For the first time in 20 years, Ann Cleeves—international bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—embarks on a gripping new series.
In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.
Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.
The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.
An astonishing new novel told with compassion and searing insight, The Long Call will captivate fans of Vera and Shetland, as well as new readers.
Source: advance e-galley provided in exchange for an honest review
I’ve been wanting a murder mystery and I got one! Cleeves sets up the story and characters impeccably and I was riveted from the get go. As a fan of British detective shows I could picture clearly this story playing out in my mind. It’s moody, character-driven and suspenseful. Things started taking on urgency by the time I reached about the 70% mark of the book and I knew I couldn’t go another day without knowing the ending.
I didn’t realize until I started reading that Cleeves is the author of the Shetland book series that the TV show, Shetland is based on. Even though I've only seen a couple of episodes I was excited to find that out. I happen to be a sucker for good mysteries and I especially love it when they're set in small towns or villages, and the story is about exploring the characters and their narratives. It's riveting to me how a suspect's behaviour changes the more they feel scrutinized under the microscope. It's that gradual increase in tension in The Long Call that had me hanging on every page eager to get to the truth. Detective Venn, whose backstory is intertwined with the murder mystery, comes across as methodical, introspective and a bit mysterious in his own way. He's a quiet, unassuming man who when he says something, has purpose behind it. Despite his own reservation about staying on the case because he feels too personally involved with certain aspects of it, he remains professional which demonstrates why he's good at what he does. He's the calm in the storm through the chaos of solving the crimes even if it brings him uncomfortably close to his own unhappy past. I also liked how the story unfolded seamlessly through the other characters' POV.
The Long Call is filled with all the things I love in a mystery and was exactly what I needed. Of course, now I want to read more so and I’m definitely going to look through Cleeves' impressive catalog of books for more mysteries to satisfy my appetite.
~ Bel
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