The Heron's Cry
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- $28.99
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- $28.99
Publisher Description
Now a major ITV series, The Long Call, adapted for television by screenwriter Kelly Jones and starring Ben Aldridge.
'Matthew Venn is a keeper . . . stunning' – David Baldacci
The number one Sunday Times bestselling series featuring Detective Matthew Venn, from author and creator of the Vera and Shetland series, Ann Cleeves.
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. His daughter Eve is a glassblower, and the murder weapon is a shard of one of her 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 finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home . . .
The Heron's Cry is the second novel in Ann Cleeves’ Two Rivers crime series, following her Sunday Times bestseller, The Long Call.
Praise for The Long Call:
'As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves’ latest. Matthew Venn is a keeper. A stunning debut for Cleeves’ latest crimefighter' - David Baldacci
'Had me hooked . . . a promising beginning to another fine chapter in the Ann Cleeves story' - The Times
'A triumph that cements Cleeves’ status as one of Britain’s best crime writers' - Daily Express
'Clever, compassionate and atmospheric . . . I am already a Matthew Venn fan' - Elly Griffiths
'Cleeves combines a flair for evoking sense of place with a thoughtful, complex plot' - Mail on Sunday
'A traditional mystery of the best sort' - Guardian
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Ann Cleeves has quietly become one of the UK’s crime doyennes, crafting engrossing mysteries in her unobtrusively classy, crisp prose. The veteran author of the Vera and Shetland franchises now returns with the second novel in her North Devon series, starring DI Matthew Venn. He’s a subtly compelling creation: sorrowful and socially uptight, thanks to his strict religious upbringing, but a patient and perceptive detective. Rather than a showy maverick full of gratuitous quirks, like too many fictional detectives, Venn is a more nuanced hero. This satisfyingly chewy police procedural finds him investigating a pair of elaborately staged stabbings during a tourist-heavy heatwave. “Double murder on Sunshine Coast”, as the newspaper headlines put it. The case is a beguiling slow-burner which creeps up and captures you, before blindsiding you with a wild twist. Venn’s sidekicks, cocky Ross and impulsive Jen, play almost as pivotal a role as the sleuth himself. A haunting tale of family secrets and festering lies, set within a beautifully evoked coastal landscape.
Customer Reviews
The Herons Cry
I found this a very depressing read - interesting characters but a very down subject on suicide and mental health. No uplift at the end which makes this subject seem overwhelmingly unable to lead a good life with mental health issues, which is not the case for a vast amount of sufferers, me included.