Description
Ann 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, 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.
Cleeves’ second in the Matthew Venn series is just as twisty and slick as her first, featuring skillful character development as well as engaging description and dialog. Cleeves is by far one of the best mystery writers practicing today, including intricate plots with lots of little off-shoot stories meant to deceive the reader until the final reveal.
The peek into the relationships that have shaped Matthew, Jen, and Ross lead to emotional investment in the story and characters while the detective work keeps you turning pages. Fans of Louise Penny and Martha Grimes (and of Cleeves’ other series – Vera and Shetland) will thoroughly enjoy this one.
Recommended.
Publication Date: September 7, 2021
Published By: St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy
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