The Long Call

This whodunit mystery starts off slow, unfolding as an investigation opens about a murder that turns into more. It picked up halfway through and like a ball rolling downhill, it kept going at a faster pace. Still, I couldn’t figure it out until the author showed us. I like how everyone is a suspect. I was curious how things would tie together.

As there’s a few main characters, we have only scratched the surface with getting to know them. I didn’t feel a deep connection with anyone, but it’s possible since this is a series, that the character development will evolve with each book. It was interesting watching them chase facts and leads. This is my first book by this author and a refreshing, straightforward investigation story.

4 stars for a well done police procedural.
I have read 1 other book by Ann Cleeves, “The Crow Trap” which is book 1 in the Vera Stanhope series. I gave that book 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 because it moved very slowly at times. This book moved along well and held my interest. The characters were believable and I was not sure who did what until towards the end, The DI(Detective Inspector) in charge of a murder investigation is Matthew Venn. He is a gay man married to Jonathan, head of The Woodyard, a day centre for learning disabled adults and. a craft/art centre.
The murdered man volunteered at The Woodyard..
One quote: “He’d left the window down and now he could hear the surf on the beach and the cry of a herring gull, the sound the naturalists named the long call, the cry which always sounded to him like an inarticulate howl of pain.
Thank You Minotaur Books/St Martin’s Press for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.

This is the first Ann Cleeves book I have read. She is a new author to me. The characters are well developed and I was engaged con the story. One of the things that drew me in to the story was Lucy and Christine, two young ladies with Down Syndrome. I did find the story slightly slow moving, but a good crime mystery.
This mystery centers around finding a dead body on a beach. Who is this man? Who killed him? Why?
Matthew Venn was not whAt I expected vin a British Detective.

Thank you NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.

This was such an entertaining and exciting read. With great writing, a fine storyline and fabulous pacing, Ann Cleeves just got another fan. I’m so glad I’ve discovered this genre, and I will definitely read more from Cleeves. Great book.

Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.
#TheLongCall

I got the book on netgalley , but this is an honest review. this is a good story, if you like suspense stories you will like the book

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves was the best British novel I have read in a long time. The story of a murder on the beach of a newcomer, abduction of some adults with learning disabilities, a community help center, men of power (financially, religious leaders, Board of Directors) are all entangled in this mystery. A local detective tries to sort all of this out but at the same time not sure if he is the right detective for the job due to his relationships with the some of the suspects. Definitely kept me guessing. Would recommend for those that enjoy mysteries and suspense.

This book was soooooo good! The author has given her readers a new locale, a new police team, and interesting non-police characters. DI Matthew Venn is a recent transfer to the area. He grew up there but was cut off from family and friends when he left their church and, subsequently, had to move away as a teenager. He has returned because of his new husband Jon’s career and community ties. His team, Jenn and Ross, also have interesting back stories which are only hinted at. I really look forward to learning more about all of them. The investigation of the crime revealed so many possibilities that I had to wonder if any or most were red herrings. Needless to say, the solution was convoluted and satisfactory in every way. This is going to be a fabulous series!

Great Start To The Role Out Novel Of A New Series

The novel opens with a dead body on a northern Devon shore, and the main character, Detective Inspector, Matthew Venn, not far away attending his estranged father’s funeral. The victim had a short history in the area that started with him arriving at the steps of a local mental health project dead drunk and apparently deep in despair. The novel grows from this start.

I used the word, grows, because this novel is not a page turner or starts like horses bolting from the starting gate but unfolds like a beautiful and intricate quilt. All the action takes place in and around Barnstaple, a relatively small community. Progress is made through strong police team work. As the investigation proceeds, the cast of characters grows and interconnections between them develop like the threads weaving the design into the quilt. The evening meetings of DI Venn’s team reveals the complexity of running a team investigation and illustrates well the reactions to all of the new information and the effects of the twists, turns and dead ends that the team discovers. Other crimes occur and also affect the murder investigation. Normally, it is the speed of the main storyline that captures my interest and kept me reading. All of this made the storyline as a wonderfully complex story that unfolded and captured my interest and held it throughout the entire novel.

The main storyline was complemented with a rich B storyline as you would expect in the inaugural novel in a series. There are many issues with DI Venn that are tied into the main storyline: this is his first major investigation as the DI in Barnstaple; he is estranged with his fundamental religious parents; and his husband manages the Woodyard Center that has ties to most major characters in this story that also presents a conflict of interest for DI Venn in leading this investigation. I really liked seeing how the relationship with DI Venn and his mother changed as the novel proceeded. There are decent B-storylines for DI Venn’s main team members.

There is not any sex scenes and minimal vulgar language and that includes British version of bad language. DI Venn’s same sex marriage is a major part of the main and B storylines, but isn’t emphasized, so I believe that these aspects should not objectionable to most readers. The novel is set in Britain, and the use of British words abound. I found reading this novel on a Kindle very helpful because the embedded dictionary is very good in defining most of these words. The easy access to the Internet allowed me to find those words not found in the dictionary. This occurred more often than usual.

This is the first novel by Ann Cleeves that I have read. The worst thing that I can say about this novel was that it took me a little longer than normal to read. Otherwise, I really enjoyed reading this novel and eagerly await the next and subsequent novels. I enjoyed the author’s attention to detail. While reading I noticed use of a term of endearment, my lover. I marked it as a typo. It was used three times when I expected my love to be used. Upon writing this review, I researched this term. I found a webpage dedicated to British terms of endearment. The first was my love. I went through the entire webpage. At the end there were some regional terms. There it was. The explanation provided was that it was used in South West England, right where the novel is set.

All of the above is why I rate this novel with five stars. If you have read the author’s previous series, Vera and Shetland, and liked them, do not miss this one. If like me, you have not read any Ann Cleeves before but like the genre, do give this novel a try.

I have received a free kindle version of this novel through NetGalley from St. Martin’s Press with an expectation for an honest, unbiased review. I wish to thank St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this novel early.

Ann Cleeves is the creator of the books that inspired the TV shows Vera and Shetland. She writes understated but powerful psychologically perceptive crime novels. This is the first book with her new detective Matthew Venn. Can’t wait for the next in the Two River series.

Kept me guessing all the way to the end. Great characters.