The Long Call by Ann Cleeves
Fiction
What it is: This first installment in the new Two rivers series by Ann Cleeves, author of the excellent Vera and Shetland series, introduces detective Matthew Venn. An investigation into the stabbing death of a man and the disappearance of two girls with Down Syndrome all turn up connections to the Woodyard Centre, a multi-use community arts centre in Devon, England, run by Matthew’s husband Jonathan.
Want a taste? “The road climbed steeply and then they were looking down at the village of Lovacott: a group of houses clustered around a small square, which was hardly more than the main street widened. A shop that seemed to sell everything, a pub. There was nothing picturesque here. No thatch. It would never have featured in an episode of Midsomer Murders.”
Reviewers say: “Cleeves makes good use of Devon local color and populates this subtle, expertly paced mystery with distinctive supporting characters” (Publishers Weekly).
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