Two Rivers series with the storyline building slowly and steadily perhaps as languidly as the heat wave the whole country is experiencing. This pace suits Matthew to perfection, anything else would not be true to his personality and one of the things that Ann Cleeves is very good at, is creating really interesting characters. Matthew fascinates me, his character traits are formed by his past, he’s a quiet, thoughtful and reflective man, certainly dogged by anxiety and doubt, but he’s calm and measured which is always a bonus in a murder inquiry. However, it is fair to say that sometimes his team and the powers that be would prefer a faster pace! Matthew’s husband Jonathan provides the security he needs and there’s a storyline that follows him in this one. All the characters are well portrayed with DS Jen Rafferty being very likeable.
The mystery is good and central to it are the personalities of the two girls at the heart of the mystery and the author allows readers to get to know them and their families as well as the community around the holiday home. The story telling is straightforward, there’s nothing superfluous and it’s engaging, keeping me immersed and vicariously enjoying being in Devon! There are a number of red herrings and blind alleys as well as twists and turns until it arrives at a good ending.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pan Mcmillan for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
The Tides is the North Devon holiday home of government minister Paul Armstrong and it’s where the body of a young woman is found in the swimming pool and from where Paul‘s daughter Hannah goes missing. DI Matthew Venn and his team are called to investigate in the knowledge that all their moves will be heavily scrutinised by the media who will be desperate for answers as well as a scoop. Can the team navigate the secrets and lies and get to the truth before pressure is brought to bear from the Home Office and the investigation is taken out of Matthew’s hands?
I enjoy this latest addition to the Two Rivers series with the storyline building slowly and steadily perhaps as languidly as the heat wave the whole country is experiencing. This pace suits Matthew to perfection, anything else would not be true to his personality and one of the things that Ann Cleeves is very good at, is creating really interesting characters. Matthew fascinates me, his character traits are formed by his past, he’s a quiet, thoughtful and reflective man, certainly dogged by anxiety and doubt, but he’s calm and measured which is always a bonus in a murder inquiry. However, it is fair to say that sometimes his team and the powers that be would prefer a faster pace! Matthew’s husband Jonathan provides the security he needs and there’s a storyline that follows him in this one. All the characters are well portrayed with DS Jen Rafferty being very likeable.
The mystery is good and central to it are the personalities of the two girls at the heart of the mystery and the author allows readers to get to know them and their families as well as the community around the holiday home. The story telling is straightforward, there’s nothing superfluous and it’s engaging, keeping me immersed and vicariously enjoying being in Devon! There are a number of red herrings and blind alleys as well as twists and turns until it arrives at a good ending.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pan Mcmillan for the much appreciated early copy in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Ann Cleeves continues to prove why she is one of the most reliable voices in contemporary crime fiction with The Dying Light, a strong fourth installment in the Matthew Venn series. Set against a sweltering Devon heatwave, the novel combines a compelling mystery with the author's trademark exploration of family dynamics, community tensions, and the secrets people keep hidden behind carefully constructed facades.
The plot begins with the death of a young woman found in a swimming pool and the disappearance of her best friend, but what initially appears straightforward quickly grows more complex. Cleeves expertly peels back layer after layer of deception, drawing connections between local residents, holidaymakers, politics, social media, and long-buried grievances. The oppressive summer heat and the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small community under scrutiny create a palpable sense of tension throughout.
What continues to elevate this series for me, however, is Matthew Venn himself. In this novel, he feels increasingly confident and mature in his role as a detective. He has grown into his leadership position, trusting his team while still displaying the empathy and thoughtful observation that make him such an effective investigator. Rather than relying on dramatic breakthroughs, Venn solves cases by listening carefully and noticing what others overlook.
I also appreciated the continued development of his personal life. His relationship with his husband, Jonathan, remains one of the series' strengths. Their marriage feels authentic and lived-in, providing warmth and stability amid the darkness of the investigation. Cleeves portrays their partnership with a quiet tenderness and respect that adds emotional depth without overwhelming the mystery.
Equally compelling is Matthew's still-fractured relationship with his mother. The wounds left by his upbringing in the strict religious community that rejected him have not magically healed, and the novel continues to explore the complicated mixture of love, resentment, obligation, and grief that defines their connection. These scenes add a layer of emotional realism that makes Matthew far more than just another detective protagonist.
My only reason for not rating the book higher is that some sections felt a bit slower than necessary, particularly in the middle, as the investigation broadened and the cast of suspects expanded. Still, the payoff is satisfying, and the resolution feels both believable and emotionally resonant.
The Dying Light is a thoughtful, character-driven mystery that balances an intricate plot with genuine emotional insight. Fans of the series will enjoy seeing Matthew Venn continue to grow both professionally and personally, while newcomers will find a well-crafted crime novel that stands comfortably on its own. I am anxiously looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin' Press for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on September 29, 2026.
The plot begins with the death of a young woman found in a swimming pool and the disappearance of her best friend, but what initially appears straightforward quickly grows more complex. Cleeves expertly peels back layer after layer of deception, drawing connections between local residents, holidaymakers, politics, social media, and long-buried grievances. The oppressive summer heat and the claustrophobic atmosphere of a small community under scrutiny create a palpable sense of tension throughout.
What continues to elevate this series for me, however, is Matthew Venn himself. In this novel, he feels increasingly confident and mature in his role as a detective. He has grown into his leadership position, trusting his team while still displaying the empathy and thoughtful observation that make him such an effective investigator. Rather than relying on dramatic breakthroughs, Venn solves cases by listening carefully and noticing what others overlook.
I also appreciated the continued development of his personal life. His relationship with his husband, Jonathan, remains one of the series' strengths. Their marriage feels authentic and lived-in, providing warmth and stability amid the darkness of the investigation. Cleeves portrays their partnership with a quiet tenderness and respect that adds emotional depth without overwhelming the mystery.
Equally compelling is Matthew's still-fractured relationship with his mother. The wounds left by his upbringing in the strict religious community that rejected him have not magically healed, and the novel continues to explore the complicated mixture of love, resentment, obligation, and grief that defines their connection. These scenes add a layer of emotional realism that makes Matthew far more than just another detective protagonist.
My only reason for not rating the book higher is that some sections felt a bit slower than necessary, particularly in the middle, as the investigation broadened and the cast of suspects expanded. Still, the payoff is satisfying, and the resolution feels both believable and emotionally resonant.
The Dying Light is a thoughtful, character-driven mystery that balances an intricate plot with genuine emotional insight. Fans of the series will enjoy seeing Matthew Venn continue to grow both professionally and personally, while newcomers will find a well-crafted crime novel that stands comfortably on its own. I am anxiously looking forward to the next book in the series. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin' Press for providing me with a copy of this book. It will be published on September 29, 2026.
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.
This is the fourth in a series involving Detective Matthew Venn, and though I hadn't read the previous three, it was easy enough to follow along with this one. Interesting mystery that immediately introduces a dead girl and a missing one, and Detective Venn and his team have to solve the mystery of her death and find the missing girl as well. The local village has a cast of interesting characters, many of which are plausible suspects, and it kept me guessing until the end with a bunch of red herrings. There's some personal drama going on in Venn's life that perhaps I would have found more interesting had I read the previous books in the series, but in this one, it felt like a distraction that just kept Venn away from the action at certain times, and it also made the ending feel a bit awkward.
The dead girl is Lottie Cauldwell, an aspiring swimmer who's come to a fancy holiday home with her friend, Hannah Armstrong. Hannah has gone missing, and her family owns the fancy house, her father being a famous politician. There was a local music festival that happened the weekend before their deaths, and it was organized by a family running a local farm, which adds more suspects to the pool. The setup is done well, with the discovery of the body happening immediately, and the action picks up quickly. The village and its various inhabitants are described well, creating a bunch of plausible suspects for the crimes. Family secrets are unearthed as the investigation continues, and the revelations come at a fairly good pace, though perhaps sagging a bit in the middle.
Venn has some personal drama on the side when his husband, Jonathan, decides to contact his birth mother, and this creates a bunch of distractions over the course of the book. It seemed like his personal affairs kept Venn away from his job right when important things were happening, which just seemed to drag out the plot rather than create interesting tension. The ending also involves Jonathan's personal issues and leaves the book on a somewhat ambiguous note, rather than ending with the resolution of the crimes, and it felt like an awkward, tacked-on ending. There's also a bunch of times when Venn makes assumptions that turn out to be wrong later. Though he does acknowledge this later on, it happens quite a lot, and it seems to drag out the plot unnecessarily, though I suppose it does humanize Venn a bit.
It's a well-constructed mystery, with the setting and the setup to the crime done well, and pretty good pacing throughout, except maybe in the middle parts. I just wish that Venn didn't have personal drama distracting him just to drag out the plot, though it does help develop his character.
This is the fourth in a series involving Detective Matthew Venn, and though I hadn't read the previous three, it was easy enough to follow along with this one. Interesting mystery that immediately introduces a dead girl and a missing one, and Detective Venn and his team have to solve the mystery of her death and find the missing girl as well. The local village has a cast of interesting characters, many of which are plausible suspects, and it kept me guessing until the end with a bunch of red herrings. There's some personal drama going on in Venn's life that perhaps I would have found more interesting had I read the previous books in the series, but in this one, it felt like a distraction that just kept Venn away from the action at certain times, and it also made the ending feel a bit awkward.
The dead girl is Lottie Cauldwell, an aspiring swimmer who's come to a fancy holiday home with her friend, Hannah Armstrong. Hannah has gone missing, and her family owns the fancy house, her father being a famous politician. There was a local music festival that happened the weekend before their deaths, and it was organized by a family running a local farm, which adds more suspects to the pool. The setup is done well, with the discovery of the body happening immediately, and the action picks up quickly. The village and its various inhabitants are described well, creating a bunch of plausible suspects for the crimes. Family secrets are unearthed as the investigation continues, and the revelations come at a fairly good pace, though perhaps sagging a bit in the middle.
Venn has some personal drama on the side when his husband, Jonathan, decides to contact his birth mother, and this creates a bunch of distractions over the course of the book. It seemed like his personal affairs kept Venn away from his job right when important things were happening, which just seemed to drag out the plot rather than create interesting tension. The ending also involves Jonathan's personal issues and leaves the book on a somewhat ambiguous note, rather than ending with the resolution of the crimes, and it felt like an awkward, tacked-on ending. There's also a bunch of times when Venn makes assumptions that turn out to be wrong later. Though he does acknowledge this later on, it happens quite a lot, and it seems to drag out the plot unnecessarily, though I suppose it does humanize Venn a bit.
It's a well-constructed mystery, with the setting and the setup to the crime done well, and pretty good pacing throughout, except maybe in the middle parts. I just wish that Venn didn't have personal drama distracting him just to drag out the plot, though it does help develop his character.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Disclaimer: I received an ARC via Netgalley.
While the adaption of the first book of this series, has not resulted in the full multi season series that is as popular as Vera and Shetland, Two Rivers is actually my favorite Cleves series.
Matthew has his issues, but they are, if not everybody issues, common ones. True, being raised in a cult perhaps is not common, but the family issues and lack of social security are something that speaks to many people. He also starts the series, and continues to be in the series, a happy, if insecure married man. The lack of a tragic back story is comforting. If Vera is the mother detective whose calling you pet has you warned, Matthew is the elder brother who you do not want to be quietly disappointed in you.
This outing finds Matthew and co dealing with the fates of two seventeen-year-old girls, one of whom is the daughter of a rising political star. Both Jen and Ross are back. Ross, in fact, has grown as character becoming more than the seeming entitled young man, he was at the start of the series. There is a wonderful scene of Ross channeling both Jen and Matthew, as well as scene where Jen and by extension sees a possible reason for how Ross was at the start of the series.
It is too Cleves credit that she never takes the eye off the fact that it is a personal tragedy for the families involved. Cleeves takes the time to detail the families and the various drives and ambitions that each have. All of this makes for a compelling and engrossing mystery that addresses a variety of issues, including the tensions between old-timers and newcomers in smaller villages and towns. While Cleeves makes good use of blind alleys and other wrong turnings, nothing feels forced or contrived. The whole mystery and its solution have a sense of “could very well happen” about it. While some mysteries and fiction read as if cause driven, sometimes to the point of the reader feeling like they are being beaten over the head with a stick to get the lesson – that is not the case here. There are themes for sure, but Cleeves, like Matthew, lets the reader find their own way. If there is a lesson, it’s very lightly given.
The mystery in some ways mirrors what is going on in Matthew’s private life as he supports Johnathan, who is searching for his birthplace mother. That plot point is given something of a resolution but also shows that Jen and Ross are not the only ones growing for the better. Part of what makes this series work is that Matthew, despite his non-standard religious upbringing, is very much an everyman in every way that truly matters
While the adaption of the first book of this series, has not resulted in the full multi season series that is as popular as Vera and Shetland, Two Rivers is actually my favorite Cleves series.
Matthew has his issues, but they are, if not everybody issues, common ones. True, being raised in a cult perhaps is not common, but the family issues and lack of social security are something that speaks to many people. He also starts the series, and continues to be in the series, a happy, if insecure married man. The lack of a tragic back story is comforting. If Vera is the mother detective whose calling you pet has you warned, Matthew is the elder brother who you do not want to be quietly disappointed in you.
This outing finds Matthew and co dealing with the fates of two seventeen-year-old girls, one of whom is the daughter of a rising political star. Both Jen and Ross are back. Ross, in fact, has grown as character becoming more than the seeming entitled young man, he was at the start of the series. There is a wonderful scene of Ross channeling both Jen and Matthew, as well as scene where Jen and by extension sees a possible reason for how Ross was at the start of the series.
It is too Cleves credit that she never takes the eye off the fact that it is a personal tragedy for the families involved. Cleeves takes the time to detail the families and the various drives and ambitions that each have. All of this makes for a compelling and engrossing mystery that addresses a variety of issues, including the tensions between old-timers and newcomers in smaller villages and towns. While Cleeves makes good use of blind alleys and other wrong turnings, nothing feels forced or contrived. The whole mystery and its solution have a sense of “could very well happen” about it. While some mysteries and fiction read as if cause driven, sometimes to the point of the reader feeling like they are being beaten over the head with a stick to get the lesson – that is not the case here. There are themes for sure, but Cleeves, like Matthew, lets the reader find their own way. If there is a lesson, it’s very lightly given.
The mystery in some ways mirrors what is going on in Matthew’s private life as he supports Johnathan, who is searching for his birthplace mother. That plot point is given something of a resolution but also shows that Jen and Ross are not the only ones growing for the better. Part of what makes this series work is that Matthew, despite his non-standard religious upbringing, is very much an everyman in every way that truly matters
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I read The Dying Light because Ann Cleeves doesn't feel the need to shout to get a point across. She’s consistent, and being back in North Devon with Matthew Venn felt right. The setup is almost annoyingly relevant: a dead woman in a fancy pool, a heatwave making everyone snap at each other, and a missing friend. Adding a rising politician who owns the place and a music festival that brought "outsiders" into the mix creates a mess that feels real. Venn is the only one who can untangle it, mostly because his religious upbringing taught him exactly how much people can hide in their silence.
Venn isn't your typical cliché. He isn't the alcoholic detective with a grudge; he’s just a man trying to be honest about his marriage and his past. His team, especially Jen Rafferty, works as a blunt contrast to his quiet, methodical style. The people in this town don't feel like cardboard suspects. They have histories and grudges that go back decades, and the heatwave bakes those secrets out of them. It’s a sharp look at how a landscape actually shapes the people trapped in it.
I liked how Cleeves handles the gap between the powerful and the invisible. When a political career is used as a shield, a death at a festival is just a PR nightmare for some but a total tragedy for everyone else. The writing is lean. It skips the decorative filler you usually find in police procedurals and focuses on the physical heat and the weight of what isn't being said. The tone is observational, a bit cynical, and fits the Devon coast perfectly.
The pacing is very deliberate, and I’ll admit I wanted the middle to move faster. Cleeves likes to linger, and while the atmosphere is thick, I sometimes wanted the investigation to stop looking at the scenery and start knocking on doors. But her skill is in those quiet moments. She makes a conversation over tea feel more dangerous than a high-speed chase. The ending doesn't offer any cheap miracles; it leaves you feeling a bit unsettled, which is exactly the point.
This book is a reminder that Cleeves is the standard for a reason. She knows the deadliest truths are whispered, not shouted. It respects your intelligence and avoids the flashy tricks that usually ruin the genre. If you want a story that captures the mood of a community under real pressure, this is as good as it gets.
Venn isn't your typical cliché. He isn't the alcoholic detective with a grudge; he’s just a man trying to be honest about his marriage and his past. His team, especially Jen Rafferty, works as a blunt contrast to his quiet, methodical style. The people in this town don't feel like cardboard suspects. They have histories and grudges that go back decades, and the heatwave bakes those secrets out of them. It’s a sharp look at how a landscape actually shapes the people trapped in it.
I liked how Cleeves handles the gap between the powerful and the invisible. When a political career is used as a shield, a death at a festival is just a PR nightmare for some but a total tragedy for everyone else. The writing is lean. It skips the decorative filler you usually find in police procedurals and focuses on the physical heat and the weight of what isn't being said. The tone is observational, a bit cynical, and fits the Devon coast perfectly.
The pacing is very deliberate, and I’ll admit I wanted the middle to move faster. Cleeves likes to linger, and while the atmosphere is thick, I sometimes wanted the investigation to stop looking at the scenery and start knocking on doors. But her skill is in those quiet moments. She makes a conversation over tea feel more dangerous than a high-speed chase. The ending doesn't offer any cheap miracles; it leaves you feeling a bit unsettled, which is exactly the point.
This book is a reminder that Cleeves is the standard for a reason. She knows the deadliest truths are whispered, not shouted. It respects your intelligence and avoids the flashy tricks that usually ruin the genre. If you want a story that captures the mood of a community under real pressure, this is as good as it gets.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.
The Heron's Cry is the fourth Matthew Venn procedural murder mystery by Ann Cleeves. Due out 29th Sept 2026 from Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 384 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.
This is another beautifully written mystery set in North Devon and featuring Detective Matthew Venn, a cerebral and solemnly intelligent investigator tasked with unraveling the tragic deaths of two young women at a very high-end summer home. The pacing of the investigation is unhurried and the characters built up so well and in such detail that they live and breathe. The secondary characters are carefully and completely delineated and distinct. Even Lucy Braddick from the earlier books in the series is included tangentially in this book as well. It really was a delight to read.
Although it's the fourth book in the series, it works very well as a standalone. This book is also quite intricately plotted, but there aren't any major spoilers if they're read out of order. The denouement and resolution were exciting and well crafted, although melancholy.
The language is rough in places (R-rated), and there are some blood/gore descriptions on page.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 10 hours 48 minutes, and is expertly read by series narrator Jack Holden. He has a pleasantly nuanced voice and manages numerous characters with widely divergent accents (and ages, and both sexes) impressively well. One of the main characters is from Liverpool, the secondary characters are varied and have accents from Scotland to the Southwest and points in between, and he manages all of them with expertise and precision. Sound quality and production values are high throughout.
Four and a half stars. It would be an excellent choice for public or home library acquisition, as well as a series binge or buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
The Heron's Cry is the fourth Matthew Venn procedural murder mystery by Ann Cleeves. Due out 29th Sept 2026 from Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 384 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.
This is another beautifully written mystery set in North Devon and featuring Detective Matthew Venn, a cerebral and solemnly intelligent investigator tasked with unraveling the tragic deaths of two young women at a very high-end summer home. The pacing of the investigation is unhurried and the characters built up so well and in such detail that they live and breathe. The secondary characters are carefully and completely delineated and distinct. Even Lucy Braddick from the earlier books in the series is included tangentially in this book as well. It really was a delight to read.
Although it's the fourth book in the series, it works very well as a standalone. This book is also quite intricately plotted, but there aren't any major spoilers if they're read out of order. The denouement and resolution were exciting and well crafted, although melancholy.
The language is rough in places (R-rated), and there are some blood/gore descriptions on page.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 10 hours 48 minutes, and is expertly read by series narrator Jack Holden. He has a pleasantly nuanced voice and manages numerous characters with widely divergent accents (and ages, and both sexes) impressively well. One of the main characters is from Liverpool, the secondary characters are varied and have accents from Scotland to the Southwest and points in between, and he manages all of them with expertise and precision. Sound quality and production values are high throughout.
Four and a half stars. It would be an excellent choice for public or home library acquisition, as well as a series binge or buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Hannah and BFF Lottie spend a few days at Hannah’s holiday home before her family arrive. On arrival they find Lottie dead and Hannah missing. Hannah’s father is a Government Minister tipped as a future PM, so the police are quickly on the scene, in the form of DI Matthew Venn and his core team, DS Jen Rafferty and DC Ross May. The holiday home is in North Devon and this local team, although highly regarded, will be under scrutiny from Senior officers and the Home Office because of the political impact. The two girls, both aged seventeen, had just finished their A Levels and had been afforded this freedom from parental supervision as a reward. They had tried and failed to get a drink at the local Inn, but had more success at the two day music festival organised by the neighbouring farm, which also runs a Glamping operation. Lottie was last seen at the end of the festival and Hannah last seen the following morning, having spent the night at the farm. Suspects galore, but none with a really clear motive, and all with reasonable alibis. Venn is a slow, methodical detective, with a rather complicated background; rejected from the cultish sect in which he was raised, partly for apostasy and partly because he is homosexual. Married to Jonathan, but with insecurity issues he is concerned because the latter is planning to meet with his birth mother. Will this interfere with his deductive skills?
This is the fourth in a series but can be read as a standalone, because there is no relevant connection with the earlier cases except Venn and his team. The story is well constructed and well written, a murder-mystery but not a thriller, slow paced, because Venn is slow paced, his domestic issue is a drag, there is a lot of traversing and re-traversing of the same space, talking to the same people, there is implied pressure on the team to resolve the case quickly or lose it, but this doesn’t spur things along. The resolution is logical, the killer deducible, but even this stage is rather pedestrian. So it’s a solid, safe, police procedural, with a reasonable plot. Gentle might be a fair definition.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
This is the fourth in a series but can be read as a standalone, because there is no relevant connection with the earlier cases except Venn and his team. The story is well constructed and well written, a murder-mystery but not a thriller, slow paced, because Venn is slow paced, his domestic issue is a drag, there is a lot of traversing and re-traversing of the same space, talking to the same people, there is implied pressure on the team to resolve the case quickly or lose it, but this doesn’t spur things along. The resolution is logical, the killer deducible, but even this stage is rather pedestrian. So it’s a solid, safe, police procedural, with a reasonable plot. Gentle might be a fair definition.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Typically, in a procedural sort of crime novel, my maximum rating is four stars out of five, because I reserve five-star reviews for novels that attempt profundity beyond a mere story arc. Looking back I've only given five-star reviews to a very few crime novels, mostly by Tana French. But thinking about Ann Cleeves' "The Dying Light," I'm not sure what more any reader could ask for in a crime novel. The characters here are richly observed and, in particular, the main characters have now been with us through the entire Two Rivers series, so they have become friends of ours, almost family. The locations feel well lived in, almost like our own hometowns.
In "The Dying Light," DI Matthew Venn is back, along with his sweet and supportive husband Jonathan, his detective colleagues Jen Rafferty and young Ross May. Their relationships have deepened, matured. Even Matthew, who is still recovering from his sheltered childhood in the Brethren, seems a bit more comfortable in his own skin, although Jonathan's search for his biological mother knocks Matthew a bit off-balance.
The plot of "The Dying Light" is as twisty as anything Ann Cleeves has written. Detective Venn investigates the drowning of a young woman, Lottie, at Tide House, a luxurious North Devon holiday property. It is a puzzling death, with the girl's body found in the swimming pool. The girl’s best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing and later found dead in the nearby woods with a fractured skull. The girls had arrived a few days earlier to celebrate the end of school exams, and had managed to make trouble during their brief time there: they disrupted a laid-back folk music festival at a neighboring farm and posted deceptively negative videos on social media about the event.
The family of the dead girls are interestingly wealthy and powerful, one father is an MP and the other a successful Hollywood director.
If you have enjoyed the other novels in the Two Rivers series, you will enjoy this one too. And if you haven't read them, this novel will read well as a stand-alone. Enjoyable for Ann Cleeves fans and newbies alike.
Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of "The Dying Light," which is expected to be published this fall.
In "The Dying Light," DI Matthew Venn is back, along with his sweet and supportive husband Jonathan, his detective colleagues Jen Rafferty and young Ross May. Their relationships have deepened, matured. Even Matthew, who is still recovering from his sheltered childhood in the Brethren, seems a bit more comfortable in his own skin, although Jonathan's search for his biological mother knocks Matthew a bit off-balance.
The plot of "The Dying Light" is as twisty as anything Ann Cleeves has written. Detective Venn investigates the drowning of a young woman, Lottie, at Tide House, a luxurious North Devon holiday property. It is a puzzling death, with the girl's body found in the swimming pool. The girl’s best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing and later found dead in the nearby woods with a fractured skull. The girls had arrived a few days earlier to celebrate the end of school exams, and had managed to make trouble during their brief time there: they disrupted a laid-back folk music festival at a neighboring farm and posted deceptively negative videos on social media about the event.
The family of the dead girls are interestingly wealthy and powerful, one father is an MP and the other a successful Hollywood director.
If you have enjoyed the other novels in the Two Rivers series, you will enjoy this one too. And if you haven't read them, this novel will read well as a stand-alone. Enjoyable for Ann Cleeves fans and newbies alike.
Thank you to NetGalley for the Advanced Readers Copy of "The Dying Light," which is expected to be published this fall.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Another excellent British detective novel by the master of atmospheric stories, Ann Cleeves. In The Dying Light (Minotaur Books 2026), 4th of the Detective Matthew Venn series, DI Venn is called to solve a thorny double death without clear evidence of murder or if so, the same murderer of two friends vacationing together before attending college. On the surface, they seem close, blowing off steam before committing to the challenges of a college degree. One is a well-to-do politician's daughter, the other her school friend. It would be easy to write the deaths off as accidents, at least one, but that's not how DI Venn works. He overturns every stone and sees what they tell him. The story that comes out is quite different from the easy-to-believe version.
If you've read Ann Cleeves, you know you are imbued with the aura of the area, like you live there and know the people. It's one characteristic that keeps me reading her novels--I feel like I'm understanding a world other than my native America. This one did that, but there are a few reasons I took a star off. One, Venn seems suspicious of those with money to the point at times of disdain. One of the story themes is the entitlement of wealth (well-healed politician staying in the British version of a blue-collar resort), with digs about those who work hard for their money compared to whatever the opposite is. Because it is a story theme, I went with it and Cleeves did blend it into the plot and characters well. For example, Venn dips into his personal history a lot, including his relationship with his husband, as Venn uses this to connect the dots of the varied clues and solve the crime. Cleeves novels are as much character driven as action driven, so this will please readers who like this sort of story.
The second reason for the star loss was the somewhat unsatisfying, not up to par with what I'd come to expect from Cleeves' novels. I'm easily convinced that was me, not the author. If you read the book, let me know your thoughts in the comments.
If you've read Ann Cleeves, you know you are imbued with the aura of the area, like you live there and know the people. It's one characteristic that keeps me reading her novels--I feel like I'm understanding a world other than my native America. This one did that, but there are a few reasons I took a star off. One, Venn seems suspicious of those with money to the point at times of disdain. One of the story themes is the entitlement of wealth (well-healed politician staying in the British version of a blue-collar resort), with digs about those who work hard for their money compared to whatever the opposite is. Because it is a story theme, I went with it and Cleeves did blend it into the plot and characters well. For example, Venn dips into his personal history a lot, including his relationship with his husband, as Venn uses this to connect the dots of the varied clues and solve the crime. Cleeves novels are as much character driven as action driven, so this will please readers who like this sort of story.
The second reason for the star loss was the somewhat unsatisfying, not up to par with what I'd come to expect from Cleeves' novels. I'm easily convinced that was me, not the author. If you read the book, let me know your thoughts in the comments.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Please note that I received this book via NetGalley. This did not impact my rating or review.
The Dying Light continues to follow the Two Rivers series written by Ann Cleeves. In her newest, Cleeves has Detective Matthew Venn called in to investigate the death of a teenage girl, Lottie, in a swimming pool in the home of an up and coming politician, Paul Armstrong. The teenage girl is called Lottie, and what is making things even more frantic is that Lottie's best friend, Hannah Armstrong, is missing.
The Dying Light provides us Venn's third person point of view, buy we also get points of views of other characters too such as Jen, Ross (just a few which surprised me) and Paul Armstrong's wife. I honestly love Venn the most I think out of the characters that Cleeves has developed over the years because he seems more like someone I would actually interact with. He also has very realistic flaws I think when it comes to his personal life for good reason. And I think that he owns those flaws, but it's what makes him great at reading people and getting people to talk to him. I also think outside of the Jimmy Perez series, this is the only other one that has someone who is married and happy. I do love that we have Jonathan very present in this one with his own things that are going on that may shake up him and Matthew's happy home. We also get callbacks to prior novels with some characters re-appearing in this one that I always enjoy. I always find it weird in series when you have people meet and live among each other, you never see them again.
Jen and Ross are starting to get shaped by him in a good way I think. Jen more than Ross seems to be growing into her role and trusting her instincts. We also get an inkling that things at home with Ross may not be great.
I thought the overall plot involving Lottie and Hannah was really good and I honestly would not have guessed at what happened and who did what to whom.
The Dying Light continues to follow the Two Rivers series written by Ann Cleeves. In her newest, Cleeves has Detective Matthew Venn called in to investigate the death of a teenage girl, Lottie, in a swimming pool in the home of an up and coming politician, Paul Armstrong. The teenage girl is called Lottie, and what is making things even more frantic is that Lottie's best friend, Hannah Armstrong, is missing.
The Dying Light provides us Venn's third person point of view, buy we also get points of views of other characters too such as Jen, Ross (just a few which surprised me) and Paul Armstrong's wife. I honestly love Venn the most I think out of the characters that Cleeves has developed over the years because he seems more like someone I would actually interact with. He also has very realistic flaws I think when it comes to his personal life for good reason. And I think that he owns those flaws, but it's what makes him great at reading people and getting people to talk to him. I also think outside of the Jimmy Perez series, this is the only other one that has someone who is married and happy. I do love that we have Jonathan very present in this one with his own things that are going on that may shake up him and Matthew's happy home. We also get callbacks to prior novels with some characters re-appearing in this one that I always enjoy. I always find it weird in series when you have people meet and live among each other, you never see them again.
Jen and Ross are starting to get shaped by him in a good way I think. Jen more than Ross seems to be growing into her role and trusting her instincts. We also get an inkling that things at home with Ross may not be great.
I thought the overall plot involving Lottie and Hannah was really good and I honestly would not have guessed at what happened and who did what to whom.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4.5 I love being surprised by books!
It's well documented that I haven't been super enamoured with the Two Rivers series. After the last book, I figured I'd leave the series behind. HOWEVER. I received an invitation to review this and, with a dearth of compelling books on my horizon decided that any Ann Cleeves is better than none, and took a chance.
This is a banger. I genuinely don't remember the last time I read 77% of a book in one sitting or read a book this quickly!
It had everything I needed from a mystery: solid pacing, a host of suspects that kept me guessing, and an ending that I didn't predict! While there were some elements that I saw coming -- Ann Cleeves' tropes like -- it was super refreshing that both of my hypotheses for the perp were completely wrong!
The characters were a big reason I wasn't vibing with Two Rivers. BUT. I thought we learned a lot more about Matthew Venn in here and honestly? He's growing on me, becoming more human than robot. I remain wholly unconvinced about his marriage: not only do they not communicate, they seem to live completely separate lives?! I don't love his team like I do Vera's, but maybe I'm starting to understand them more.
The place has always felt uneasily claustrophobic to me, yet in this story, that hemmed-in feel amplified the suspense.
Lastly, I've noticed a deliberate(?) consciousness to Ann Cleeves' word choices. I was getting so dismayed at how fat phobic and gendered her language was becoming and she's really turned it around. The way she's started to intentionally challenge stereotypes through the characters themselves feels refreshing.
Need a good mystery? Check this out!
Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan for inviting me to review this.
It's well documented that I haven't been super enamoured with the Two Rivers series. After the last book, I figured I'd leave the series behind. HOWEVER. I received an invitation to review this and, with a dearth of compelling books on my horizon decided that any Ann Cleeves is better than none, and took a chance.
This is a banger. I genuinely don't remember the last time I read 77% of a book in one sitting or read a book this quickly!
It had everything I needed from a mystery: solid pacing, a host of suspects that kept me guessing, and an ending that I didn't predict! While there were some elements that I saw coming -- Ann Cleeves' tropes like -- it was super refreshing that both of my hypotheses for the perp were completely wrong!
The characters were a big reason I wasn't vibing with Two Rivers. BUT. I thought we learned a lot more about Matthew Venn in here and honestly? He's growing on me, becoming more human than robot. I remain wholly unconvinced about his marriage: not only do they not communicate, they seem to live completely separate lives?! I don't love his team like I do Vera's, but maybe I'm starting to understand them more.
The place has always felt uneasily claustrophobic to me, yet in this story, that hemmed-in feel amplified the suspense.
Lastly, I've noticed a deliberate(?) consciousness to Ann Cleeves' word choices. I was getting so dismayed at how fat phobic and gendered her language was becoming and she's really turned it around. The way she's started to intentionally challenge stereotypes through the characters themselves feels refreshing.
Need a good mystery? Check this out!
Thank you so much to Pan Macmillan for inviting me to review this.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I received and ARC of this novel from NetGalley and Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review of this novel.
Reading The Dying Light reminded me, very clearly, why Ann Cleeves is a master of her craft… and why I most definitely am not.
This is the fourth book in her Matthew Venn series, and once again she proves just how effortlessly she can create a world that feels both atmospheric and deeply human. The novel follows Venn as he investigates the death of a young woman found in a swimming pool at a luxury Devon home, quickly spiralling into a case full of secrets, power, and simmering tensions ([Pan Macmillan][1]).
What struck me most (beyond the gripping mystery) was Cleeves’ sheer skill as a writer. To have not one, but *three* major series—Vera, Shetland, and this one—and make each feel completely distinct is honestly astonishing. The tone, the setting, the characters… none of them blur together. Each series has its own identity, its own rhythm, its own emotional core. That kind of range doesn’t just happen—it’s the mark of a true professional.
Matthew Venn himself continues to be such a compelling lead: quiet, thoughtful, and emotionally layered. Cleeves doesn’t rely on flashy twists alone; she builds tension through people, through silence, through what’s left unsaid. The story unfolds with that slow, deliberate precision she’s known for, where every detail matters and every character feels like they belong.
And that’s really the magic of this book. It’s not just about solving a crime: it’s about understanding a community, its fractures, and the secrets people hold onto. Under her pen, even the smallest moments feel intentional.
Honestly, reading this just reinforced one thing: Ann Cleeves is a genius. Few writers can juggle multiple beloved series and still make each one feel fresh, distinctive, and so completely immersive.
Reading The Dying Light reminded me, very clearly, why Ann Cleeves is a master of her craft… and why I most definitely am not.
This is the fourth book in her Matthew Venn series, and once again she proves just how effortlessly she can create a world that feels both atmospheric and deeply human. The novel follows Venn as he investigates the death of a young woman found in a swimming pool at a luxury Devon home, quickly spiralling into a case full of secrets, power, and simmering tensions ([Pan Macmillan][1]).
What struck me most (beyond the gripping mystery) was Cleeves’ sheer skill as a writer. To have not one, but *three* major series—Vera, Shetland, and this one—and make each feel completely distinct is honestly astonishing. The tone, the setting, the characters… none of them blur together. Each series has its own identity, its own rhythm, its own emotional core. That kind of range doesn’t just happen—it’s the mark of a true professional.
Matthew Venn himself continues to be such a compelling lead: quiet, thoughtful, and emotionally layered. Cleeves doesn’t rely on flashy twists alone; she builds tension through people, through silence, through what’s left unsaid. The story unfolds with that slow, deliberate precision she’s known for, where every detail matters and every character feels like they belong.
And that’s really the magic of this book. It’s not just about solving a crime: it’s about understanding a community, its fractures, and the secrets people hold onto. Under her pen, even the smallest moments feel intentional.
Honestly, reading this just reinforced one thing: Ann Cleeves is a genius. Few writers can juggle multiple beloved series and still make each one feel fresh, distinctive, and so completely immersive.
July 13, 2026
DI Matthew Venn and his team return in this fourth installment of Ann Cleeves's Two Rivers series. In this one, Venn is called to investigate a double murder of two teenage girls, one the daughter of a prominent politician, the other a stellar student and prospective Olympic swimmer. We quickly learn that the close friendship between the two girls was not as rosy as it seemed. In fact, the girls are bound together by a horrible secret that may explain the motive for their deaths.
The solution to the mystery unfolds amid some new developments in the detectives' personal lives. Inspector Venn is still recovering from the trauma of his evangelical religious upbringing which led to a difficult relationship between him and his parents. At the same time, he struggles to support his husband, Jonathan, in finding his birth mother, fearing that her presence in their lives may change his relationship with Jonathan. Sergeant Jen Rafferty can't help but question some of her own decisions as a parent of teenagers as she investigates the girls' deaths. DS Ross May contemplates parenthood while gaining confidence in his career.
Overall, this book is a fantastic addition to the series. My one pet peeve about Ann Cleeves is that she often creates very detailed descriptions of the detectives' thought process, but the solution to the crime comes out of nowhere and there is no way the reader can solve the mystery on their own. Luckily, that is not the case here. I didn’t predict the ending but all the puzzle pieces were there. I rate this book four stars only because I have yet to feel the emotional connection to Matthew Venn that I have with Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez. I am hopeful that I'll feel more emotionally invested as the series goes on. Having said that, this book was thoroughly enjoyable and I will be continuing the series. Thanks to Netgalley for once again providing an E-ARC copy.
The solution to the mystery unfolds amid some new developments in the detectives' personal lives. Inspector Venn is still recovering from the trauma of his evangelical religious upbringing which led to a difficult relationship between him and his parents. At the same time, he struggles to support his husband, Jonathan, in finding his birth mother, fearing that her presence in their lives may change his relationship with Jonathan. Sergeant Jen Rafferty can't help but question some of her own decisions as a parent of teenagers as she investigates the girls' deaths. DS Ross May contemplates parenthood while gaining confidence in his career.
Overall, this book is a fantastic addition to the series. My one pet peeve about Ann Cleeves is that she often creates very detailed descriptions of the detectives' thought process, but the solution to the crime comes out of nowhere and there is no way the reader can solve the mystery on their own. Luckily, that is not the case here. I didn’t predict the ending but all the puzzle pieces were there. I rate this book four stars only because I have yet to feel the emotional connection to Matthew Venn that I have with Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez. I am hopeful that I'll feel more emotionally invested as the series goes on. Having said that, this book was thoroughly enjoyable and I will be continuing the series. Thanks to Netgalley for once again providing an E-ARC copy.
July 12, 2026
The Dying Light was my first experience with the Matthew Venn series, and while I was initially worried about jumping in at book four, I never felt completely lost. There are references to previous events and relationships, but Ann Cleeves provides enough context that I was able to settle into the story without feeling like I had missed anything major.
This is definitely a slower, more character-driven mystery than the thrillers I usually gravitate toward. If you're expecting nonstop twists and action, this probably isn't that kind of book. Instead, the investigation unfolds gradually as Matthew Venn and his team peel back the layers surrounding the death of a young woman and the disappearance of another. There are plenty of suspects, hidden motives, and family secrets to sort through, and I appreciated that the mystery felt grounded rather than overly sensational.
Matthew Venn was easily my favorite part of the novel. He's thoughtful, observant, and refreshingly understated as a detective. His relationships, especially with his husband, Jonathan, and his team, add depth to the story and make him feel like a fully realized character rather than someone who exists solely to solve crimes.
My biggest criticism is the pacing. The middle section dragged a bit for me, and at times I wanted the investigation to move along a little faster. The large cast of characters also took some effort to keep straight early on. That said, once the pieces started falling into place, I enjoyed seeing how everything connected, and the ending felt believable and satisfying.
Overall, this was a well-written, atmospheric mystery with strong character development and an engaging investigation. While it wasn't quite a five-star read for me because of the slower pace, it definitely left me interested in going back and reading the earlier Matthew Venn books.
This is definitely a slower, more character-driven mystery than the thrillers I usually gravitate toward. If you're expecting nonstop twists and action, this probably isn't that kind of book. Instead, the investigation unfolds gradually as Matthew Venn and his team peel back the layers surrounding the death of a young woman and the disappearance of another. There are plenty of suspects, hidden motives, and family secrets to sort through, and I appreciated that the mystery felt grounded rather than overly sensational.
Matthew Venn was easily my favorite part of the novel. He's thoughtful, observant, and refreshingly understated as a detective. His relationships, especially with his husband, Jonathan, and his team, add depth to the story and make him feel like a fully realized character rather than someone who exists solely to solve crimes.
My biggest criticism is the pacing. The middle section dragged a bit for me, and at times I wanted the investigation to move along a little faster. The large cast of characters also took some effort to keep straight early on. That said, once the pieces started falling into place, I enjoyed seeing how everything connected, and the ending felt believable and satisfying.
Overall, this was a well-written, atmospheric mystery with strong character development and an engaging investigation. While it wasn't quite a five-star read for me because of the slower pace, it definitely left me interested in going back and reading the earlier Matthew Venn books.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The Dying Light: A Detective Matthew Venn Novel #4, by Ann Cleeves. St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books, 2026.
The story begins in the Prologue, Friday morning. Seventeen year old Hannah and her friend Lottie, having just finished secondary school exams arrive at Hannah’s family holiday home in North Devon. Hannah has driven them from London overnight to spend a few days on their own before her parents and younger brothers arrive. This is likely one of their last times together before they head to different universities in the fall.
Chapter 1 is Monday morning. Detective Inspector Matthew Venn receives a phone call about a suspicious death and a missing young woman. The next forty chapters are classic British police procedural as DI Venn and his team methodically investigate despite a heatwave. Their work - gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and sifting through clues - is complicated by police and government department politics and unexpected relationships between and within five families – the parents and their late teen offspring.
There must be general agreement that Ann Cleeves’ writing style – how she writes to tell the story – and her plot and character development – what she writes, the content – are both simply superior. I consider her work in creating The Dying Light flawless.
Perhaps other readers will guess what happened correctly long before I did, I was surprised but was satisfied that it made sense. I was puzzled about the book title until I read her subscriber newsletter (https://www.anncleeves.com/newsletter...).
Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Dying Light free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #TheDyingLight #NetGalley.
The story begins in the Prologue, Friday morning. Seventeen year old Hannah and her friend Lottie, having just finished secondary school exams arrive at Hannah’s family holiday home in North Devon. Hannah has driven them from London overnight to spend a few days on their own before her parents and younger brothers arrive. This is likely one of their last times together before they head to different universities in the fall.
Chapter 1 is Monday morning. Detective Inspector Matthew Venn receives a phone call about a suspicious death and a missing young woman. The next forty chapters are classic British police procedural as DI Venn and his team methodically investigate despite a heatwave. Their work - gathering evidence, interviewing witnesses, and sifting through clues - is complicated by police and government department politics and unexpected relationships between and within five families – the parents and their late teen offspring.
There must be general agreement that Ann Cleeves’ writing style – how she writes to tell the story – and her plot and character development – what she writes, the content – are both simply superior. I consider her work in creating The Dying Light flawless.
Perhaps other readers will guess what happened correctly long before I did, I was surprised but was satisfied that it made sense. I was puzzled about the book title until I read her subscriber newsletter (https://www.anncleeves.com/newsletter...).
Disclosure: I received a review copy of The Dying Light free via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. #TheDyingLight #NetGalley.
Read
July 2, 2026I adore the Matthew Venn / Two Rivers series for many reasons. One is the fact that Ann Cleeves excels at writing characters, writing people. She delves into the why: what makes people tick and work. Her books may not always be driven by constant action, but you keep reading as each page reveals more about our characters and what and why led them to be killed (or to kill).
And, Matthew Venn is one of my favorite detectives. I love his steady nature that also comes with a quiet, lingering insecurity, making him relatable and human. I love that he's not all ego and brash anger, like so many crime solvers, but intelligence and thoughtfulness. And I love the relationship between him and his husband Jonathan, which is portrayed honestly and lovingly.
This is an excellent mystery, which kept me guessing the entire time. We get a multi-POV story, including Matthew, his colleague Jen, and Catherine, a wealthy woman who has just lost her teenage daughter, Hannah, to an apparent murder. Both Hannah and her friend Lottie are found dead at the family's country home, and it's up to Matthew and team to determine why--with added pressure as Hannah's father is high up in politics.
There's a small cast of characters, and each is well-drawn, often with a potential motive. Cleeves does a good job of playing up the small-town versus big city rift and how it's affected locals in Devon. As with every Venn tale, there's so much more going on than "just the mystery," making it a complex, nuanced tale that will keep you flipping the pages. 4.5 stars.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in return for an unbiased review. Look for the U.S. version in September 2026!
And, Matthew Venn is one of my favorite detectives. I love his steady nature that also comes with a quiet, lingering insecurity, making him relatable and human. I love that he's not all ego and brash anger, like so many crime solvers, but intelligence and thoughtfulness. And I love the relationship between him and his husband Jonathan, which is portrayed honestly and lovingly.
This is an excellent mystery, which kept me guessing the entire time. We get a multi-POV story, including Matthew, his colleague Jen, and Catherine, a wealthy woman who has just lost her teenage daughter, Hannah, to an apparent murder. Both Hannah and her friend Lottie are found dead at the family's country home, and it's up to Matthew and team to determine why--with added pressure as Hannah's father is high up in politics.
There's a small cast of characters, and each is well-drawn, often with a potential motive. Cleeves does a good job of playing up the small-town versus big city rift and how it's affected locals in Devon. As with every Venn tale, there's so much more going on than "just the mystery," making it a complex, nuanced tale that will keep you flipping the pages. 4.5 stars.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley and Minotaur Books in return for an unbiased review. Look for the U.S. version in September 2026!
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This was a thoroughly satisfying murder mystery and was the perfect read for a very hot Summer evening.
In the fourth book in the Two Rivers series, Ann Cleeves has produced an intriguing mystery with a probable double murder but no obvious motive. The plot definitely moves with the times as we have issues such as second homes in tourist areas and the power of social media all forming part of the story.
As always with her books, they contain brilliantly drawn characters who all came across as believable. I love the team that Ann Cleeves has created for D I Matthew Venn. His own character grows with each book as he begins to feel more secure in his marriage and I really like the relationship he has with his sergeant Jen. Howver, I think my favourite character on the police side has to be Ross who used to be extremely irritating but now is definitely showing real signs of maturity and becoming a good detective.
The Devon setting is beautiful and is an integral part of the story. It’s set in a heatwave and this book doesn’t have the brooding threatening atmosphere that some of her other books have had but the tension is still there. The book moves at a steady pace and the tension definitely increases as the police begin to tie the apparently random threads together. Of course, the mystery is solved but there is no celebration here. Instead we get a feeling of sadness as lives have been destroyed and nothing will ever put things right which feels entirely appropriate.
I loved The Dying Light and am already looking forward to whatever Ann Cleeves writes next.
My thanks as always to Net Galley and the publishers for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
In the fourth book in the Two Rivers series, Ann Cleeves has produced an intriguing mystery with a probable double murder but no obvious motive. The plot definitely moves with the times as we have issues such as second homes in tourist areas and the power of social media all forming part of the story.
As always with her books, they contain brilliantly drawn characters who all came across as believable. I love the team that Ann Cleeves has created for D I Matthew Venn. His own character grows with each book as he begins to feel more secure in his marriage and I really like the relationship he has with his sergeant Jen. Howver, I think my favourite character on the police side has to be Ross who used to be extremely irritating but now is definitely showing real signs of maturity and becoming a good detective.
The Devon setting is beautiful and is an integral part of the story. It’s set in a heatwave and this book doesn’t have the brooding threatening atmosphere that some of her other books have had but the tension is still there. The book moves at a steady pace and the tension definitely increases as the police begin to tie the apparently random threads together. Of course, the mystery is solved but there is no celebration here. Instead we get a feeling of sadness as lives have been destroyed and nothing will ever put things right which feels entirely appropriate.
I loved The Dying Light and am already looking forward to whatever Ann Cleeves writes next.
My thanks as always to Net Galley and the publishers for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Very much enjoyed this story by Anne Cleeves involving Inspector Matthew Venn. Set in a very hot summer, the descriptions are excellent and you almost feel the heat rising from the pages of the book. When the Armstrong family arrive at their holiday home in north Devon they find their daughter's friend dead in the swimming pool and shortly after, the body of their daughter is discovered near the beach.
Venn and his team, have a tricky job because Mr Armstrong is an up and coming politician, tipped to become prime minister in the future so the pressure is on to discover if this is a political killing. Venn is calm and controlled in his approach, a contrast to his red headed Sergeant, Jen Rafferty and rookie, Ross. Unlike many fictional detectives he doesn't appear to have a vice. His main concern out of work is his marriage.
Since this is a crime story there are of course several possible leads the police have to follow and many red herrings. But the case is wrapped up well, with it all making sense and all the endings carefully tidied away.
The pacing is good and the story moves along well, although without any great excitement. The characters are well formed, especially Venn who comes across as multi-layered. The differences between the locals and the incomers are referenced several times, and tensions between those who wield power over others is a constant theme through the book.
The writing is excellent and makes very easy reading, a product I suspect of a great deal of time and effort on behalf of the author.
With thanks to Netgalley, the author and Macmillan Publishing for an early copy in return for an honest review.
Venn and his team, have a tricky job because Mr Armstrong is an up and coming politician, tipped to become prime minister in the future so the pressure is on to discover if this is a political killing. Venn is calm and controlled in his approach, a contrast to his red headed Sergeant, Jen Rafferty and rookie, Ross. Unlike many fictional detectives he doesn't appear to have a vice. His main concern out of work is his marriage.
Since this is a crime story there are of course several possible leads the police have to follow and many red herrings. But the case is wrapped up well, with it all making sense and all the endings carefully tidied away.
The pacing is good and the story moves along well, although without any great excitement. The characters are well formed, especially Venn who comes across as multi-layered. The differences between the locals and the incomers are referenced several times, and tensions between those who wield power over others is a constant theme through the book.
The writing is excellent and makes very easy reading, a product I suspect of a great deal of time and effort on behalf of the author.
With thanks to Netgalley, the author and Macmillan Publishing for an early copy in return for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Good story, kept me wondering until the end which is always the best kind of story for me; makes me think.
Pet peeve! Once again she keeps saying "his husband" several times a page at times. Seriously? If we don't already know they are married, we figured it out early on. No one talks like that when thinking of their spouse. Matthew could easily be thinking Jonathan, but no need to keep throwing that in unless you, the author, have an issue with it? Drop it! Mentioning inmaybe30 times in a book is just useless and annoying. I would stop every time I saw it and get annoyed, which takes away from the story. This is volume 4 of these two people; just stop!
Back to the plot again. 2 recent high school grads are off at the family summer house for a few days before the parents of one of them gets there.
A local concert is taking place nearby that weekend and they have been there. Parents arrive to find a dead body in the pool and their daughter missing.
Matthew Venn and his team of detectives are called in to determine the who, what, why of the crime(s) and we also meet the families of these young women and several locals and outsiders alike before we learn what happened. Matthew is good at what he does, but doubts his judgment. Jonathan doesn't have work issues this time, but does have a rather large personal issue that he is going through, which takes time away from Matthew's police work, causing him stress.
All around, a good story except for the pet peeve.
thank you Netgalley for an advance copy. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given.
Pet peeve! Once again she keeps saying "his husband" several times a page at times. Seriously? If we don't already know they are married, we figured it out early on. No one talks like that when thinking of their spouse. Matthew could easily be thinking Jonathan, but no need to keep throwing that in unless you, the author, have an issue with it? Drop it! Mentioning inmaybe30 times in a book is just useless and annoying. I would stop every time I saw it and get annoyed, which takes away from the story. This is volume 4 of these two people; just stop!
Back to the plot again. 2 recent high school grads are off at the family summer house for a few days before the parents of one of them gets there.
A local concert is taking place nearby that weekend and they have been there. Parents arrive to find a dead body in the pool and their daughter missing.
Matthew Venn and his team of detectives are called in to determine the who, what, why of the crime(s) and we also meet the families of these young women and several locals and outsiders alike before we learn what happened. Matthew is good at what he does, but doubts his judgment. Jonathan doesn't have work issues this time, but does have a rather large personal issue that he is going through, which takes time away from Matthew's police work, causing him stress.
All around, a good story except for the pet peeve.
thank you Netgalley for an advance copy. Honest opinions expressed here are my own and are freely given.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
The latest Matthew Venn novel features an investigation into the death of a young girl who's found in the swimming pool of a North Devon second home. The couple who own the house have just arrived with their two sons to meet up with their daughter, who's missing, and her friend.
Lottie is a social media darling and future Oxford student with a nasty edge to her. Matthew's team are immediately confronted by several sets of parents who seem to be so protective of their adolescent children that they can't admit the truth about their behaviour.
When Lottie's friend Hannah also turns up dead, the question is who was the initial target: the rising politician's polite and quiet daughter, who was deeply in love with a young man whose family farm nearby, or her gorgeous but power-mad friend, who seems to have been dabbling in blackmail?
Matthew's own home life is rocked by the news that his husband, who was raised by adoptive parents, has located his biological mother and is seeking a reunion.
Murder suspects abound, but Cleeves has a gift for incorporating interview scenes with witnesses and potential culprits that don't feel rote or repetitive.
And as always, the place is significant: North Devon's grassy fields and farms, remote beaches and popular tourist locales are carefully conjured up, and there's a sharp contrast to the bustle of London, when Matthew takes the train up to the city for a day of investigating.
Cleeves writes heartbreaking stories, and in this one, the line between innocence and guilt blurs considerably for most of the major characters. An accomplished addition to the Matthew Venn series.
Lottie is a social media darling and future Oxford student with a nasty edge to her. Matthew's team are immediately confronted by several sets of parents who seem to be so protective of their adolescent children that they can't admit the truth about their behaviour.
When Lottie's friend Hannah also turns up dead, the question is who was the initial target: the rising politician's polite and quiet daughter, who was deeply in love with a young man whose family farm nearby, or her gorgeous but power-mad friend, who seems to have been dabbling in blackmail?
Matthew's own home life is rocked by the news that his husband, who was raised by adoptive parents, has located his biological mother and is seeking a reunion.
Murder suspects abound, but Cleeves has a gift for incorporating interview scenes with witnesses and potential culprits that don't feel rote or repetitive.
And as always, the place is significant: North Devon's grassy fields and farms, remote beaches and popular tourist locales are carefully conjured up, and there's a sharp contrast to the bustle of London, when Matthew takes the train up to the city for a day of investigating.
Cleeves writes heartbreaking stories, and in this one, the line between innocence and guilt blurs considerably for most of the major characters. An accomplished addition to the Matthew Venn series.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Readers can count on Ann Cleves to deliver the goods!
The Dying Light is the latest entry in the Two Rivers series featuring Detective Matthew Venn and picturesque North Devon.
Venn and his team are called upon to solve a puzzling crime: a young woman found dead in a holiday-house swimming pool and her friend -- the daughter of a rising politician -- found dead a short ways away. The girls, both 17, were celebrating the end of exams; the politician and his family arrived at their second home and discovered the bodies.
An entire cast of locals comes into play: owners of the local pub; the young man who mans the bar; a farming couple who hosted a music festival the girls attended and their son, who dated the politician's daughter; an American couple who camped out for the festival and seem to have ties to both girls.
Venn, meanwhile, has to juggle the case, the press, and his husband's quest to find his birth mother.
Cleeves renders North Devon -- sweltering through a heat wave -- with details so precise you can almost smell the sea and hear the birds.
The novel hits a lot of contemporary issues, including toxic friendships and the power of social media.
The ending is a surprise, but not in a where-did-that-come-from? kind of way.
Highly recommended. I read it in one sitting!
Thanks to NetGalley for the early review copy.
The Dying Light is the latest entry in the Two Rivers series featuring Detective Matthew Venn and picturesque North Devon.
Venn and his team are called upon to solve a puzzling crime: a young woman found dead in a holiday-house swimming pool and her friend -- the daughter of a rising politician -- found dead a short ways away. The girls, both 17, were celebrating the end of exams; the politician and his family arrived at their second home and discovered the bodies.
An entire cast of locals comes into play: owners of the local pub; the young man who mans the bar; a farming couple who hosted a music festival the girls attended and their son, who dated the politician's daughter; an American couple who camped out for the festival and seem to have ties to both girls.
Venn, meanwhile, has to juggle the case, the press, and his husband's quest to find his birth mother.
Cleeves renders North Devon -- sweltering through a heat wave -- with details so precise you can almost smell the sea and hear the birds.
The novel hits a lot of contemporary issues, including toxic friendships and the power of social media.
The ending is a surprise, but not in a where-did-that-come-from? kind of way.
Highly recommended. I read it in one sitting!
Thanks to NetGalley for the early review copy.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
DI Matthew Venn is drawn into a puzzling and unsettling case when the body of young Lottie Cauldwell is discovered in the swimming pool of the second home belonging to rising politician and government minister Paul Armstrong. As the investigation begins, Armstrong’s daughter is also reported missing, immediately raising the stakes and placing the case firmly in the public eye.
This instalment is not particularly fast-paced, instead opting for a tighter, more focused narrative than some previous books in the series. That approach works well here. Venn’s mother, for example, appears only once, allowing the story to concentrate more fully on Venn’s team and on the local community. The setting is steeped in quiet tension: locals resent outsiders while simultaneously relying on them for trade, and that contradiction seeps into every interaction. As the team dig deeper, secrets from the girls’ pasts begin to surface, revealing that what initially appears to be an idyllic place is in fact simmering with long-held resentments.
While I did partially guess the outcome, I didn’t foresee all of the details. That predictability didn’t detract from my enjoyment, and the emotional weight and careful character work kept me thoroughly engaged. I ended up finishing the book in a little over a day, which says a lot given its measured pace. Overall, The Dying Light is a thoughtful, atmospheric addition to the series, one that benefits from its narrower focus and quietly builds tension beneath the surface.
This instalment is not particularly fast-paced, instead opting for a tighter, more focused narrative than some previous books in the series. That approach works well here. Venn’s mother, for example, appears only once, allowing the story to concentrate more fully on Venn’s team and on the local community. The setting is steeped in quiet tension: locals resent outsiders while simultaneously relying on them for trade, and that contradiction seeps into every interaction. As the team dig deeper, secrets from the girls’ pasts begin to surface, revealing that what initially appears to be an idyllic place is in fact simmering with long-held resentments.
While I did partially guess the outcome, I didn’t foresee all of the details. That predictability didn’t detract from my enjoyment, and the emotional weight and careful character work kept me thoroughly engaged. I ended up finishing the book in a little over a day, which says a lot given its measured pace. Overall, The Dying Light is a thoughtful, atmospheric addition to the series, one that benefits from its narrower focus and quietly builds tension beneath the surface.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
4 stars for a book that builds suspense leading to a sad climax. Detective Inspector Matthew Venn is called to the scene of a dead teenager, named Lottie, who is discovered in a swimming pool. Her death is treated as suspicious. Another teenager, and Lottie's friend, Hannah, is missing. DI Venn and his team interview the parents and possible witnesses. The mystery is like an onion, as Venn peels back layer upon layer of secrets. He suspects that the parents of the two girls are hiding something.
He and his team do solve the case.
There is a side plot. Venn is gay, and his husband, Jonathan, who was adopted, has been searching for his birth mother. Venn wants to support him, and tries to take time off from the case when Jonathan needs him. I have read book 1 in this series, but not books 2 and 3. This is book 4 in the series, and can be read as a stand alone. If you are American, you may find it necessary to look up some British terms, i.e., toast soldiers, hosepipes, and a few others.
I liked the descriptions of the various characters in this book. Venn and his team are likeable people.
One quote on Venn's background: "He'd grown up within the Barum Brethren, a small West Country sect, certain and implacable. Despite having been cast out, 'unfellowshipped' when he lost his faith, he'd not been able to shake off entirely their strict morality."
Thank You St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#TheDyingLight #NetGalley
Pub Date Sep 29 2026
He and his team do solve the case.
There is a side plot. Venn is gay, and his husband, Jonathan, who was adopted, has been searching for his birth mother. Venn wants to support him, and tries to take time off from the case when Jonathan needs him. I have read book 1 in this series, but not books 2 and 3. This is book 4 in the series, and can be read as a stand alone. If you are American, you may find it necessary to look up some British terms, i.e., toast soldiers, hosepipes, and a few others.
I liked the descriptions of the various characters in this book. Venn and his team are likeable people.
One quote on Venn's background: "He'd grown up within the Barum Brethren, a small West Country sect, certain and implacable. Despite having been cast out, 'unfellowshipped' when he lost his faith, he'd not been able to shake off entirely their strict morality."
Thank You St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#TheDyingLight #NetGalley
Pub Date Sep 29 2026
Review of advance copy received from Goodreads Giveaways
I got this ARC copy from a giveaway in April 2026 and just received the book in the mail so I am now submitting my review of this #4 book in the series involving Matthew Venn the local detective in his area of England. He has been called in to figure out what happened that caused the death of a young woman, age 17, named Lottie, found floating in the pool of the summer/second home of a minister of the government. He was told that the girl and the daughter of the minister had been alone at the house a few days ahead of the family and they had just arrived and found the body but no trace of their daughter. After searching the grounds, the daughter's body was also found by the ruins of an old mill near the path down to the beach.
What takes so long to figure out what happened to these 2 girls, was an admission to the police about an incident that involved a third girl who suffered injuries from a fall that occurred when all 3 girls were drunk & high and was videotaped by Lottie, who used that tape to blackmail the daughter, who is called Hannah, to control her, until what happened at the house, when Hannah and Lottie had a final confrontation. All three girls had serious emotional issues, that should have been addressed instead of being indulged.
Matthew Ven strikes me as a male version of Vera, another detective who this author has written a series on, because how he analyzes every clue, however minor to figure out the whole situation that caused the situation.
What takes so long to figure out what happened to these 2 girls, was an admission to the police about an incident that involved a third girl who suffered injuries from a fall that occurred when all 3 girls were drunk & high and was videotaped by Lottie, who used that tape to blackmail the daughter, who is called Hannah, to control her, until what happened at the house, when Hannah and Lottie had a final confrontation. All three girls had serious emotional issues, that should have been addressed instead of being indulged.
Matthew Ven strikes me as a male version of Vera, another detective who this author has written a series on, because how he analyzes every clue, however minor to figure out the whole situation that caused the situation.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
Thanks to Netgalley and St.Martin's for this ARC.
I have not read the previous books in this series, or any of Cleeves other works. So this is my first experience.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The mystery was sufficiently suspenseful, lots of suspects, fairly interesting motives. But it just never really gripped me. It did start to feel pretty slow through the middle parts. The investigative team all felt ... lackluster.
Our protagonist, Matthew Venn, is a pretty milquetoast humdrum kind of guy, and seems to be of middling skills as a detective. It's my understanding that the prior books give some backstory about up his upbringing, which is supposed to explain his submissive, woe is me, attitude, but knowing the details doesn't really make up for just how boring this guy is.
Throughout the investigation, there's some very obvious possible suspects, that require a lot more follow-up, and out detective just kinda shrugs it off like, 'of these people seem nice so I guess they're good to go.' He does, at least, realize this about himself and later makes comments about how it was a bad idea to trust his instincts, because he has biases about people that clouded his judgement. So, again, he's really a terrible detective.
But at the end of the day, the actual whodunit mystery was intriguing enough to keep me turning pages. Total read time was about four hours, so not a huge commitment, and it felt worth it.
Cleeves is an accomplished author, so I'm interested in checking out other series by her. I just don't know if Matthew Venn is interesting enough to make me want more.
I have not read the previous books in this series, or any of Cleeves other works. So this is my first experience.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. The mystery was sufficiently suspenseful, lots of suspects, fairly interesting motives. But it just never really gripped me. It did start to feel pretty slow through the middle parts. The investigative team all felt ... lackluster.
Our protagonist, Matthew Venn, is a pretty milquetoast humdrum kind of guy, and seems to be of middling skills as a detective. It's my understanding that the prior books give some backstory about up his upbringing, which is supposed to explain his submissive, woe is me, attitude, but knowing the details doesn't really make up for just how boring this guy is.
Throughout the investigation, there's some very obvious possible suspects, that require a lot more follow-up, and out detective just kinda shrugs it off like, 'of these people seem nice so I guess they're good to go.' He does, at least, realize this about himself and later makes comments about how it was a bad idea to trust his instincts, because he has biases about people that clouded his judgement. So, again, he's really a terrible detective.
But at the end of the day, the actual whodunit mystery was intriguing enough to keep me turning pages. Total read time was about four hours, so not a huge commitment, and it felt worth it.
Cleeves is an accomplished author, so I'm interested in checking out other series by her. I just don't know if Matthew Venn is interesting enough to make me want more.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
This is the second in the series that i have read featuring DI Matthew Venn. The quiet introspective DI again commands his small team in Devon with steely perseverance.
This time two teenage girls who have just left school have been murdered while staying at the family holiday house. Both are from privileged backgrounds and one father is a government minister so a bit of pressure from above to further complicate things. Is it a random killing or is there some political connection and are the American couple who keep popping up a coincidence or not. I like the way the small team interacts and see some development in their standing in the team since the last book. They focus a lot on the school the two girls attended and we slowly learn about secrets in one of the school cliques. What is it that binds school friendships together. Is it awe or fear or manipulation. These threads are recurring themes looked at in the book. Matthew’s husband again features quite a lot in the book and I like that more of their relationship is explored.
I had a rough idea of the identity of the killer but that did not take away any enjoyment in my reading and the revelations at the end were more complex than I had imagined. I like the way this series is developing and look forward to reading the next in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and PanMacmillan for the ARC
This time two teenage girls who have just left school have been murdered while staying at the family holiday house. Both are from privileged backgrounds and one father is a government minister so a bit of pressure from above to further complicate things. Is it a random killing or is there some political connection and are the American couple who keep popping up a coincidence or not. I like the way the small team interacts and see some development in their standing in the team since the last book. They focus a lot on the school the two girls attended and we slowly learn about secrets in one of the school cliques. What is it that binds school friendships together. Is it awe or fear or manipulation. These threads are recurring themes looked at in the book. Matthew’s husband again features quite a lot in the book and I like that more of their relationship is explored.
I had a rough idea of the identity of the killer but that did not take away any enjoyment in my reading and the revelations at the end were more complex than I had imagined. I like the way this series is developing and look forward to reading the next in the series.
Thanks to NetGalley and PanMacmillan for the ARC
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
In the Devon holiday home of a prominent politician, Paul Armstrong, a young woman is found dead in the swimming pool and her friend, Armstrong’s daughter Hannah, is missing. Matthew Venn and his team are called in to investigate, but the case is challenging and the blazing summer heat exhausting. Is this an attack on the MP, or was Lottie the target, and why do there seem to be so many coincidences and secrets between the family members and the local community? This intelligent crime drama is intriguing without being sensationalist or gory, with sympathy for the characters and a strong sense of realism. Venn is not the typical cop of crime fiction, being a happily married gay man and having grown up in a strict religious sect from which he is now estranged, Astute and insightful at work, he is reserved and restrained but has a quiet emoathy and a vulnerability in his relationship with his husband that makes him appealing and likeable. With his coworkers, Liverpudlian single mum Jen and enthusiastic but sometimes hasty local Ross, they make a great team. Bad things happening in the beautiful Devon landscape adds flavour, and Cleeves never forgets the grief and loss that results from sudden death. As the pieces start to fit together and the threads of the story are unravelled, I could not put it down. A great read.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
There's something nice about the fourth book in a series. The characters are bedded in, we know them, the team dynamics, the setting, but they are still fresh. And so with The Dying Light which takes us back to the beautiful landscape of North Devon and Matthew Venn and his team.
Matthew is a fascinating character, quiet, introspective, more of an observor than a participant a great contrast to his husband Jonathan and the rest of his team. Matthew needs all his resources when he investigates the murder of two girls, especially as one, Hannah, is the daughter of a prominent MP. With pressure from the press, the Civil Service and his own superiors, simmering tension between locals and wealthy second home owners such as Hannah's family, secrets and cover-ups from the families of both girls and no obvious leads, its painstaking careful work.
This was another absorbing read from Ann Cleeves, in which, as usual, the landscape plays a starring role. I can't be the only reader desperate to move to Matthew and Jonathan's beach home! Lovely development for all characters, with Ross possibly starting to grow up and understand what detective work means at last, Jen starting to forgive herself for her parenting choices and Matthew taking his turn to be the supportive spouse. A pageturner. Recommended.
Matthew is a fascinating character, quiet, introspective, more of an observor than a participant a great contrast to his husband Jonathan and the rest of his team. Matthew needs all his resources when he investigates the murder of two girls, especially as one, Hannah, is the daughter of a prominent MP. With pressure from the press, the Civil Service and his own superiors, simmering tension between locals and wealthy second home owners such as Hannah's family, secrets and cover-ups from the families of both girls and no obvious leads, its painstaking careful work.
This was another absorbing read from Ann Cleeves, in which, as usual, the landscape plays a starring role. I can't be the only reader desperate to move to Matthew and Jonathan's beach home! Lovely development for all characters, with Ross possibly starting to grow up and understand what detective work means at last, Jen starting to forgive herself for her parenting choices and Matthew taking his turn to be the supportive spouse. A pageturner. Recommended.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I do enjoy this relatively new series from Ann Cleeves, Two Rivers - it features Matthew Venn, a quiet detective who reminds me to some extent of Adam Dalgliesh; thoughtful, painfully self-aware, and very much one of the good guys - no corners are cut when investigations proceed. In this, the fourth instalment, Matthew and his team are caught between the devil and the deep blue sea - well, a swimming pool containing a woman's body, and the pool belongs to a high-flying government Minister, Paul Armstrong, who tries hard to be the man next door; the devil, in this case, are the locals who either tolerate or resent incomers.
Armstrong's daughter and her best friend had come down for a holiday weekend, the rest of the family following on, and after the local farm staged a low-key music festival, the girls disappear - and with the body in the pool discovered, a deadline is imposed by Venn's boss to discover what happened, find the.culprit and avoid the media frenzy that's bound to come. Venn and the team explore numerous avenues - had a disgruntled local had enough, or was the politician's daughter targeted because of who her father was?
It's fascinating watching Ann Cleeves pull all these threads together into another satisfying conclusion; I could feel the angst as a past catastrophe could no longer be ignored.
Armstrong's daughter and her best friend had come down for a holiday weekend, the rest of the family following on, and after the local farm staged a low-key music festival, the girls disappear - and with the body in the pool discovered, a deadline is imposed by Venn's boss to discover what happened, find the.culprit and avoid the media frenzy that's bound to come. Venn and the team explore numerous avenues - had a disgruntled local had enough, or was the politician's daughter targeted because of who her father was?
It's fascinating watching Ann Cleeves pull all these threads together into another satisfying conclusion; I could feel the angst as a past catastrophe could no longer be ignored.
Review of advance copy received from NetGalley
I enjoy this series set in Devon with Matthew Venn as the serious-minded detective solving the cases. This doesn't disappoint, an MPs family are assembling at their Devon house, which allows for some pertinent comments about Londoners buying up property that locals can no longer afford. Two girls - the politician's daughter and her social media 'influencer' friend are the first to arrive, and this is when the crime begins.
Ann Cleeves writes such good plots, I didn't guess who did it at any point, and enjoyed the depiction of the unlikeable influencer and the power of social media to damage businesses and reputations. The location and character of Matthew don't match those of Shetland and Jimmy Perez, but nonetheless are strong in their own right. One irritation is the constant repetition of 'his husband' whenever Jonathan (Matthew's husband) is referred to. I don't remember this ever being the case with any other character's spouse - are we being reminded that Matthew is gay? A friend pointed this quirk out to me originally and now I can't not notice it.
However overall this is a good series and a good novel which kept me guessing. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.
Ann Cleeves writes such good plots, I didn't guess who did it at any point, and enjoyed the depiction of the unlikeable influencer and the power of social media to damage businesses and reputations. The location and character of Matthew don't match those of Shetland and Jimmy Perez, but nonetheless are strong in their own right. One irritation is the constant repetition of 'his husband' whenever Jonathan (Matthew's husband) is referred to. I don't remember this ever being the case with any other character's spouse - are we being reminded that Matthew is gay? A friend pointed this quirk out to me originally and now I can't not notice it.
However overall this is a good series and a good novel which kept me guessing. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.
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