The Heron's Cry (Detective Matthew Venn Novel #2) by Ann Cleeves
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Web ID: 149665063.5 not the series' best, but still good
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advanced copy. I really enjoy this author's multiple series'. I've watched the TV shows that her books have lead to and enjoy her stories and her writing style. I'm fairly new to this particular series of books with Detective Mathew Venn, who is a gay man leading a team of detectives who investigate murders in a beautiful coastal area in England called Devon. His team includes Jen Rafferty, a single mother that had left an abusive marriage and is now trying her best to balance life and her job and Ross May, a local from the area who's need for "glory" and recognition sometimes gets in his way. The story here is surrounding the mysterious murder of a local man and the details he was investigating surrounding a suicide that seemed to have occurred due to the failures of the local health agencies. Then there is another murder with connections to the first victim and it's up to Matthew and his team to figure out how everything is linked and how all the characters and victims are connected. Although at times the story lagged/dragged a bit, there was a satisfying conclusion. This was not one of my favourites of this author, and maybe I would have liked it even more as an audiobook (my first Matthew Venn book was audio), but overall it was a good read nonetheless. 3.5 for me.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
The Heron's Cry
DI Matthew Venn and his team, DS Jen Rafferty and DC Ross May are back as well as Matthew’s husband, Jonathan, who manages the Woodyard, a local community center for artists and the local residents. The book summary introduces the primary premise of murders at a somewhat of an artist’s colony, called Westacombe, where the owner, Frank, an older, wealthy, entrepreneur, who rents rooms and studios to local artists as well as a family of farmers. The first victim, Nigel, is the father of one of the artists, Eve, a glass blower. The second victim is one of the artists, Wes, who is a bit of a player as well as a friend of Jens. There are secondary storylines too. There is one regarding the suicides of former patients of local mental health facilities who were discharged because they were not deemed as requiring any further care only to have those same patients commit suicide shortly after they were released. Nigel, who worked for a patients advocate agency, was investigating these cases before he was killed. There is another secondary storyline that is about Matthew reestablishing his relationship with his mother, starting with introducing her to Jonathan. Lastly, there is another secondary story revolving around the marriage of Ross and his wife Mel. Most of the story revolves around the investigation of the murders. Into the second half, the leads of the case lead the team to a suicide website that lures and encourages people to commit suicide. However, a resident has their own suspicions and comes to their own conclusion who might be the killer and they do their own investigating. The ending comes pretty quick after that with the team and the other resident in danger. OMG!!! The shocking reveal was absolutely bizarre and creepy! Didn’t see that one coming. I guess I should mention a trigger warning that this story centers around the mental health of suicidal people as well as their families who were let down by the mental health services and agencies that were assigned to help. This story depicted the issues that the patients and their families struggled with daily and just how exhausting it was. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
The Heron's Cry
DI Matthew Venn and his team, DS Jen Rafferty and DC Ross May are back as well as Matthew’s husband, Jonathan, who manages the Woodyard, a local community center for artists and the local residents. The book summary introduces the primary premise of murders at a somewhat of an artist’s colony, called Westacombe, where the owner, Frank, an older, wealthy, entrepreneur, who rents rooms and studios to local artists as well as a family of farmers. The first victim, Nigel, is the father of one of the artists, Eve, a glass blower. The second victim is one of the artists, Wes, who is a bit of a player as well as a friend of Jens. There are secondary storylines too. There is one regarding the suicides of former patients of local mental health facilities who were discharged because they were not deemed as requiring any further care only to have those same patients commit suicide shortly after they were released. Nigel, who worked for a patients advocate agency, was investigating these cases before he was killed. There is another secondary storyline that is about Matthew reestablishing his relationship with his mother, starting with introducing her to Jonathan. Lastly, there is another secondary story revolving around the marriage of Ross and his wife Mel. Most of the story revolves around the investigation of the murders. Into the second half, the leads of the case lead the team to a suicide website that lures and encourages people to commit suicide. However, a resident has their own suspicions and comes to their own conclusion who might be the killer and they do their own investigating. The ending comes pretty quick after that with the team and the other resident in danger. OMG!!! The shocking reveal was absolutely bizarre and creepy! Didn’t see that one coming. I guess I should mention a trigger warning that this story centers around the mental health of suicidal people as well as their families who were let down by the mental health services and agencies that were assigned to help. This story depicted the issues that the patients and their families struggled with every daily and just how exhausting it was. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending me this eARC in exchange for my honest review.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Twisty police procedural
I recommend reading this series in order as there is a large cast of characters, and also for the introduction to the area. The book is set mostly on the coast of North Devon in England, which is dotted with small towns. I was fascinated that there was even a circle of very short standing stones, which is now buried with silt. The murder mystery has a complex, twisty plot with several deaths. Two of the deaths are obvious murders and the other two deaths were for people who fell from the cliffs. Every death was investigated, since the four people were connected in some way. The two murders were definitely related and occurred close together. Those two people were stabbed with a glass shard that came from vases created by the same artist. The first person stabbed, Dr. Nigel Yeo, was the father of the artist who created the vases. This is a police procedural, where the investigating officers, led by Detective Inspector Michael Ven, painstakingly interview each of the many people associated with the two murder victims and the two people who fell from the cliffs. This mystery is extremely twisty and there were many characters who could possibly be the killer. It was fascinating how all of the tiny bits and pieces of information gathered from all of the various sources finally revealed the killer. I can usually guess but I couldn't do that in this book. I highly recommend it for lovers of police procedurals set in Great Britain. I received an e-arc of this book from the publisher St. Martin's Press/Minotaur via NetGalley. It was a pleasure to voluntarily read and review this book.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Matthew Venn - a new detective to love
"He was unprepossessing too, a grey man in his fifties with strange hairy growths on his face, giving him the appearance of a weasel." I wanted to use that line from #theheronscry by @anncleeves b/c I thought it such a great description, can't you truly see how this person looks? Ewww! Lots of these terrific "pictures" throughout this book. I'd been wanting to read one of hers for a very long time, and was pleased to receive this one from #netgalley. Loved the characters, the beach town setting, the gruesome (truly) murders, and the ending that provides more than one unguessable twist. I enjoyed the multiple POVs and seeing the various characters through others' eyes. And Matthew Venn?? LOVED him ("his work was all about careful, intense listening.") SO well done, adding all her series of books to my "to read" list. P.S. thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
terrific read
Terrific! DS Jen Rafferty doesn't know exactly why Dr. Nigel Yeo wanted to talk to her at the cocktail party but she's had a bit too much and never finds out. And then he's found murdered in his daughter Eve's glass blowing studio- with a shard of glass made by Eve in his neck. DI Matthew Venn has a twisty one on his hands here, especially when there's...wait- no spoilers! Cleeves excels at writing characters who you can see and relate to and this new series is no exception. Venn is rigid but thoughtful, his husband Jonathan emotional and intuitive. Frank Ley, who sold his holdings on the market before the crash, owns the property where Eve and Wesley have their studios and John and Sarah farm, is intriguing, Then there's the Mackenzie family, who lost a son to suicide, Those who read the first book will be pleased to see that Lucy is back and once again helpful. Don't worry if you didn't read that one. Although you missed a great read, this second in the series is entirely enjoyable as a standalone. Thanks to Nergalley for the ARC. I know she left clues along the way but I didn't see this one coming. I very much enjoyed it and am eagerly awaiting the next installment.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Well developed police procedural
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this character-driven police procedural. The Heron's Cry introduced me to the Two Rivers series by Ann Cleeves. I now plan to read the Long Call ( book 1 in the series) to learn more about her engaging new characters. Set during the tourist season in the vividly described town of Noth Devon, we follow a complicated and perplexing murder mystery. The people who populate the story are multilayered with flaws and foibles but engage the readers' interest. Members of the local police department are so well-written that they come to life on the page. Having enjoyed the author's Vera Stanhope and Shetland books and their TV adaptations, I was pleased to learn that Two Rivers will continue as a series with plans for television. The conservative, introverted, introspective, and compassionate DI Matthew Venn has had a troubled history. He grew up in a strict fundamentalist religious family that conflicted with his sexual orientation and desire to work in law enforcement. He is now settling into a comfortable home life with his husband, the sociable, outgoing Jonathan, who gives him the emotional support he needs. This well-written, complicated, puzzling mystery moves at a slow pace as Venn, and his team, DS Jen Rafferty and DC Ross May must painstakingly unravel the connections and motivations of many suspects. There has been a murder in a rural artist community. A wealthy finance expert, Frank Ley, provided inexpensive accommodation to artists and craftspeople on his estate. The victim, Dr. Nigel Yeo, was a well-liked advocate for patients' rights and was investigating the NHS. He had been troubled by suicide within health care facilities. Detective Rafferty met Dr. Yeo the night before at a party on the night before his death. He approached her to discuss a problem, but she had been drinking too much to pay close attention and postponed the conversation. He has been found murdered in his daughter's artist loft. His daughter, Eve, produced glass-blown crafts, and he was stabbed with a piece of glass from one of her vases. Eve was a friend of Venn's husband, Jonathan, who runs an artist cooperative and is also involved in Woodyard, a workplace for disabled people. There has been a second murder by the same method. The author builds suspense and invests the reader in their effort to solve the case, full of twists, red herrings, and dead ends. Recommended for readers who enjoy and admire Ann Cleeve's past books and those who like to follow a slow-burn intricate investigation and mystery with well-developed, intriguing characters.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
good whodunit
thriller, law-enforcement, murder, murder-investigation, family-dynamics, friendship, british-detective DI Matthew Venn is complex, often brooding and with a lot of personal baggage in a job that could break a less driven man. The diligence is good, the investigation is somewhat divergent, and there are more than enough twists and red herrings. All of the characters have depth and a sense of presence to them. Very well done. I requested and received a free temporary ebook copy from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Thank you
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com