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

Product Information

Not any more.’ He smiled too, as if he knew what she was thinking, and again, there was something lovely about the smile, something that made up for the troll-like stature. ‘You could say I’m in the same line of business as you. Sort of. Though I’m more of a private investigator at the moment. In fact, there was something I wanted to discuss, but I’m not sure this is the right place after all.’ He seemed distracted for a moment. ‘Actually, it’s probably time for me to head home, I think.’ Nigel got to his feet, the movement smooth and easy, and wiped a few grass clippings from his bum. It was rather a nice bum too. Cleeves makes good use of Devon local color and populates this subtle, expertly paced mystery with distinctive supporting characters."— Publishers Weekly

DI Matthew Venn and his team are called to a murder the scene at the rural house of a philanthropist and arts supporter. There they find the father of one of the artists stabbed with a shard of one of her glass creations. The man, Dr. Nigel Yeo, is the head of a watchdog agency monitoring the National Health Service; especially its treatment of mentally ill patients. This leads to a subplot in the book with the team investigating suicide deaths. The body count piles up and the team seems to be getting nowhere in finding the serial killer or discovering what Dr. Yeo had uncovered in the suicide case. 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. His daughter, Eve, a glassblower, is particularly distraught, as is Venn when he discovers Eve is actually a good friend of his husband, Jonathan.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. 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. So, Nigel. What do you do for a living?’ He’d already told her his name, slightly apologetically, as if it wasn’t a name to be proud of.

As usual with this talented author, the key is relationships, and the murder is an occasion to examine them and then, finally, to expose what rips them apart."— Booklist But family drama is always good for a mystery. Put three families under stress and, well...it multiplies. In this book, in most approved Cleevesian fashion, we see Lucy and Maurice from the book before; we visit several beauty spots marred by tragedy; Jonathan goes whole-hearted and unthinking into best-friend mode when he should stop and think a minute; Matthew, well, he thinks himself into many corners and gets out when Jen and Ross need him to fix things for them. 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. Cleeves's true strength lies in her descriptions of the natural world, gorgeously captured."— New York Times Book ReviewThere 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.