I have read Ann Cleeves many times and this book does not disappoint. Although it is part of a series, it can easily be read as a stand alone novel. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Although this book is part of a series, I believe that it works fine as a standalone. You won’t probably fully have the background of all the characters, but the author gives you enough to know each of them. I really enjoyed the setting and the development of the characters. At times it felt like the conclusion was going to be pretty obvious, but then a twist would happen. An enjoyable mystery thriller.

Much as I miss Vera, I'm really starting to like Matthew. He's a complicated character with a lot of potential for development and growth, and his team is also interesting. Poor Jonathan, though, is going to be traumatized by all he sees with his husband. This book was fascinating with the delve into The Brethren, a little more about Matthew's past, the boating angle, and the solution to the crime blew me out of the water, so to speak. It's moody and atmospheric in this small, shoreline village, with darkness and secrets in spades. And as an American, I know this is probably not a good thing, but I cannot help but demand why they do not have guns at all times, these investigators. There are so many dangerous situations and conflicts which could be averted. But maybe I need to stop thinking so... Americanly.

Thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan Audio for providing an audio ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This, the third of Cleeves' "Two Rivers" series, has been my least favorite. After the dynamism of Vera Stanhope and even the affability and kindness of Jimmy Perez, Matthew Venn is just a bit of a cold fish to me. The afterword, in which Cleeves explains the inspiration for the character, is helpful in my understanding of *why* she developed this particular character, but it fails to explain why she has made him so taciturn and even - dare I say - boring. I'm sure her close friends who are the archetype for Venn are a lot more fun than he is.

The mystery itself is extremely convoluted, and even after the wrap up I found myself trying to piece together what happened; I feel like there is an unnecessary level of complication to the story. The setting is beautifully described, as always; Cleeves has a gift with desolate landscapes.

I enjoyed hearing more about the private lives of the lesser characters, Rafferty in particular, but Cleeves minimizes their personal aspects by having them obsess over the same thoughts repeatedly, which rather lessens the enjoyment.

Jack Holden does a nice job with the voice acting and is consistent with accents, always a nice touch.

Hoping Cleeves does better on her next round. Her afterword made it sound like she might be wrapping up this series, and I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one glad to see the back of it.

Greystone, Devon, is an unpretentious working community, not inviting to new residents after the shutdown of the quarry, the main employer.
The body of Jen Rosco, a local and national hero having sailed around the world as a young man, is found in a dinghy in Skulls Bay, a cove with a history of disasters.
Detective Matthew Venn is sent to the town where he grew up with Rosco, and other classmates who had never left this large religious community of the Brethren.
Why would Rosco have come back?
An adventure?
Something illegal?
Why a hoax call to rescue a boat that didn’t seem to exist and then find his dead body in it?
The reader is drawn into Cleeve’s very detailed descriptions of time, place and people.
It is a strange case: Venn and his two partners dig deep into everything from the
weather, villagers’ history, stories of their school friends, neighbors, family quirks, marriages and divorces.
Then another death.
Matthews’ husband Jonathon is helpful and supporting, the marriage having created a division between Matthew and his mother.
It is a story also looking into one’s own life, turning away to create another.
A story within a story with Cleeve’s mastery of words putting together every piece of an intricate puzzle: many tangled relationships over the decades, creating a real and also symbolic threatening storm.
Comment on author;:
Ann Cleeve’s brief sharing of how a loss in her life led to this place and characters chosen for this story story enhanced the depth of what this reader experienced in the reading.

Such a fun read. I really enjoyed all of the characters. This is the 3rd book in a series featuring Detective Venn.

I liked this mystery and I liked the narrator. I have never read or listened to an Ann Cleeves book but I will now in the future. The only problem was keeping the characters names in my head but very good audiobook.
Celebrity adventurer Jem Rosco returns to the isolated area where he grew up. He is there, so he says, to meet someone and will not be there long. Just as the town gets used to him being part of their lives he disappears only to turn up naked and dead in an anchored dinghy on a stormy night.

The Raging Storm
Two Rivers #3
Ann Cleeves
Jem Rosco arrived in Greystone, Devon visiting the Maiden’s Prayer Pub most evenings as he awaits the arrival of a special visitor. Jem was a sailor, explorer and famous. He was famous for sailing around the world. town was all a buzz for having a celebrity in their midst. Then he wasn’t there, the towns people wondered what happened to him and soon they found out.
After receiving a May Day call from the Anne Louise, the Lifeguard Operations Manager calls Mary Ford, a leader of the lifeboat volunteers. They search for the fishing boat but instead find the naked body of Jen Rosco in a dingy off Scully Cove. Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and his team were assigned the case. The case became more complexing when another body was found. Matthew is uneasy in Greystone; the town is filled with superstition and gossip.
This is the third book in this series and I have not read the first 2. I cannot pin point why but this tale fell flat for me.

As a huge fan of Ann Cleeves. This is the first book of the series that I have listened to. I am completely hooked with this new series that she has put out. She has not disappointed , I have embraced it with enthusiasm as Shetland and Vera. Highly recommend.

Ann Cleeves' The Raging Storm continues this series of mysteries featuring Detective Matthew Venn and his team, Jen Rafferty and Ross May. They are called to investigate the disappearance of local adventurer Jem Rosco, and find themselves tangled up in intrigues and superstitions on the North Devon seacoast. What initially seems like one murder becomes a series of them. Matthew Venn is a local boy and his background colors his impressions and actions. Cleeves does a great job of developing each character's backstory and showing how previous events have drawn the paths that each character follows.

Venn in particular is a complex character, as his boyhood in a religious cult called The Brethren is still casting shadows on his adult self. Nevertheless, he is decisive on the job, where he feels totally at home in the role.

Each book in this series paints a fuller picture of Detective Venn and his world. I hope Matthew Venn has many more cases to solve in the future.

Excellent mystery by Anne Cleeves, writer for BBC TV show Vera and Shetland. Cleeves excels at setting and character development. A naturalist celebrity returns to his childhood village, rents a cottage, declaring in the local pub that he is waiting for a mystery visitor. Then he turns up dead in a small boat, floating out at sea in the middle of a raging storm.
Recommended for all mystery readers. The Raging Storm is the third entry in Cleeve’s Two Rivers series, but I didn’t find it necessary to have read the previous novels.

The third book in the Two River series is a strong addition to the series. A famous adventurer who has sailed around the world comes into the small town of Greystone. All he will tell the residence is that he is there to meet someone, but he will not say who. Before too long, he is found dead in a dinghy, floating in the sea. Matthew Venn and his team arrive to investigate what happened. Before too long a second body is discovered. As Matthew tries to uncover the killer, he must also deal with his religious past and his times spent in Greystone as a kid.

The Two Rivers series is one. I find myself looking forward to more and more each passing year. Matthew Venn is a very atypical and interesting lead character. His dynamic of trying to balance work and his direct reports while also trying to live his life with his husband in an area he grew up in fascinates me. The work triangle between Matthew, Ross Pritchard, and Jen Rafferty provides excellent storylines and tension throughout the book. The characters are very relatable, and as you read, you want to learn more about them.

The plot is thorough with many twists and turns as you go. The backdrop of the English coast adds a nice scenic, studying for the novel. I feel like the Two Rivers series keeps getting better with each book. I would say The Raging Storm is the best entry so far. I would strongly recommend this book and the Two Rivers series as a whole. Thank you to @NetGalley @AnnCleeves @McMillanAudio @StMartinsPress @MinotaurBooksfor a free advanced copy for an honest review.

This is the third installment of the Two Rivers series. This is a new to me author.

Jem Rosco, the legend, comes until town and a short time later is found dead in a dinghy. Matthew Venn is investigating, amidst deep dark secrets in the small town.

Many thanks to MacMillan Audio and Net Galley for an audio ARC of The Raging Storm for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillian, and Ms Cleeves for providing an advance reader's copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I do enjoy a good police procedural. This is book three in the Two Rivers series.

I know, I know. I'm reading the stories out of order.

Detective Inspector Matthew Venn is keen to understand the murder victim. We are dropped into a small village in the English countryside. People are so weird. Ms Cleeves has a deft hand at creating an atmospheric scene and odd people, very odd. All of them are liars or hiding something. We get to know Venn's team a bit better. Ross is way too insecure and Jen needs more sleep. As the body count increased so did the tension and unease. The Christie-esque style of the ending made me happy.

Let me start with the fact that I love everything that I’ve ever read by Ann Cleeves. This is no exception. The third book in the Matthew Venn series is a great addition. There are quite a few characters to keep straight but she does such a good job writing each one that you soon get to know them. The audio narration was perfect for the book. Each voice was distinguishable so it was easy to keep up & not be taken out of the story. Very atmospheric as is typical of Ann Cleeves

I've read or watched everything Ann Cleeves has written. I love that she writes fully fleshed out characters, her plots never demand I suspend disbelief, and her crimes are always intimate and often heartbreaking. In "Raging Storm," celebrity adventurer Jem Rosco is found naked and dead in an anchored boat off the coast of his hometown of Greystone, North Devon, in what proves to be the first of a series of clever, twisted murders detective Matthew Venn and his team race to solve. As they prod into the lives of the locals, old wounds are opened for many of those at the periphery of the crimes, including Venn. The ending was satisfying and all threads were tied up. I look forward to the next in the Two Rivers series. 4.5 stars.

Thank you to Minotaur books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

I love all of Ann Cleeves' work, and this is no exception. This is the third in her new series that takes place in Devon, with a wonderful new detective character, a happily married gay man with a haunted past involving a small evangelical community in which he grew up and from which he was cast out. The Raging Storm is consistently excellent with beautifully drawn characters, and a vivid setting. The setting itself is a character in Ann Cleeves' work, and this is no exception. The villains and the victims are never straightforwardly good or bad in her books, and that makes them all the more compelling. I always recommend Ann Cleeves to patrons at our bookstore, and will definitely recommend this book. The audiobook is excellent.

Another installment with Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, investigating the murder of Jem Rosco, a sailor, adventurer and local legend in a super creep, spine-tingling novel by Ann Cleeves.

4 ⭐ (Story) The isolated small-town creepy vibe with the isolating storms and the spine-tingling weirdness of secrets and religious undertones from the the cult so prevalent in town gives this book a bleak, remote feel to it. Then the appearance of a second body complicates things. This is a slower pace, but I really enjoy the ambience the author creates, and Venn is a great character himself. I definitely enjoyed this one!

4 .5⭐ (Narration). I really enjoy the narrator with this story. He does a really nice job with voices, accents, and creating the creepy vibe that the author intended. Great!

[Thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced audio copy in exchange for an honest review!]

Matthew Venn returns in the third installment in Cleeves’s newest series. Jem Rosco, a well known man about town/adventurer shows up in Greystone, delighting and charming the residents. Then his body turns up in a local cove, it would appear that not everyone was taken with Rosco. DI Matthew Venn catches the case, but he’s uneasy. His childhood memories of the cove are far from pleasant, a place rife with legends and superstition. When another body turns up, locals are spooked and demand answers and Venn is conflicted and confused. Venn is one of Cleeves’s most relatable heroes, vulnerable and often unsure