The Heron's Cry: A Detective Matthew Venn Novel: 2

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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” (by who's definition, I ask) 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.

The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine). Ann Cleeves mystery is a slow burn with an acute attention to details. She continues to develop the characters with such care, allowing the reader to bond and form lasting relationships that will only continue to grow in upcoming books in this series. DI Matthew Venn and his entire team have a difficult task ahead trying to solve these murders and unearthing the lies in the community. This is a case that presents problems personally as Matthews husband, Jonathan, is good friends with Dr. Yeo’s daughter.Cleeves spins her storyline to spotlight DS Jen Rafferty who is off-duty and attending a party at the home of her best friend, Cynthia. She's introduced to Dr. Nigel Yeo who wishes to have a later conversation with Jen the next day. He seems preoccupied by something. But that meeting never takes place. The body of Dr. Yeo is found murdered the following day. And the circumstances of his death are unsettling. Particularly where and how he died..... Having enjoyed the author's Vera Stanhope and Shetland books and their TV adaptations, I was pleased to learn that Two Rivers will continue as a series with plans for television. The first book in the series, The Long Call, was a standout Mystery for me in 2019, so I was highly anticipating this next installment. It was sunny yesterday. You could have put them on the line.’ More disapproval. Not content with saving her mother, Ella wanted to save the world too.

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 Eve is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband. Until the lifeboat is launched to a hoax call-out during a raging storm and his body is found in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own. Dr. Yeo was a good man and an unlikely murder victim. He was the head of the North Devon Patients Organization Together, an organization that monitors NHS Trusts. Shortly after Yeo’s death, another murder with the same MO takes place and causes deep scrutiny of the entire community.

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What did I like? Jonathan, sweet gorgeous Jonathan, Matthew Venn's husband who was always thinking of Matthew and how he could make Matthew's life more pleasant. I also liked Detective Ross May and the little glimpse into his private life and his love for his wife. Detective Matthew Venn is called to investigate the murder of Dr. Nigel Yeo in North Devon, a rural suburb of Barnstaple. Yeo was found stabbed to death by a a broken piece of glass from a vase blown by his own daughter, Eve, in her own studio.

I'm not sure if there are going to be more books in this series, but I truly hope there will be. I could picture this one running for a long time. If that's the case, I will be so happy that I got in on it early. and a married couple named Sarah and John Grieve, who manage Ley's farm and run a small dairy. Ley is friendly with his tenants, and occasionally invites them to his home for drinks. The victim, Dr. Nigel Yeo, seemed to be a good man, who was trying to right wrongs. Before too long there is another body and maybe some past deaths might be connected to the present deaths. This is a very slow burn and the team does their foot work, while the list of suspicious people grows by the minute. Guilt is a theme that is a big part of this story. Guilt about the past, guilt about what was done and not done, and trying to find the guilty party/parties for past and present wrongs. No one wants to suspect friends or relatives of friends, everyone feels defensive, and there are just not enough hours in the day and night to solve these crimes while giving the home front the attention it needs. DI Matthew Venn gets the case, and he and his colleagues - Detective Sergeant Jen Rafferty and Detective Constable Ross May - investigate.There are secondary storylines too. There is one regarding the suicides of former patients of local mental health facilities who were discharged because they were not deemed as requiring any further care only to have those same patients commit suicide shortly after they were released. Nigel, who worked for a patients advocate agency, was investigating these cases before he was killed. There is another secondary storyline that is about Matthew reestablishing his relationship with his mother, starting with introducing her to Jonathan. Lastly, there is another secondary story revolving around the marriage of Ross and his wife Mel.