This wasn’t bad but I also didn’t find it very compelling. I had a hard time feeling the pull of the main characters. Perhaps it’s all the jumping around, to different third person perspectives. They felt a little one dimension. It took a while for it to really hold my attention.

One thing I noticed though, was there was a bit of repetition. Backstory repeated. It happened more than once, enough for me to really take note.

Author kept my attention with riveting storyline and interesting characters, especially the young ones with special needs.. Set in North Devon, England , but one feels it could have happened in any semi-rural area.
Inspector Matthew Venn’s Investigation of the murder of a loner with psychiatric issues is complicated because his partner Jonathan manages a center attended by importance witnesses.
Thanks to #netgalley, #minotaurbooks for advanced digital edition of #thelongcall.

THE LONG CALL is the first book in Ann Cleeves new mystery series that introduces readers to Detective Matthew Venn, a savvy cop recently posted to North Devon, England, the scene of his less-than joyful youth.

When he shunned the religion in which he was raised he was, in turn, shunned by all the members of the small religious faction, including his parents. Now he and his spouse Jonathan Church are back in Devon with the ever optimistic Jonathan managing the Woodyard Center, a multiple purpose service organization.

While dealing with the recent death of his father Matthew is called upon to investigate the discovery of a body on a local beach and eventually evidence concerning the victim surfaces indicating that he as well as a good many of the suspects in the case are tied to the Woodyard Center.

Cleeves is adroit at developing a cast of complex and thought provoking characters, both primary and supporting, in addition to skillfully painting a picture of the surrounding landscape drawing the reader into the lies and secrets festering in this seemingly garden-variety town situated between two rivers.

Additionally, a plethora of insightful observations by Cleeves on subjects ranging from mental health and domestic abuse problems to community attitudes and prejudices toward some of society’s most vulnerable citizens adds breadth and depth to the multiple threads of the narrative as does Venn’s personal turmoil as his past and present meet head on.

This was actually my first Ann Cleeves book and you can tell she is a seasoned writer. This new series introduces us to Inspector Matthew Venn and his investigative team and is very much centered on the police procedural process. It is not a fast-paced story but Cleeves’ character development is the real highlight here. We have a few complex individuals that I look forward to seeing how they grow in future installments. The mystery was interesting, the setting was atmospheric and I felt the plot had depth. All in all, a very satisfying read. 4*

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a chance to read this in exchange for an honest review.

I tried really hard to like this book. Well, I wouldn't say I disliked it. I think the writing of the book and me just didn't mesh well. It drug and felt all over the place. It felt like the author didn't know whether to write it in third person or not. I just couldn't connect with the story or characters.

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.

For those of you still in mourning for the ending of Ann Cleeves' Shetland series, you have cause to rejoice. This new Two Rivers series featuring Matthew Venn has a powerhouse beginning in The Long Call, and I'm looking forward to more.

Cleeves has chosen another atmospheric setting for her new series, the coastal area of North Devon. This land of water and sky and "...the cry of the herring gull, the sound naturalists named the long call, the cry which always sounded to him like an inarticulate howl of pain" is woven through every inch of the story until it is a character in and of itself.

Matthew Venn is the sort of insightful, compassionate main character that readers should love. Raised by strict evangelical Christians, Venn is a quiet man. Buttoned down. Very self-contained. He's also more than brave enough to stand up for himself and his beliefs, leaving that religious sect and eventually becoming a policeman and marrying Jonathan, an outgoing, caring man who manages the Woodyard, a vital part of the community of Barnstaple. Their chalk-and-cheese personality traits are just what each of them needs to keep themselves on an even keel. One more thing about Matthew Venn? He's so good at listening that he reminds me a bit of Jimmy Perez, you Shetland fans.

Venn also has an interesting team to work with. Constable Ross May is the Detective Chief Inspector's golden boy, and everyone knows that they have to be careful of what they say around him. May is also young and impetuous and has a lot to learn. On the other hand, Venn believes Sergeant Jen Rafferty is probably the best detective he's ever worked with. Rafferty is the single mother of two who escaped an abusive husband. She has guts, spirit, loves to laugh, and can be a lot of fun... when she's not investigating a murder.

Although I didn't find either the crimes or those who committed them to be very surprising, I didn't care. As an introduction to a new series, The Long Call is superb. Ann Cleeves weaves spells when she tells a story. Now all I have to do is wait to be trapped willingly in the web of the next one.

I very much enjoyed the story of The Long Call by Ann Cleeves.. The characters were interesting and some of them fun. I would love to read more with Matthew and Jen, and Matthew and Jonathan. It's a story of a murder, and of two missing impaired young women; they are all connected through the day care they are involved in. The story moves swiftly and keeps you reading for more. This murder mystery kept me captivated. Thank you #NeGalley #TheLongCall #MinotourBooks

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves is an unexpected gem. This is the first book I have read from this author but it will not be the last.

The long call is a term that describes the cry of the herring gull. Born and raised in New England, this was interesting to me. This was a fantastic police procedure. A tightly wound mystery with well fleshed out characters that I really enjoyed.

I have not previously read any books by Ms. Cleeves and wasn't sure what to expect here. This book is the antithesis of the traditional British detective story. Detective Matthew Venn is not divorced, is not an alcoholic, and has not been disgraced and forced to transfer to an undesirable post. Instead, he is in a loving relationship in a pretty town with an interesting set of characters and, unfortunately, a dead body. During the course of the investigation, he finds that the whole town isn't quite as pretty, but he already knew some of that since he had grown up and left the town. His ghosts still wait for him! Ms.Cleeves slowly brings his history into the story and thereby weaves a main character that you want to get to know, want to hug and console, and want to cheer for. This is a great start to what should be a wonderful series with a refreshing lead!

I have only had the opportunity (or time) to read just a few of Ann Cleeves books. Nevertheless, she is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The well-conceived plots, the multi-dimensional characters, and the rich descriptions combine perfectly to create memorable books.

The Long Call takes place in North Devon, where Matthew Venn is a detective with the local police force. His spouse is Jonathan Church, who is the manager of the community center called Woodyard. With the discovery on the beach of a murder victim, Simon Walden, Matthew and Jonathan’s interests begin to intersect. Simon had worked as a cook in the café at Woodyard and his background becomes murkier the more Matthew and his team investigate.

Ms Cleeves introduces a cast of interesting characters who add color and energy to her story. One of things I like most about her writing (besides great characters, interesting locales, and a tight police procedural with a good mystery) is the fact that she seamlessly introduces the characters’ backstories without breaking stride. Bit by bit, she reveals their histories, making the book even better and more interesting.
The Long Call is a departure from Ms Cleeves’ other well-known books. Advance press indicates it is a beginning of a new series and I certainly hope so! For anyone who enjoys a good mystery, a variety of interesting and well-drawn characters, and writing that can only be described as excellent, I heartily recommend The Long Call.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a copy of this book for review.

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.



My Thoughts: The Long Call reeled me in from the first page, showing the characters, the settings, and the intensity of the interactions between them all. The sea, the village, and the inhabitants felt like additional players in the story.

A murder brings Matthew Venn into his own past and the people who cast him away due to his rejection of their beliefs. Would he be able to stay objective when their paths collided?

His investigation takes him more deeply into the Woodyard, a day care facility where his partner Jonathan works, and where the victim also spent time as a chef.

As he probes the activities of the various administrators, volunteers, and employees, we start to see how so many things are connected. It is a challenge to sort through the clues and the people involved, and for a while, I was suspicious of almost everyone. In the end, I was stunned…and then not so much. The conspiracy ran deep, its tentacles reaching out to engulf so many. A five star read for me.***My e-ARC came from the publisher via NetGalley

The long call - “an inarticulate howl of pain” - an apt description for much of this book. There are too many characters, with too many back stories, going in too many ways and doing too many things. This was a bit of a long slog.

There is a strange and unfortunate feeling of weakness attributed to the protagonist. The lead character, Matthew Venn, seems completely uncomfortable in his “own skin” unsure of his place, his thinking, his ability to lead the case and it just didn’t work for me. The story had great potential but the plodding uncertainties and the back and forth and more of the same were wearisome.

Thank you NetGalley and St.Martin’s Press for a copy.

A suspenseful mystery. I am looking forward to more books in this series and will be reading more from this author.

Ann Cleeves is back! I know I wasn't alone in grieving the end of her Shetland series, and here we have the opening of a new one.

The Long Call resembles Cleeves' previous books in that she is much more interested in her characters and setting than in a propulsive plot. Here we get everything new: the setting is Devon rather than the Shetland Isles, and the detectives are locals: a married gay man, a single mom, and a younger man who is a favorite of the boss.

The murder victim is a bit of a drifter and therefore his back story is difficult to discover. The process held my interest and as usual the initial leads did not pan out.

The town itself is almost a character as it is small, atmospheric, characterized by tensions between haves/have nots, locals/summer visitors, liberals/conservatives.

I look forward to reading more about these characters and their town!

With thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for my candid review.

5* The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (Two Rivers #1)

The protagonist, Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, is called from his father’s funeral to attend to a man’s dead body discovered at the beach in North Devon, not far from his own home. We soon learn that DI Venn has been excommunicated from the Barum Brethren cult-like church he was brought up in, his parents had long stopped communicating with him partly due to his being gay, and that he was a covert visitor at the funeral. The setting is a rural English town with two rivers which feed into the ocean. The "long call" or cry of herring gulls of the area sound like a person shrieking.

DI Venn is married to Jonathan Church, who manages the Woodyard a community centre adjoining a church, St Cuthberts, that offers activities for learning-disabled adults, courses for everyone else in subjects like art, and studio space for an artist-in-residence. St Cuthberts offers counselling and social work services for the depressed and mentally ill.

DI Venn, DS Jen Rafferty, and DC Ross May investigate the murder of Simon Walden, an army veteran who had a drinking problem, had suffered from depression and also bore the guilt from a drunk-drinking crime. Simon Walden was also a chef who volunteered at the Woodyard.

The twisty plot sets up the abduction of some vulnerable learning-disabled women, which is a crime as disturbing as murder. There are plenty of suspects, whom the police officers delve into. The caste of characters include: Chrisopher Preece – wealthy entrepreneur turned philanthrope and the Woodyard's chairman, Caroline Preece – social worker at St Cuthberts as well as Simon’s landlady and house-mate, Gaby Henry – artist and also Simon’s house-mate, Lucy Braddick – a 30-something client of the Woodyard who has Downs Syndrome, several other young learning-disabled women, Maurice Braddick, the curate, Darren Salter – the head of the Barum Brethrens, and a couple who live in the toll-keepers cottage.

The Long Call certainly ticked the boxes for a crime novel for me; the plot is page-turning. The characters are likeable, nuanced, have flaws and support each other – within limits. There are a good number of red herrings. The author created an interesting mystery, while drawing attention to the potential plight of vulnerable adults, who are trusting like children, as well as the judgements of tracts of society to gay people who are going about their business. I am interested to read further in the series.
Many thanks to Net Galley, Minotaur Books, and Ann Cleeves for an ARC of this novel . in return for an honest review.
This book review also appears in: https://thereadersvault.blogspot.com/2019/08/5-long-call-by-anncleeves-two-rivers-1.html &
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2950977116

Barbara's rating: 3 of 5 stars

Series: Two Rivers #1
Publication Date: 9/3/19
Number of Pages: 384

I came across this book because I was searching for a new mystery series to read and love. I was really excited to get started on it, but what I found was a really slow-moving tale that could easily have been one hundred pages shorter. The murder mystery was a good one with many layers and multiple suspects – I really was guessing until the end. For me, it didn’t excite me or interest me enough to continue with the series – even with the excellent mystery. It was more character-driven than event-driven and none of the characters really stood out – not even the main character Inspector Matthew Venn. I think I learned and understood much more about the secondary characters than I needed to know – and not as much about the primary characters as I needed/wanted. I actually think the most interesting character in the book was the victim.

Detective Inspector Matthew Venn is originally from the Devon area and returned, after several years away, when he married his husband Jonathan. Jonathan and Matthew are polar opposites. Jonathan is a sociable soul full of wit and charm and Matthew is a prim and proper one who prefers to be more solitary.

The team of investigators that Matthew leads is also a disparate group who don’t really mesh but manage to solve the crime. Matthew is from a religious cult family who disowned him when he questioned their teachings. He is still more prude than not, even though he is gay. Jenn respects Matthew and thinks he is a good leader and a good man. Jen, however, has low self-esteem and a lot of self-doubts – mostly stemming from an abusive marriage. Then, there is Ross who just irritates everybody. Ross is a bit hyper and cannot be still and cannot be enclosed for any length of time. He’s also the golden boy of the Detective Chief Inspector Joe Oldham, who is in charge of their station, and that causes the others to resent him.

Matthew and his team are called to the scene of a murder on the beach at Crow Point, very near Matthew’s home. The man has been stabbed and there is nothing on his body to identify him. He has a tattoo of a large bird on his neck, but no other identifiable markings. When he is finally identified as Simon Walden, they find he is a derelict drunk with depression and other mental instabilities. Then, later, they find there is so much more to him.

When there are also two kidnappings of women with Down Syndrome added to the list of crimes to be solved, the intensity of the investigation has to be really stepped up. Matthew is sure the kidnappings are somehow related to the murder, but he can’t see what the connection would be.

You’ll be surprised by the wrap-up and solution to all of the crimes – at least I was. I had parts of it figured out, but not all – and I’m usually pretty good at figuring the mysteries out almost from the beginning.

I would have loved this mystery had it been less slow and plodding. If you don’t mind that, then I’d say that I recommend this book for you. However, if you are like me and lose patience with so much extraneous information and slow-moving investigations, then you might want to look elsewhere. The pace does pick up in the last twenty percent of the book if that is of any value to you.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advanced Reader Copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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.

This new series is off to a great start. It is NOT a Vera mystery. The main character is a police detective who left the Brethen, also known as the Puritans. He is also married to a man.

A man's dead body is discovered. The clues lead the crime team to the Woodyard where the dead man volunteered. Several women with Down's Syndrome go missing.

Throughout the lies told by different characters, the detectives eventually find out who the killer is!

This novel is quite a page turner!

Would you believe this is my first encounter with this prolific author? It's true - but for sure it won't be my last. In fact, this book marks the start of a new "Two Rivers" series, and already I'm taken with the main character, Detective Matthew Venn of North Devon.

As with intriguing characters in most mysteries, Matthew is flawed; in his case, he long ago left his parents' precious fold - a religious group (cult) called the Brethren. For that alone, his parents essentially disowned him; the situation took a turn for the worse (if that's possible) when he married the love of his life, Jonathan, who manages a community that caters to people with disabilities.

So it is that he stands outside the church at his estranged father's funeral - intentionally unseen and with mixed emotions. As he walks away so as not to encounter his mother, he gets a call: There's been a murder at a nearby beach. An unidentified man has been stabbed. The albatross tattoo on his neck is the only clue, and it turns out the man is Simon Walden, a rather odd duck who not long ago secretly moved into a spare room with two local women who, as it turns out, have secrets of their own.

The plot begins to thicken when Matthew gets an out-of-the-blue call from his mother, who asks for his help: It seems the daughter of her best friend, a girl with Down's syndrome, has been "lost." That draws Matthew back to a place he really doesn't want to be - dealing with Brethren folks. Perhaps worse, because the girl spent her days at Jonathan's facility, Matthew must deal with a possible conflict of interest that would leave the investigation in the hands of his team members Jen and Ross (both complex characters in their own rights, but very capable detectives).

In an effort to avoid disclosing more than I should, my analysis will stop here, except to say that the action heats up near the end to the point that I was reluctant to put the book down. Already, I'm looking forward to seeing these characters again. Meantime, thanks to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read an advance copy. Well done!