Friday, August 30, 2019

The Long Call (The Two Rivers Series, Book 1) by Ann Cleeves


The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
  • ISBN-10: 1250204445 - Hardcover $27.99
  • Publisher: Minotaur Books (September 3, 2019) 384 pages.
Review copy courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

The blurb:
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.
Review:
In The Long Call, Ann Cleeves introduces another detective hero and begins the Two Rivers Series.  

Set in a remote, beach and tourism town in North Devon, we follow Detective Matthew Venn and his loyal team of detectives.  DI Venn is an unusual hero - gay, married and formerly part of a strict religious group.  A hard worker and a dedicated detective, Venn is not one to seek attention and prefers not to deal with the media.  Instead, Venn must balance the demands and laziness of his superior officer and the ego and flash of his younger detectives.   The politicking is one aspect of the detective's job, but Ann Cleeves makes the interpersonal and the backstory a strong part of The Long Call

Matthew's home life with his husband Jonathan gives another layer of emotion.  Indeed, Ann Cleeves makes each of the detectives come alive with their home life, their strengths and weaknesses. 

I'm looking forward to reading the next in the Two Rivers series. 

About the Author:
ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind two hit television series―the BBC’s Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, and ITV’s Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn―both of which are watched and loved in the US. Her brand new Two Rivers series will launch in September 2019, with The Long Call.

Shetland is available in the US on Netflix, Amazon Video, Britbox, and PBS, and Vera is available on Hulu, Amazon Video, BritBox, and PBS.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the CWA Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She lives in the UK.