The Long Call - Ann Cleeves

The Long Call

By Ann Cleeves

  • Release Date: 2019-09-03
  • Genre: British Detectives
Score: 4
4
From 548 Ratings

Description

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
NOW A BRITBOX SERIES STARRING BEN ALDRIDGE AND PEARL MACKIE

The Long Call from Ann Cleeves—bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—introduces the first in the stunning Matthew Venn series.

“In Matthew Venn, Ann has created a complex, daring, subtle character.” —Louise Penny


"Matthew Venn is a keeper. A stunning debut for Cleeves’ latest crimefighter."—David Baldacci

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his estranged father’s funeral takes place. On the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back to the people and places of his past, as deadly secrets hidden at their hearts are revealed, and his new life is forced into a collision course with the world he thought he’d left behind.

Reviews

  • Ugh.

    2
    By PapaJamesRRTX
    Don’t bother.
  • Hmm

    3
    By Whitmben
    Loved the main character Matthew. But the story felt tedious and exhausting without any big revelations. The writing was great though and I appreciated that it wasn’t another poorly written repetitive thriller.
  • Interesting New Series

    5
    By Zoiebark Princess
    I liked the characters in Ann Cleeves’ new book, The Long Call. I felt very comfortable with them. The mystery was interesting to try to solve, though a little too current for my taste. I dislike current news events and so wasn’t thrilled to see a familiar story. I am an AC fan, so I won’t give up soon.
  • The Long Call

    5
    By Artymusician
    Wow! This was outstanding! I could not stop reading this! Beautifully written. I have greatly enjoyed the Vera series on PBS, but this is my first book by this author. Her characters are so relatable and the detective is so likable, humble, and clever!
  • Info

    1
    By ❤️Gold
    Purchased this book expecting a more
  • The Long Call

    5
    By cmk81352
    One of her best. Read it over night. Wonderful insight on contemporary relationships and doing the right thing. Hope to see these characters developed in future novels.
  • Perfect British mystery

    4
    By kimbnaz
    When a murder occurs on a strip of beach in Devon, Matthew Venn is on the case to try to solve it. This murder hits close to home because he lives not far from the site of the killing, but also because the man murdered has ties to his husband Jonathan’s place of work. Death is prominent in this day in Matthew’s life, as he has just left the burial of his own father, someone he’d been estranged from for years. As the pieces of the murder puzzle come together, not only is Jonathan’s place of work, The Woodyard centering in the story, but also Jonathan himself. Matthew has to distance himself from thinking of his husband as his husband, and more as a possible suspect in the crime. But there are plenty of other characters that might be just as guilty. Could his parents’ religious order The Brethren have anything to do with it? How many people are involved in this crime and why? Ann Cleeves has woven a tale of suspense and mystery in a gloomy little seaside town. The Long Call is not only in the perfect setting, but has fantastic characters as well. She creates little turns and drops small hints throughout the story, never revealing enough until the time has come. It is a great mystery how all the pieces will come together in the end, but come together they do. Each character plays their own special part in the story, but you’re never really sure who are the good guys and who are the bad guys right up until the finish. As a huge fan of books based in Britain, this one doesn’t disappoint. It has all the elements of the perfect British mystery. I enjoyed the story as well as the characters. I have not read any of Cleeves novels before, but I certainly am going to add them to my to read list after this book.
  • THE LONG CALL

    4
    By Ellen/Oceanside
    We meet Matthew a protagonist at the funeral of his father, observing, and feeling angry, a disappointment to his father. Leaving, he received a call of a man at the shores dead, with clothing that was dried. Appearance of a homeless man, that turns out was deceiving as the mystery unfolds. Turmoil as he has to return to his birth place, and hasn’t been there since a teen to interview people. Beginning of a new series by the author, and a good well flowing plot. Given ARC for my voluntary review and my honest opinion by Net Galley and San Martin Press.