AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! WINNER OF THE AGATHA AWARD FOR BEST CONTEMPORARY NOVEL From Ann Cleeves–bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows–comes the first in a gripping new series, told with deep compassion and searing insight. “Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers.”–Louise Penny A PEOPLE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK … “Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers.”–Louise Penny
A PEOPLE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF FALL 2019
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.
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This is a new series fron a great author. I like the characters and I see lots of possibilities for future stories. Good mystery.
This book was one of the best I have read recently. I can not wait for PBS to put this on TV!
Disappointed…so fond of Vera and Jimmy This new series was not up to Cleeves former work.
Read 8.26.2019
Every once in awhile, you will randomly pick up a book by an author you know nothing about [and pray that it is at least halfway decent] and have your socks blown COMPLETELY off. Such is the case of this book – WOW. This was such a great read. It is paced well, the writing is amazing and the story itself is so good and engaging and you just never quite know who is good and who is bad and who you can trust. And when the reveal happens…..BOY HOWDY!!
Matthew Venn is a great character – he has faults and insecurities, but not enough to make him unlikable; rather it makes him much more relatable. And the surrounding “cast” is also written very good – no one is wasted here [even the twit Ross – let’s just hope that he grows with each book, because there HAD BETTER be more books in this series] and I think as everyone’s backstories unfold in subsequent books, I am going to like them more and more. The way the author handled this story [it has several delicate subject matters] is also commendable. At no time does she talk down about learning disabilities and she is quick to show just how capable people with Down Syndrome are – it was really refreshing to be honest and made for a great reading experience.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin Press/Minotaur Books for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“The Long Call” is a well-written, first installment in a brand new series by author, Ann Cleeves that is set against the backdrop of North Devon, between the two rivers, Taw and Torridge. It plays out as more of a procedural whodunit than riveting mystery, and as such, the pacing leans towards the slower side. Despite the stellar writing, I had a difficult time relating to the characters, and the story, itself, felt a bit lackluster for my personal tastes. Judging by other reviews, however, fans of Ann Cleeves will, no doubt, find this novel extremely appealing, even if it did fall a bit short for me.
If you like your crime fiction gritty, violent and with plenty of action, you might find this a little slow. But if you enjoy gentle, beautifully crafted, character driven murder investigations, this story gives you time to breathe, to savour and to deliberate.
It centres on DI Matthew Venn, who returns to the community he left many years ago. His husband runs a local community centre that’s the focal point of the story. When a body’s found on a beach, not far from where they live, it’s Venn’s first major case in charge. The victim, a casual worker at the centre, is a bit of a mystery with a past that offers up some suspects and motives. Before his death, he befriended a girl with Downs Syndrome, who visited the centre.
Venn’s not your usual hard-boiled stereotype copper. He’s sensitive, self-conscious and often doubts his abilities as he struggles for traction on a case that touches the local community, from those who rely on the centre for help to those who run it.
I loved the North Devon setting, the doggedness that Venn shows, despite his doubts, and the way he slowly peels back all the secrets to get to the truth behind the killing. The relationships between the various members of the team are also fascinating as the drive for the truth tests every one of them.
This is the first in a new series and I look forward to reading the next when it is published.
I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the next book in the series. It’s a different book for Ann to write but I am going to like it. It is different from a lot of other crime books and that’s a good thing. You are going to enjoy it. Thanks Ann for a great read!
This book was good enough, it kept my interest. I did borrow the audiobook from the library and listened to about half of it, switching back to reading at the end. The language was a bit to get used to, but that’s to be expected being set in England, where I am in the States. This sure did keep me guessing right to the end. I didn’t see that coming.
The Long Call earns 5/5 Tattoos…Compelling Page Turner!
Ann Cleeves’s Vera and Shetland series are my top favorite British television detective shows, so taking advantage of the opportunity to read her own words introducing a new detective patrolling a different district was a no-brainer. It’s North Devon in the Southwest tail of England, the opposite of both the Shetland Islands and Vera’s Northumberland. Detective Mathew Venn is new to the Barnstaple team. He recently lost his father, long estranged to him, bringing to the surface the pain of his past and his family rooted in a strict evangelical community called the Barum Brethren. But, Venn and his partners (the perfectly coiffed Ross May and energetic Jen Rafferty) are confronted with the murder of a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck. The investigation begins on the surface as ordinary, straightforward, but soon secrets and lies, past and present, are revealed slowly, deliberately, deepening the complexity of the drama. Add contemporary prejudices, a kidnapping, personal connections, and characters with their own challenges, flaws, and demons, and one has a compelling page turner that’s almost impossible to put down. The end? Brilliant! Satisfying! In retrospect I should have seen it coming since I feel the essence of Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez lurking in Cleeves’s style. Although her writing is filled with a descriptive narrative realistically creating the diverse setting from rivers to marsh land, small towns to urban areas, and depicting an edgy tone, it is the characters that drive this story with dialogue to heighten the emotions and illustrate various personalities. I highly recommend this book!
Never skip a new Ann Cleeves book!
A great new series potential.
This was an entertaining read. I liked the main character, Matthew Venn but had mixed feelings about some of the other characters. I am curious how they will develop in future books and if I will like them more. The story takes place in North Devon and begins with a body found on the beach. This story ends up being closer to Matthew and his family and his history than he expects and I found that aspect of the story very interesting. The mystery had a few twists that I didn’t expect and I found the ending surprising. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series.
I received a complimentary copy of this ebook from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
I loved this book. It’s the first in a new series and I look forward to more. Ann Cleeves has done a great job of weaving together a story that will most definitely keep you turning the pages to the very end.
The characters in this story are very likable and realistic. The storyline is done so good you’ll feel like you are there. The scenery is beautifully written. There was a couple of places where I thought the story was going to drag but it immediately picked up and held my interest. I truly enjoyed this book and can’t wait for the next in this series.
A great read for a cold winter day.
Thank you to #NetGalley, #St Martin’s Press for this ARC. This is my own true review.
I give it a 4 star and highly recommend this book.
Very interesting story. Evocative landscape. Original, realistic character relationships.
A middle-aged gay detective? Sign me up. Cleeves, who has rocketed into being my favorite mystery writer, breaks down a few walls (gay, older, happily partnered) with the lead of “The Long Call” (first book of her new The Two River series). I can’t wait to see where this series goes, although I hope she doesn’t break my heart like with a certain character from her Shetland Island series. (If you see this, Ms. Cleeves, please have mercy on me this time.)
The Long Call was a suspenseful novel with a twisted story line. I enjoyed how the story unraveled throughout the pages and how well the truth was kept hidden. Matthew is on a case involving a man who was found murdered. For some reason this man had contact with a young woman with Down’s Syndrome from the center that he was involved with. Shortly after he is found murdered, another woman from the center disappears one day. The characters are all local people and most of them have some connection to the center. They either seem like they couldn’t have had anything to do with the murder or they seem like they could be guilty. Matthew becomes more and more determined to solve the case as more incidents happen and the situation begins to hit closer to home.
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves is a murder mystery set in southwest England. Detective Matthew Venn is investigating a murder in a tight-knit community. The author did an excellent job of drawing me into the North Devon population. I felt a connection to some of the inhabitants, and importantly, a lingering sorrow for the murder victim. Admittedly there were times I felt bogged down by some of the cast of characters, and the slow burn almost wasn’t worth it. In the end, I enjoyed getting to know Matthew Venn, and I was glad for the justice he was able to deliver for Simon. I would consider continuing with this series. Sometimes I find a first book suffers from too much exposition when attempting to introduce all the people in their world, and Matthew is a strong lead.
I read he Shetland series and loved them. Went back and read her first book and was disappointed in the character development and lack of a great plot. I’ll try another of her earlier series to see if they are better.
Book source ~ NetGalley
Detective Matthew Venn left his roots behind when he went to college and discovered the strict evangelical community he grew up in was crap. It’s while he’s lurking outside his father’s funeral many years later that he gets a call that there’s a body on the beach. He has no clue that this case will crash land him right back into the community he walked away from.
This is a solid but slow moving mystery that connects several things together. I like Matthew Venn and his team as well as his husband Jonathan and the place he manages, the Woodyard. In other words, I really like the world and the characters. It’s not an exciting heart-racing page-turner, but the mystery is compelling and Matthew’s flaws, strengths, intuition, and sound detective work are what drives it forward. I’d read more in this series.
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
For me this book seemed a little slow, maybe a little boring, I had a really hard time getting involved and drawn into this book and I really can’t say why as the characters were fleshed out and the writing was not horrible. Thank you Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for this book and letting me leave my opinion.