Inspector Jen Rafferty is approached at a party by a man who wished to talk to her about something that was clearly bothering him.. Unfortunately, Jen had been clearly imbibing a bit too much and so he left without revealing what it was he wished to say. The next morning, the man is found dead at his daughter’s apartment in an artists’ colony. Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and his team are called in to investigate and, as they dig deeper into the man’s recent actions, it leads them to an online suicide group that may be, not only helping people deal with suicidal thoughts but actively encouraging them to kill themselves.

The Heron’s Cry is the second book in author Ann Cleeves’ Two Rivers series and it makes for a very compelling and, dare I say, brilliant, read. There are plenty of possible suspects as well as red herrings and twists and turns to keep the reader engaged.

But it is the main characters, who are well-drawn and complex as well as likeable, that keep the story moving.and it is Cleve's’ empathetic treatment of suicide and its aftermath that makes this one of the best mysteries I have read so far this year. A definite high recommendation from me.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review

Delighted to speak with author Ann Cleeves (again) about what shapes her writing and view behind this new book series, the various mystery television adaptations of Vera and Shetland, and her own reading life (feature profile at link).

Ann Cleeves gives us the second in an English police procedural series The Heron's Cry. Bodies are piling up, Is it connected to a suicide group online? Tied to a troubled young man's suicide years before? What role do family or business relations play? Detective Matthew Venn and his team have to follow the clues and nothing is clear. Whodunit?

It was just about a year ago when I finally realized that I like mystery novels. I'm not sure why it took me so long, perhaps it was because of the bombardment of psychological/domestic thrillers that exploded in bookstores everywhere in recent years. Ann Cleeves' novel The Long Call was one that helped me have that lightbulb moment. It was the first in a new series and book two, The Heron's Cry, is out in the world today.

Here's the book's description:
North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.
Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.



Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.
From the start I found the writing to be a bit choppy with quick sentences and the like. There was something else niggling at me and I realized partway through what it was: it was reading more like a screenplay than a novel. And not in a good way. You know when you read a book and can perfectly picture it as a movie? That's fine. But with this one, it was like it was being written with the intention of becoming a show. And guess what? It is going to be a new series, just like Cleeves' other works (Shetland and Vera). I just went down a rabbit hole of searching the actors in the show and Venn actually looks pretty much exactly like I pictured - but isn't necessarily what was described (there's no grey hair, for example). Anyway. I feel like the hope was always for it to be a film or tv show and that's how it was written and that, apparently, is a bother to me. But will I watch it? Oh, 100%.

But back to the second novel. It's told in third person with most of the story coming from Matthew's perspective. His officers, Jen and Ross, also have their own storylines, both within and outside of the case. Jen's made the most sense since she had seen the first victim at a party the night before he was killed. Ross's side storyline didn't seem to fit at all - it was just like Cleeves wanted to make sure the reader knew he had a life outside of work but it felt shoehorned into the story. Having them each work on the case gave the reader the chance to try to puzzle out the clues with each police officer. All three of them work in different ways, which is so interesting from both a character and a work ethic perspective.




Speaking of working out the clues - the reader isn't given the full insight into Jen's suspicions at the end. Which I kind of loved! I had absolutely no idea what she had connected and couldn't wait to see everything fall together at the end. The end was a little bit of an "evil villain wants to talk all about their accomplishments" scenario, which I don't find super realistic, but I was still reeling from finding out who the murderer was.

The pace of the mystery was good. I never felt like things were being slowed down or that unnecessary details were thrown in. Even when seemingly unrelated information was brought up, I could see how, maybe, it might tie into the murder investigation. I definitely wanted to keep reading, and quickly, to see how it all ended.

I love the setting of this series too. It takes place in North Devon, somewhere I've never been and likely never will get to visit. But I love the English-ness of it. Perhaps even more so these days as I've been stuck in basically one region of my province for a year. Bring on the armchair travel! Even with a side of murder! (Not real murder, please and thank you.)

The Heron's Cry didn't necessarily wow me but I was still super invested in Ann Cleeves' latest novel. Crime mysteries are so interesting to read, for me personally and in moderation, and I'll definitely be picking up the third book in the Two Rivers series as soon as it's released.

My review of The Long Call is here.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor, Publishers Group Canada, in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own.*

I remember the disappointment I felt after finishing (and loving) The Long Call, the first book in Two River series and realizing that I'll have to wait months until the next one. And then through magic that is NetGalley I had my hands on the advanced reader's copy of The Heron's Cry. Grateful to NetGalley, publishers Pan Macmillan & St. Martin's Press for giving me the gift of being able to read about the new adventure of Detective Matthew Venn & his team sooner rather than later.

I must admit DI Matthew Venn has quickly become one of my favorite investigators (though my #1 fictional crush in that category forever remains Inspector Gamache). Observant, well put together & introverted, still settling into his cozy life with his sociable, charming husband Jonathan, Matthew finds himself working on a murder of Dr. Nigel Yeo whose body is found in his daughter's art studio. Once again the search for the killer finds Matthew navigating the lines between professional and personal. On top of intriguing murder investigation The Heron's Cry also paints a more intimate portraits of the rest of Matthew's team, DS Jen Rafferty & DC Ross May.

Though some series allow for reading books out of order, this is one where I would definitely recommend reading The Last Call first, as this book refers to it quite a bit. The story is very much character driven, unraveling slowly (but not too slowly), really allowing the reader to immerse themselves in the simultaneously rough & gentle beauty of North Devon. Characters come alive & regardless of their likeability factor they start to matter. This book hasn't even been published yet
and I find myself excited at the possibility of reading the next one.

I highly recommend this book (and the series) to fans of police procedurals and British murder mysteries and especially those not yet familiar with the work of Ann Cleeves - you're definitely in for a treat.

The Heron's Cry is a book so full of strong characters and intriguing plot that the pages just fly by.

Matthew and his team are faced with the perplexing murder of Dr. Nigel Yeo. Followed by yet another murder in the same home of a group of artists.

The book starts with a slow pace as you are introduced to all the characters but slowly but surely picks up pace and at the end I was holding my breath.

I cant wait for Book 3 in the series as we learn more about Matthew and his team along with their personal relationships.

Treat yourself to Two Rivers Series. You wont be disappointed .

Ann Cleeves never lets you down.

Thanks to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan MacMillan

Full disclosure, I’m a big fan of Ann Cleeves. In her books, the landscapes and culture of an area end up being more character than setting. In The Heron’s Cry, she continues with this evocative writing approach in the district of North Devon, where a man has been stabbed to death with a shard of blown glass from an artist’s studio. That’s pretty creative both literally and figuratively.
Told from multiple perspectives (including the irrepressible DS Jen Rafferty whom I just love), the story structure has a wonderful rhythm but never gets stale. Highly recommended.

Set in atmospheric rural North Devon, Detectives Matthew Venn and Jen Rafferty are shocked by a murder in the art community. Just the night before Jen had met the victim, Nigel Yeo, at a house party given by her friend Cynthia, a nice unassuming guy. Nigel had something to confide to Jen about but a party isn't exactly conducive. Pity. Many suspects are plausible. The unusual weapon is a broken glass shard from a beautiful vase crafted by Nigel's daughter. But this is not the only crime.

The setting is interesting, on a sort of farm/commune art community. I could practically hear the pounding surf against the rocks near by. Some of the characters are likeable, others not which makes a good balance. There are secrets galore and guilt rears its ugly head. Much of the book is a slow pace, which I happen to like, but it does have times of tension and suspense as well. To me the story is more than "just" murder but getting to know the characters and their relationships, their pasts and what goes on in their minds. Many more possibilities for future books! The ending surprised me which is marvelous. Brilliant title, too.

If you enjoy mysteries and thrillers, do pick up this book and leap into this well-written series.

My sincere thank you to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the privilege of reading this addictive book.

The Heron’s Cry was a good, but not great, follow up to The Long Call, the first book in this new series by Ann Cleeves. I really enjoyed The Long Call and was hopeful for the second book but unfortunately it didn’t quite live up to the first for me. Despite this, I will still read the next in the series because the cast of characters has woven their way into my heart.

What I appreciate most about this series is that Ann Cleeves has introduced a slightly more diverse set of characters without resorting to stereotypes. The main detective, Matthew Venn, is gay, and while that’s of course a part of who he is, it doesn’t define him in the book. Cleeves has created a complex, quiet and very human character, who shows both weakness and strength. His relationship with his husband, who is lovely, has its troubles and irritations and beauty just like any relationship. Normalizing a homosexual relationship (nothing to see here, folks!) in mainstream fiction is important and it was refreshing to see.

The other character I must mention is a young woman named Lucy who played a central role in both books. She is my favorite character in fiction right now and I only wish she had a bigger profile. Cleeves has introduced a character with Down Syndrome who is not only a functioning member of society (imagine that! note sarcasm) but is instrumental in solving the cases due to her sharp observation skills and excellent memory. I cringed a little when Cleeves introduced characters with “learning disabilities” in the first book. I worried that they would be portrayed condescendingly, as is often the case. However, Cleeves focused on highlighting Lucy’s abilities, not her “disabilities” and made her a well-rounded character with hopes and dreams and feelings just like everyone else. My only complaint in this book is that in every single scene Lucy was in, it was mentioned that she had “learning disabilities” or “Down Syndrome”. I mean…come on, we get it, let’s move on.

Where this book fell apart for me was in the mystery itself. Not much seemed to happen, we witnessed the same interviews with the same people over and over until Eureka! someone figured it out. And then when we find out who the villain is, they go full sociopath in their explanation of why they did it. I find this a somewhat lazy way to end a mystery…it’s a little too convenient and overused. But I will forgive the author for this because in spite of it, an ok book by Ann Cleeves is still better than many others and I will be first in line for the next installment. Thanks to Pan Macmillan for an advance copy via NetGalley.

This is the second in the Two Rivers series by Ann Cleeves and the first one I've read. Many thanks to NetGalley for an advance copy.

Matthew Venn is the Inspector for homicides in this area of North Devon. He and his team of detectives are called to an unexplained death at a craft workshop. There they find a middle aged man dead from a shard of glass in his neck. His daughter had made the vase the glass came from and she had found his body. One of the detectives, Jenn, had met the dead man at a party she'd attended the night before, but had been too drunk to really get to know him. A couple of days later, another man is killed, again with a shard of glass in his neck. The team interviews everyone involved and we learn a lot about depression and the geography of the area.

This was a slow book to start because of the great number of people interviewed, but the ending picked up the pace. I look forward to reading the first book in the series.

I was to start by thanking NetGalley and the publisher for my eARC in exchange for my honest review. As always Ann Cleeves woos us with her combination of strong characters and intriguing mystery. The Heron’s Call is the second of her newest Two Rivers series and continues us on our journey to get to know her latest creations. DI Matthew Venn and his team come together to sort out a series of murders while dealing with complex relationships we all live.

Another enjoyable Anne Cleeves story in the new "Two Rivers" series featuring DI Matthew Venn and his team. I enjoyed this one just as much as "The Longest Call" and continue to love the characters and settings Cleeves creates. Can't wait for book 3 in this series.