This is the second book in the series. Like the first it has a good plot line and an excellent set of characters that are developing as the series progresses. I can see this being picked up for a TV series as the story and characters are so good.
The story keeps you guessing until the end and the characters are really starting to develop well. This is definitely a British Crime Book as the murders are not very graphic and very much could translate to TV easily.
I am looking forward to the next in the series and highly recommend it if you do not like your murders to be graphic or very tense.

I didn't realise that this was '#2 in a series but it reads ok as a standalone. The main character, Detective Matthew Venn, is a married gay man and I did find the constant reference to" his husband" rather than using the first name of Jonathan a bit irritating. The other male detective has a wife and she was called by her first name and not "his wife". The story was well written and compelling with a great plot and some good characters. Mostly well drawn and a good mix of types. Some stereotypes but that is bound to happen in a book with a reasonable cast. This was my first book by this author and I enjoyed it.

Ann Cleeves the Heron’s Cry featuring her new protagonist Detective Matthew Venn first seen in “The Long Call” is just as good as her other creations if not better! I couldn’t put it down, stayed up all night to finish it.
Set in North Devon during a heatwave it is a mystery that has surprises in store, such a great plot with well observed characters. Well done Ann Cleeves for giving us another bestseller!

Superbly Drawn…
The second in the Detective Matthew Venn (Two Rivers) series finds North Devon mid heat wave with tourists engulfing the pretty area. All is not quite as serene as it appears, however, and when Venn is called out to a potential crime scene he has more questions than answers but things are about to take an even more sinister turn. With bodies rapidly mounting, Venn has his work cut out. Superbly drawn with a credible cast of characters and an engaging storyline. A top class addition to the series.

Having really loved the TV series of both Vera and Shetland, I was keen to read my first Ann Cleeves book. I’m so sad that I have been missing out all this time - what a brilliant writer! This is a terrific murder mystery, with the perpetrator not even guessed at until very near the end of the book, and all the characters and settings completely real and visible - this is my criteria for a very fine writer and there is no doubt that this writer fits the bill! The plot centres around a village in Devon and a community of artists and farmers overseen by the very wealthy landowner on whose property they live and work. There is more than one murder here and each is completely unexpected and brilliantly set up - the plot is complicated by tragic suicides too. Plenty here to keep the pages turning and I now have a whole oeuvre of this writer’s work to explore!

Thank you to Netgalley, Pan Macmillan and Ann Cleeves for my arc of The Heron’s Cry in exchange for an honest review.

Publishing: 2nd September 2021

The second book in the Two Rivers series, from the author of Vera. I really enjoyed the first book in this series The Long Call which I read in 2019 (it doesn’t feel that long ago!) so I was excited to get back to North Devon and Detective Inspector Matthew Venn.

I love this type of crime/mystery story the traditional kind with the modern twist. It respects modern policing while allowing for a good old fashioned whodunnit and I genuinely had no idea of the who or the why before the very end which is always a good way to tell a mystery story is good when you can’t work it out.

The characters are great too, Venn is such a troubled and complicated soul and don’t we all love that in a detective, a bit of something that gives them more depth and makes them that bit more interesting. Jen is a great character too less complex and yet fun for it, I like her no nonsense honesty and attitude to life and her job.

The mystery was a good one, complex but easy to follow and very enjoyable. I’ll definitely continue reading Ann Cleeves various series’ and can’t wait for the next one in the Two Rivers one.

When the body of Dr Nigel Yeo of North Devon Patients Together was discovered in his daughter Eve's studio with a shard of glass sticking out of his neck DI Matthew Venn and his team are called to investigate what has happened. As the investigation continues to have more questions than answers the bodies start to mount up.
This is one of the best books I have read in a while easy to disappear into which keep you turning pages right through to the end. Loved it and look forward to reading more as the series evolves.

3.5 rounded up to 4

An artist finds the dead body of her father in her studio. Seemingly murdered by a glass shard from a broken vase she made. The local Devon police detectives start to investigate the case. Does it somehow relate to a local suicide the victim was looking into? A second body is found, also with a glass shard in the body. In such a small place two of the detectives on the case have links to various people in their investigations.

It took a few chapters for me to really get into this story, I can’t put my finger on why. There’s three police detectives investigating this case, who generally work on their own parts of the investigation. The gay lead detective, who seems slightly repressed, the messy single mum, who drinks too much, and the thoughtless married man. All of whom prioritise work over the significant people in their lives. All a bit cliche, all a bit irrelevant, it could be one person for all it matters. The book is set in Devon, but it could be any small town area in the UK. The story itself is interesting, one that wasn’t obvious and kept me reading until the end, the murders are well plotted. Overall I would recommend this book and would read others in the series.

This is book two in the fabulous Two Rivers series featuring Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and his team and it’s a wonderful read. What I love about this book and the previous one The Long Call is the way the books draw you in little by little trying to work out where the plot is going and it’s a slow reveal that always brings a surprise.
Ann Cleeves is such a talented writer there is no rush in these books it’s a calm dissecting of the clues making for a real good mystery. The lead character of Matthew Venn is turning out to be a big favourite of mine he has so many hang ups mainly because of his past and I always want to shout at him to relax!
The rest of the team also are brilliant and Jen the red headed scouser is just a joy as she goes into everything hell for leather and always makes me laugh.
So I really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more about the characters in the future as I know there is lots more to come, many thanks to Ann Cleeves for an unputdownable read.
My thanks also to NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was really pleased to get this book from NetGalley as I have to catch up on Anne Cleeves books. Then I noticed this was number 2 in the series, but luckily had already downloaded no 1, so quickly read that before starting on this book. They could be read out of order, but it was nice to know who all the characters were. Well paced thriller with lots of twists and turns, will definitely look forward to the next book.

DS Jen Rafferty is letting her red hair down at her friend Cynthia Prior’s party, she has a brief discussion with Nigel Yeo and though she’s had a few drinks she realises he’s got something on his mind. The following day Nigel is found dead at the studio of his artist daughter Eve, which she rents on the property of wealthy Francis Ley. This is the start of a dramatic series of events that challenges the North Devon team of DI Matthew Venn.

Ann Cleeves is well known for creating excellent characters (Jimmy Perez, Vera Stanhope) and she’s done it again here. All the police team are very good with the serious and rather buttoned up Venn, to the lively, single mum character of Jen and DC Ross May with his eyes on the prize of career advancement. They all fit together in an interesting and contrasting way and it works very well. Equally good is the comparison between Venn and his lovely, open, sociable husband Jonathan - yin and yang! I love the really diverse range of characters here, all are well crafted but I feel particular warmth and affection for lovely Lucy Braddick who has Downs Syndrome and plays a vital role in uncovering the truth. I especially enjoy how the investigation centres on and is integral to the community with the Woodyard Community hub run by Jonathan playing a vital role and how the issues of tourism and rural struggles are conveyed. The investigation is complex, the pace is good and has many a twist and turn with weather conditions being used really effectively to add to the intensity and tension. You really feel the frustration of the team as they work all hours to solve the ever expanding sequence of events. Whilst I’m not 100% convinced by the resolution as it’s maybe a tad convenient but it’s still good and it does feel plausible. I don’t think it’s necessary to keep repeating full names, which is done repeatedly with Venn and there’s repetition over his guilty feelings of his former membership of the Barum Brethren. Yes, got it!!!

Overall though, yet another good read from the author and I look forward to reading what happens next down in glorious Devon.

With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Pan McMillan for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.

A solid five star thriller. Fantastic read.. Page Turner. Plenty of suspense to keep me enthralled. Never guessed the perpetrator. First book I have read from this author but will not be my last. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it. Hi

'The Heron’s Cry' is the second book in new 'Two Rivers' (DI Matthew Venn) series by Ann Cleeves that is set in North Devon. Similar to her hugely popular 'Vera' and 'Shetland' series, this is also a police procedural that focuses on crimes occurring within a small community and the wider impacts.
As typical of Cleeves, the characters are very well defined and serve to drive along her narrative. The story is attention grabbing and also hard to read in place as we learn about the suicides that have taken place in recent years, yet Cleeves is an experienced author and ensures that she avoids any of the usual cliches around this topic. Nor does she treat such a sensitive topic with a blase attitude. It was refreshing to see the detectives try to be sensitive and caring towards the families. The characters are relatable and the story is well-wortha a read.
If you haven't started this series, then I recommend that you do so now!

The second mystery featuring Inspector Matthew Venn in North Devon. I’ve read in other reviews that this is set to be a television series and I think it will play really well. As always with Ann Cleeves, the setting is an integral part of the story, and it should be a great visual background, and with such a highly flawed police staff, stories will be plentiful. I found this novel to be quite dark, a bit of humor wouldn’t have gone amiss. It starts with the murder of a retired doctor who was investigating a teen suicide with two more deaths to quickly follow. Quite a few of the characters are in the frame, but, as usual with Ann Cleeves, the killer is not obvious. Enlightening in terms of the stress mental illness places on the NHS and the police force, made it for me, a heavy read. Perhaps it’s the result of Covid lingering, but I found it all a bit bleak.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy.

The Heron’s Cry is the second book in the Matthew Venn series by Ann Cleeves and it is another excellent police procedural with really strong and well defined characters that drive along an engaging storyline

The writing is of a very high standard and the book draws you in as you try to guess or work out the outcome.

An excellent addition to what is proving to be a superb series

Ann Cleeves returns us to North Devon and her Two Rivers series featuring the play by the rules, always smartly dressed DI Matthew Venn, married to Jonathan, based at Barnstaple police station, with his team of Scouser DS Jen Rafferty, a single mom with 2 children, and the ambitious DC Ross May. It is summer, and a drunk Jen is at a party being thrown by her friend and magistrate, Cynthia Prior. She is approached by Nigel Yeo, who wants to speak to her in her professional capacity as a police officer, but she is clearly in no state to be of any help, so he leaves after taking her phone number. The following day, Yeo is discovered murdered by the broken pieces of a glass vase made by his artistic glassblower daughter, Eve, in her studio, she is part of the Westacombe Farm community.

This the start of a difficult and complex police inquiry that delves into the life of Yeo, who heads the North Devon Patients Together organisation which monitors local NHS Trusts. He had been looking at a complaint made about failings in NHS mental health provisions, which had resulted in a 19 year old man, Alexander 'Mack' Mackenzie, committing suicide. However, it is hard to work out what had so concerned Yeo that he has wanted to talk to the police, Jen is feeling guilty for being so drunk at the party, and no-one knows why Yeo should have headed out to Eve's studio in the early hours of that morning. As another murder with the same MO takes place, the Westacombe community come under closer scrutiny, the well known economist and philanthropist, Frank Ley, Eve, another artist, Wesley Curnow, and the farming couple of Sarah and John Grieve.

This is not a fast paced crime read, it is more rooted in the characters, location and a community we are beginning to become more familiar with in this series, such as the lovely learning disabled Lucy Braddick, now in a more independent living situation and working in the cafe at the Woodyard art and community hub run by Jonathan. Matthew is slowly starting to loosen up from his more rigid and logic driven persona, as he lets Jonathan more into his professional life, he is shocked to observe just how fragile and lonely his widowed elderly mother is, so much so that she is willing to bend her principles to get closer to him and Jonathan after years of estrangement. This is an engaging crime read with a great sense of location, but this is a series that may take some readers a little time to warm to. I understand that it is going to be made into a TV series. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Ann Cleeves leaves behind Vera's Northumberland and the windswept Shetland Isles in her new series. Now, she takes one to the small towns and villages around the two rivers - the Torridge and the Taw - which were once, during gentler times, the stomping ground of Tarka the Otter.
Along with the pungent evocation of place which her characters inhabit, the author uses compassion and empathy to produce a well-rounded cast to lead one through the gothic horrors of her plot, touching on issues of society that are highly relevant today. As always she expresses pithy insights into human nature.
An absolute must-read.

Ann Cleeves is a good writer and this second in the Two Rivers series doesn't disappoint.

In some ways the characters and themes are familiar - the intelligent and talented detective who has his own demons; the sidekicks each with their own issues - single parent chaotic Jenn and hyper ambitious and slightly insensitive Ross within the classic police procedural with a strong setting and sense of place. But Cleeves weaves these into something gripping and original and the readers feels empathy and understanding for each of these different characters and is drawn into a gripping plot.

No spoilers, just a recommendation to read this very good novel. With thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for a review copy.

This is the second book in the author's 2 Rivers series and after enjoying the first I was looking forward to this. It was an easy and enjoyable read. I love Ann Cleeves style of writing which draws you into the characters lives in the same way as Susan Hill's Serailler series, Ruth Rendell's Wexford or indeed Cleeves own Shetland series. I enjoyed the North Devon setting and the character of DI Matthew Venn as well as the supporting characters such as his colleague Jen and his partner Jonathan. It was a gripping mystery that I'd highly recommend to lovers of crime fiction.
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review a digital ARC.

If you are looking for a crime series that combines great characters and real mystery as well as atmospheric and vividly imagined setting then the Two Rivers series from Ann Cleeves is definitely one you should think about picking up. I really enjoyed the first book in the series, The Long Call, and although this is. far from the fast paced and darker side of crime fiction that I love, the characters and storyline kept me completely engaged and I quickly found myself settling into the slightly unexpected world of Matthew Venn and his team, based around the North Devon town of Barnstaple. Now anyone who has been there on holidays will probably think that the town and its residents can't possibly be harbouring many dark secrets, but you'd be wrong as Ann Cleeves has proven once again in The Heron's Cry.

This time around the team are called to the scene of a bloody murder, a man who has been dispatched shortly after telling DS Jen Rafferty that he would like to speak to her on a potentially business related matter. Always an ominous sign right at the start of a story, especially if said conversation cannot happen straight away. Whilst that got my spidey senses tingling straight away, what I wasn't expecting was the complex and emotionally driven investigation that DI Matthew Venn and his team find themselves caught up in. Once again, there are blurred lines between the professional and the personal as friendships, and indeed marriages, are put to the test as the Detectives strive to get to the bottom of the murder. The body count does increase and the case does become very complicated with a whole host of potential motives and suspects brought to the fore over the course of the book. The guilty party is hidden in plain sight, the truth of the story far more surprising than anyone expected, me included.

I really do like the little world that Ann Cleeves has built up in and around Barnstaple. The characters are a very varied team, from the stoic and level headed but delicately scarred Matthew Venn, to slightly more straight talking, single mother of two Jen Rafferty. Alongside them is the super ambitious and rather impatient Ross May, and whilst they may be as diverse a bunch as you could find, and perhaps not always working in complete harmony, they do fit together well, each one offering something that one of the others lacks. Yes, there are times where Ross can be frustrating, and sometimes Venn's inner demons threaten to derail his logic and his anxiety may surface, but it serves to make them all feel real, human, and I really have grown to like them very quickly.

As for the setting, whilst the author may have taken some liberties with the landscape surrounding the town, she has captured the essence of the area perfectly, a magic of blend of coastal, rural and urban geography that is typical of this part of Devon. She has chosen each location carefully, allowing for a certain amount of mystery and suspense as the remote nature of some of the scenes make the possibilities endless. You get a real sense of place and I could picture the scene perfectly. Pacing is pitched perfectly for this kind of story, emphasising the frustrations of the Detectives as well as the occasional urgency, but also reflecting the very sensitive nature of the investigation - all questions and very few answers. Bit then this isn't a story that should be rushed, part of the story set in the world of mental illness and depression, subjects which are handled carefully by the author, but in which the darker side of the matter is still explored.

Another excellent addition to the series and I really looked forward to reading more about Venn and the team. Definitely recommended.