The Heron's Cry (Two Rivers #2) by Ann Cleeves

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Cleeves--New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows--returns with the extraordinary follow-up to The Long Call, in the Two Rivers series, soon to be a major TV series too.


North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.

Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.

DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft. 

Source: NetGalley; ARC kindly provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

You know, when I read The Long Call last year, I thought it was good and I liked DI Venn. It surprised me how often I'd think back to the story and in particular, DI Venn. I was drawn to his calmness, his ability to be still in the midst of chaos as he quietly turned things over in his mind while also managing detectives under him whose personalities differed from him. It's a quality I so wish I could master. The Heron's Cry was obviously going to land on my TBR pile. 

I think the greatest thrill about any Ann Cleeves novel is that she's able to pack in so much story. She seamlessly moves from character to character, inviting the reader into their private thoughts and drops all sorts of insightful, curious notes. I like her way of storytelling because whether or not those details are pertinent to the main mystery at hand, they're excellent for understanding the various personalities that populate the village or community the story is set in. With regards to DI Venn, she strikes a perfect balance between his professional and personal sides which he himself tries to keep as separate as possible. While he's often deliberate in his intentions and carries himself in a disciplined manner, Cleeves shows us his tender qualities, which are drawn out whenever he's around his husband, Jonathan. They're not showy displays of affection but simply more honest, more vulnerable interactions where Venn feels safest and allows for a more emotional connection. The first book in the series examined his strict religious upbringing and his continued struggle to make peace with it. The Heron's Call continues that line and also brings Venn closer to possibly reconciling with his religious mother. If not that, at least understanding her better.

In The Heron's Call, the victim, Dr. Yeo is an admired member of the community. Not only is he personally known to one of the detectives on Venn's team, a few of the suspects are as well. And some of them are even high profile. The personal and professional sides clash a bit amongst the detectives which for sure make conducting the investigation trickier. Dr. Yeo was working for an organization that advocates for patient rights and his latest casework involved the deaths of patients who had been suffering from depression. (As this is a sensitive subject and the investigation uncovers some troubling details I will leave a few content/trigger warnings at the end of this review.) 

I would say my only disappointment with The Heron's Cry was that I figured out the whodunnit a few chapters before the big reveal. It's weird because most often when I read mysteries, I like to try to guess at it and I'm generally wrong which is a good thing for me because I'd rather that twist or surprise, but in this case I wanted that question to carry me through the end. It didn't take away from Cleeve's marvelous writing or the suspense of the story, however, so I still say this reading experience is a win. Cleeve's writes the kind of mystery that I crave - thrilling, compassionate, deeply emotional and thoughtful. Fans of small village British mysteries will take to this one as well!

~ Bel

 

Content Warning

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 - depression; death of one of the previous patients by suicide; mention of online suicide chat forum; a separate group within that suicide forum that encourages taking action towards suicide

The Darkest Evening (Vera Stanhope #9) by Ann Cleeves

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From Ann Cleeves--New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows--comes the stunning new Vera Stanhope novel, The Darkest Evening.

On the first snowy night of winter, Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope sets off for her home in the hills. Though the road is familiar, she misses a turning and soon becomes lost and disorientated. A car has skidded off the narrow road in front of her, its door left open, and she stops to help. There is no driver to be seen, so Vera assumes that the owner has gone to find help. But a cry calls her back: a toddler is strapped in the back seat.

Vera takes the child and, driving on, she arrives at a place she knows well. Brockburn is a large, grand house in the wilds of Northumberland, now a little shabby and run down. It's also where her father, Hector, grew up. Inside, there's a party in full swing: music, Christmas lights and laughter. Outside, unbeknownst to the revelers, a woman lies dead in the snow.

As the blizzard traps the group deep in the freezing Northumberland countryside, Brockburn begins to give up its secrets, and as Vera digs deeper into her investigation, she also begins to uncover her family's complicated past.

Source: ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review


Truthfully, I was kind of hesitant about reading this because when I requested the ARC, I’d mistakenly thought I was getting book #2 in her newest Two Rivers series, but I managed to land in #9 in the Vera Stanhope universe. Oops! After peeking around I saw that a few other readers said it works as a standalone which encouraged me to read it anyway. I had absolutely no trouble at all getting in to this. Cleeves has a very inviting way about her stories and I never felt that I was missing anything that was pertinent to Vera’s background or that of her inspectors, Joe and Holly. I’ll add that I’ve seen maybe two or three episodes of the Vera TV series so having those images in mind helped me picture the setting better.

The story itself is what I love about mysteries - tantalizing, suspenseful, thoughtful. Vera, who’s such a unique personality, adds humanity to the victims and I love how she can barrel through and not give any f’s. Her detective work is fascinating as she's a no frills, gritty kind of personality. She’s not infallible but there’s something at once admirable and intimidating about her. The dynamics between Vera, Holly and Joe are equally interesting as they show how they work in unison and independently of each other. I also liked gaining insight as to how Vera relies on each of them for specific things e.g. Joe is always good about reeling her back in if she gets too far ahead of herself. In return, she encourages but doesn't coddle. I also liked getting a peek into Vera's family's background as there's a sort of unexpected reunion thanks to their links to the murder victim. 

I was able to guess the ‘whodunit’ though I came to that conclusion from a different angle; I don't think my guesswork would hold up to Vera's standards 😉 The Darkest Evening is what I enjoy best about British mysteries. It's compelling without relying on being graphic. The characters gradually shed their layers as they react to tighter scrutiny, and that's what makes Cleeves stories so exciting to me. I will absolutely go back and start this series from the beginning!

~ Bel

The Long Call (Two Rivers #1) by Ann Cleeves

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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