Series: The Two Rivers, #1
Author: Ann Cleeves
Genre: Mystery/Suspense
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Release Date: Sept. 3, 2019
Purchase Link: Amazon
My Rating: 3 Diverse Hearts
*With many thanks to the publisher for an arc of this book.
Synopsis:
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.
An astonishing new novel told with compassion and searing insight, The Long Call will captivate fans of Vera and Shetland, as well as new readers.
Review:
The Long Call is an atmospheric, character-driven murder mystery set in North Devon. Cleeves has an obvious gift for setting a scene with the tone and mood drawing both characters and readers into the story. Like any good police investigation, this story is slow to develop with evidence and clues being gathered and accessed by an array of unique characters. I applaud the author's sensitive yet straight-forward inclusion of several social issues including religion and the social injustice and abuse often demonstrated toward the disabled, mentally impaired, and gays.
DI Matthew Venn is a complex, smart, introspective, married gay man who, as the story opens, is standing outside a church watching his father's funeral. He has been estranged from his family ever since he was banished from the evangelical church years ago. As he slips away, a phone call draws him to a nearby beach where a body has been discovered. Venn has no idea that his past and present will soon collide in a major way. While Venn is a highly efficient detective, he also clearly has self-confidence issues making for a unique if somewhat puzzling character and somehow, I never fully connected to him.
As the story unfolds, readers are introduced to a rather large support cast including Venn's husband Jonathan who is head of The Woodyard, a center for disabled adults. Clues will soon tie the murder to this center as well as to some of its residents leaving readers to unravel the mystery as they work through the multiple plot lines and many lies and secrets people will do anything to keep hidden. Red herrings are plentiful as this story slowly unfolds through twists and turns until near the end when the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place, and the author ties it all together. While the story moved a bit too slow for me, The Long Call will appeal to murder mystery fans who enjoy a slow moving case that's character driven - one in which they can follow the clues to solve the crime. A well-written, highly atmospheric police procedural that tackles some tough issues.
My Rating: 3 Diverse Hearts
The Long Call is an atmospheric, character-driven murder mystery set in North Devon. Cleeves has an obvious gift for setting a scene with the tone and mood drawing both characters and readers into the story. Like any good police investigation, this story is slow to develop with evidence and clues being gathered and accessed by an array of unique characters. I applaud the author's sensitive yet straight-forward inclusion of several social issues including religion and the social injustice and abuse often demonstrated toward the disabled, mentally impaired, and gays.
DI Matthew Venn is a complex, smart, introspective, married gay man who, as the story opens, is standing outside a church watching his father's funeral. He has been estranged from his family ever since he was banished from the evangelical church years ago. As he slips away, a phone call draws him to a nearby beach where a body has been discovered. Venn has no idea that his past and present will soon collide in a major way. While Venn is a highly efficient detective, he also clearly has self-confidence issues making for a unique if somewhat puzzling character and somehow, I never fully connected to him.
As the story unfolds, readers are introduced to a rather large support cast including Venn's husband Jonathan who is head of The Woodyard, a center for disabled adults. Clues will soon tie the murder to this center as well as to some of its residents leaving readers to unravel the mystery as they work through the multiple plot lines and many lies and secrets people will do anything to keep hidden. Red herrings are plentiful as this story slowly unfolds through twists and turns until near the end when the puzzle pieces begin to fall into place, and the author ties it all together. While the story moved a bit too slow for me, The Long Call will appeal to murder mystery fans who enjoy a slow moving case that's character driven - one in which they can follow the clues to solve the crime. A well-written, highly atmospheric police procedural that tackles some tough issues.
My Rating: 3 Diverse Hearts
Cross My Heart . . . xxx
♥Sandra♥
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