The Long Call
A Detective Matthew Venn Novel
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- USD 11.99
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- USD 11.99
Publisher Description
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
NOW A BRITBOX SERIES STARRING BEN ALDRIDGE AND PEARL MACKIE
The Long Call from Ann Cleeves—bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—introduces the first in the stunning Matthew Venn series.
“In Matthew Venn, Ann has created a complex, daring, subtle character.” —Louise Penny
"Matthew Venn is a keeper. A stunning debut for Cleeves’ latest crimefighter."—David Baldacci
In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his estranged father’s funeral takes place. On 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 to the people and places of his past, as deadly secrets hidden at their hearts are revealed, and his new life is forced into a collision course with the world he thought he’d left behind.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Following on the success of her two hugely popular series, the Vera Stanhope and Shetland Island mysteries, Ann Cleeves debuts her new Two Rivers series. Set on the coast of North Devon, The Long Call shows Cleeves doing what she does best: exploring the underbelly of close-knit communities amid breathtaking landscapes. When the book’s hero—reticent detective Matthew Venn, who has recently returned to the area after a long estrangement—investigates a murder, he’s put on a collision course with his own past. The story’s got plenty of twists, but its layered characters and sensitive explorations of same-sex marriage, religious intolerance, and disability make this an especially absorbing read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in Devon, England, this thoughtful series launch from bestseller Cleeves (the Vera Stanhope series) introduces Det. Insp. Matthew Venn, who spent his childhood among the Barum Brethren, a strict evangelical community led by the charismatic Dennis Salter. As a teenager, Matthew rejected the teachings of the community and was banished. Now in his late 30s, the tightly wound and reserved Matthew works in nearby Barnstable and is married to Jon, who runs a multi-use community arts center called Woodward. When a local man turns up stabbed to death on a beach near Matthew and Jon's house, the resulting investigation draws a few too many connections to Woodward including that the victim volunteered there and soon Matthew's past and present lives begin to collide. Cleeves makes good use of Devon local color and populates this subtle, expertly paced mystery with distinctive supporting characters. Hopefully, future installments will delve even further into the intriguing Barum Brethren.
