PRt of a series. Im definitely going to read the previous books. Excellent procedural novel. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: 4.5 rounded up--Somehow I'd never read Ann Cleves, but I'll be reading her books in the future! She's a master at her craft. This is a beautifully written, deceptively spare police procedural about a murder located in the isolated coastal town where the lead detective had grown up as part of a religious cult. The characters are deftly drawn and the plot moves along at a nice pace. The ending was surprising but believable. I really enjoy well done mysteries and Ann Cleves will be a write whose work I'll be reading in the future. This is part of a series but stands alone well. Cleves leaves me wanting more: the mystery is explained but the characters have depth.

The latest Matthew Venn mystery finds him investigating the murder of a famous sailor. He knows someone must be lying, and things take another turn when someone else is murdered.

I enjoyed this one like I’ve enjoyed the last ones! I do think this one was a bit slower overall than previous ones. The final reasoning too was a bit strange, but overall a solid entry!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was disappointed in this book, the third in the series featuring Matthew Venn. This was so slow moving that I struggled to finish this novel. Missing was any meaningful interaction with Matthew’s husband. In the previous book his sergeant Lynn Rafferty had her own backstory and was present in her capacity as an investigator. She is a likeable character and was sorely missing in most of the book. The other sergeant was featured in the book, but his character showed him to be a whiny self-serving man who was jealous of Lynn and her relationship to Matthew. There is no backstory with this character. The descriptions of the Devon countryside helped move the story along, but ultimately the excessive and long-drawn-out investigation and subsequent ending left me frustrated, because I know how good an Ann Cleeves book should be.

Lots of characters to keep track of. I muddled my way through, but felt like I was in school again trying to finish a long homework assignment. If you like police procedurals, it’s not a bad read, but plan to be patient.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for letting me read and review.

Jeremy Rosco arrived in Greystone and became a nightly fixture at the local inn while awaiting the arrival of a friend. One month later his body was found floating in a dinghy in the local storm tossed waters. Rosco was a celebrity known or sailing around the world, but his love of sailing originated here. He also had a history with a number of people in the area, including Eleanor, his first love. When Matthew Venn and his team arrive to investigate the death they find more questions than answers. How did the boy who was raised by a single mother afford the boat that took him around the world? Why would he rent a cottage in Greystone when he owned a home nearby? Who was he waiting for and who had a reason to kill him?

Ann Cleeves’ The Raging Storm is a complex mystery set in a small village where everyone knows each other. Venn had spent time there as a child on religious retreats. Religion still plays an important part in the community. While Venn has rejected the religious community, the rumors and superstition surrounding the cove brings back memories and affects his impressions. A second body and an attack on Venn and his team finally allows him to make connections between Rosco’s teen years and events in the present. The crashing waves and rugged cliffs are the perfect location for an atmospheric mystery that keeps you guessing to he end. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s - Minotaur for providing this book for my review.

An uncomfortable case for a local detective as the crime scene is in a village that haunts his youth. The seaside town is shrouded in superstition and rumors, and heavily judgmental. Its residents are chilly as the winds howl as a storm brews finding the killer.

The Raging Storm vividly described its sea, the town and its inhabitants. From the local pub to the abandoned quarry, this community compels you to the end. There were a few confusing issues - detective/husband relationship and the many characters introduced throughout the investigation.

Since this is book #3, I wonder if I've missed some essential info to better appreciate this installment.

Thank you St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy.

An apt description for this third entry in the Two Rivers mystery series might be “dark and stormy”. A dark atmosphere is generated by the location of Greystone, the relationships and secrets that unfold when Detective Inspector Matthew Venn is called to investigate the death of Jem Rosco. This is a lovely twisty tale with a surprise or two.

Police procedurals, where members of the team have defined characters and stories, make for riveting reads. And, after Vera, Ann Cleeves has given us yet another complicated and dedicated detective in Matthew Venn from the Two River series.

I felt I was right there in the small coastal village of Greystone, where this story is set, alongside Venn trying to piece together all the pieces of the puzzle as they present themselves one by one. The backdrop of the storm and terrible weather felt like the right setting for the gruesome murder of a once celebrated sailor, Jem Rosco. He has returned to his old haunts after years of achieving remarkable goals and is a celebrity with a fan following.

Jem lands one day in the village and is seen in the local pub everyday for a few weeks ostensibly waiting for someone to meet him. He stopped appearing suddenly making everybody wonder if his visitor had finally arrived. Speculation is still rife when he is discovered dead in quite a sorry state.

Venn and his team of two with their own rivalries and stories, work hard to wind through the information which they have to pry from people of the village. The closed reticent behavior of the village only added to the atmosphere and intrigue. Till the very end it was near impossible to make any sense of what was going on.

I loved the book given to me by Netgalley and St. Martin's press in exchange for a review and I highly recommend it to all mystery lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves!

I think this was a dark story. The weather was gloomy and contributed to the atmosphere. I have not read the other Matthew Venn books but i think i want to go back and read them. I am a big fan of Ann Cleeves Vera Stanhope books so i thought i would try this one. Matthew and his team go to Greystoke because of the murder of Jem Rosco, a famous sailor who had returned home. Matthew had been to Greystoke as a child. There was a religious community in the area that his family visited. It was very closed off. While investigating Jem's death, there was another dead body. Lots of red herrings and i must admit, i never guessed the ending. It was a surprise and i loved that I never figured it out. This book is well worth your time if you like mysteries and Ann Cleeves books. Well done and i highly recommend this book!

I received a copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

3.5 stars
Another great installment in the Matthew Venn series. I liked checking in with the recurring characters. They make a good team! Matthew is so inquisitive and insightful. I’m also glad we’re continuing to learn more about The Bethren and its followers. Looking forward to the next book!
*Thanks to Minotaur books & MacMillan Audio for the copy for review

In the small fishing village of Greystone, superstitions run rampant. So when a body is found dead in a boat off Scully Point, the rescue team can be heard muttering words to ward off bad luck: 'Skulls and bones and the white, white light.' Matthew Venn and his team are called in to investigate. He's familiar with that area of Devon, having grown up nearby and even visited Greystone as a child. However, that was a lifetime ago--he left it and his family's religious life behind at the age of 18. But still, the memories return...

This is a very atmospheric novel with the wild ocean and the storms and the local superstitions. Matthew Venn is a very complex character and we are often in his head, privy to his thoughts. He reminds me quite a bit of P.D. James' detective, Adam Dalgleish, another intelligent detective. This is a character-driven police procedural. It's fascinating to watch Venn lead the investigation and peel back the many layers of secrets to solve the mystery. I can highly recommend the series but this installment can easily be read as a stand alone, if you are eager to jump in.

I received both an e-arc and a paper copy of this new book from the author and publisher. Many thanks! My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own.

Another atmospheric British mystery by the talented Cleeves. The third book in the Two Rivers series, this one is set seaside in Devon. When Jem Rosco returns to the village of Greystone, the residents are intrigued to have a legend in their midst. He is awaiting a mysterious visitor, but before they can arrive, Jem meets his end. Who murdered him and why? Everyone is a suspect for Detective Venn and his team. A perfect book for fans of the Vera series and Louise Penny novels.

**Spoiler warning**

I've really come to enjoy Ann Cleeves' new Two Rivers series. One of the author's strengths is creating minor characters in each story who portray different relatable challenges. In The Raging Storm, I found myself drawn to the character Mary Ford. A single mother to a seriously ill child, Mary fights the sexism inherent in the lifeboat rescue group that she volunteers for. She also writes questionably inappropriate letters to her celebrity crush. She's complex, strong, and slightly creepy at times. I like her.

Speaking of my preferences with characters -- honestly, I've never warmed to the main character in the series, Matthew Venn. There's so much focus on his past religious experiences and their aftermath that I feel we miss out on the rest of him. I feel similarly about his husband, Jonathan. Jonathan is such a perfect opposite & perfect match for Matthew that he never quite feels real. I *do* hope that we get to know additional sides of both Matthew and Jonathan as this series evolves.

The Raging Storm is the third procedural mystery featuring Detective Matthew Venn and his colleagues by Ann Cleeves. Released 5th Sept 2023 from Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 400 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats.

This is another beautifully written mystery set in North Devon and featuring Detective Matthew Venn, a cerebral and solemnly intelligent investigator and his ensemble team. The pacing of the investigation is unhurried and the characters built up so well and in such detail that they seem to live and breathe. The author always does a stunning job with the setting and this is no exception, a true three dimensional engrossing read. The wildness and remoteness of the coastal area, the palpable danger of a huge coastal storm, and the bravery and dedication of the folks involved in search and rescue are all beautifully and believably rendered by the author.

Although it's the third book in the series, it works well enough as a standalone. This book is also quite intricately plotted, but there aren't any major spoilers if they're read out of order. The denouement and resolution were exciting and satisfying.

The author does a good job of showing the frustrations and difficulties of dealing with the challenges of a very ill child and the lengths to which families must accommodate. The language is rough in places (R-rated), and there are some blood/gore descriptions on page, but nothing egregious.

The audiobook is unabridged, has a run time of 9 hours 47 minutes, and is most expertly read by series narrator Jack Holden. He has a pleasantly nuanced voice and manages numerous characters with widely divergent accents (and ages, and both sexes) impressively well. One of the main characters is from Liverpool, the secondary characters are varied and have accents from Scotland to the Southwest and points in between, and he manages all of them with expertise and precision. Sound quality and production values are high throughout the recording.

Five stars for the book itself, five for the audiobook. This is a superlative series. It would make a great choice for a mystery book club read, or buddy/binge read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

A Gripping Traditional Police Procedural

In a little town in North Devon, UK, Jem Rosco, who is an adventurer, sailor, legend, and a local in his youth, shows up out of the blue. He tells all at the Maiden's Prayer bar that he is waiting for someone to arrive. Rosco would come for two pints of cider every day. A few weeks later, he stopped coming. Then, one morning the coastguard receives an emergency call from a fishing boat in difficulty that was sheltering from the storm in the lee of Scully Head. When the rescue boat arrives, there is not a fishing boat but a dingy with the body of Jem Rosco. From this start, a very classic investigation proceeds.

There is only one thread in this storyline, which is the investigation. Most of the entire main storyline is in the voice of DCI Matthew Venn or of one of his team. CSI teams do examine the crime scenes, but this case is solved through good old gumshoe detective work. Jem Rosco had been absent for quite some time, and it took time to unravel this life to find who had murdered him. If you want to be entertained with a complex and multifaceted mystery, this is the novel to read. My interest was quickly captured faster than by the previous two novels in this series. This is my major criterion for a high star rating.

The background on DCI Mathew Venn is provided both through his interaction with his team but also with the citizens of North Devon, and his thoughts, words and actions with his husband, Jonathan. There is a decision that Jonathan is making but not sharing with Venn. The background is not limited to Venn. His primary colleagues, Jen Rafferty and Ross May also have extensive backgrounds. Much of May’s thoughts are on how he seems to be getting the short end of the stick compared to Rafferty, and his career is suffering as he should be a sergeant by now. This very rich background produced very solid characters and enhanced my reading enjoyment.

There is not much in this novel that should offend even sensitive readers. There are not any intimate scenes. Rude and vulgar language is practically non-existent, but there are some British words that did meet this criterion. Violence is generally described after the fact. I do find it amazing that no matter how many novels that I have read from British authors, I always find British informal words that I have not come across before. I regularly made use of my e-reader’s dictionary and internet access. If this also describes you, I recommend reading this novel on an e-reader with similar capabilities.

For me, this was the best of Two Rivers series. This is based on my comments above about the main storyline and background. Some readers may see the novel slow, but for me, it was methodical. My interest was captured very early and was kept engaged throughout the novel. I have read seven previous novels from the Vera and Two River series. I’ve even purchased an earlier Vera novel. This novel has only reinforced her position as one of my Must-Read Authors. I am looking forward to reading any further novels by this author. I recommend reading this novel. I rate this novel with five stars.

I received a free prepublication e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Minotaur Books. My review is based solely on my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

Ann Cleeves is a fabulous writer. Whether it is Vera, or Jimmy Perez, or her new series featuring Matthew Venn, the reader is assured of a fine plot, interesting settings, and excellently drawn characters. It cheers me up to know I have a new Ann Cleeves book on tap.

As always, and especially with this new series set in Devon, the book is very atmospheric. The reader, even one like me who has never been to Devon, feels as if they have. If you are new to the series, you will have no trouble starting here. No plot spoilers from me, read the blurb for that.

I really enjoyed this book, and I am already looking forward to the next one.

Anne Cleeves has done it again! She delivers a psychologically rich and compelling story filled with secrets, deceits and murder. She is also a master at describing the isolated villages and harsh but beautiful landscape where many of her mysteries take place. I can just imagine the waves pounding against the shore and cliffs as the storm rages (of course, the storm isn't just wind, rain and a tossed ocean).

I haven't read this series before but it was easy to follow along and why I'm sure there are some emotional connections I have missed not reading the others in the series first it isn't something that is necessary. I also felt that this wasn't quite as dark as some of her other series.

A very good read and something I would definitely recommend if you are looking for a mystery you can sink your teeth into.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest opinion.

OHHH how I love this series!! I remember being so sad when Shetland ended and I know I only have one more of Vera [so far], so this series has been a balm in the midst of series endings and bonus, it is SUCH A GREAT SERIES. I really like Matthew as a MC and the supporting "cast" is just fantastic [though I am still not a fan of Ross], and the way they all have to work in this one was some really great writing. Unfortunately, I knew part of the mystery early on [though the rest was a surprise] so it wasn't a five star read for me [but oh so close - enough that after a couple days of sitting with this, I may change my mind, you just never know]; I DID love how the former religion of Matthew plays deeply into this one and I hope we learn more about this cultish "church" in future books as I can see it being a fascinating subject to keep butting against.

Ann Cleeves is one of the best writers out there and this book is just more proof of that. I hope that tons of people find this series and dive deeply in - I don't think they will be sorry; I certainly am not.

I was able to get the audiobook ARC of this book and I JUST LOVE THIS NARRATOR!! He is so good reading this series and I know that I would listen to him narrate just about anything. He adds so much to the story with his delivery and I am so glad that I was able to listen to this book - I highly recommend Jack as a narrator!!

Thank you to NetGalley, Ann Cleeves, Jack Holden - Narrator, St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books, and Macmillan Audio for providing both the eBook ARC and the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.