The Long Call - Ann Cleeves

 

Description

The Long Call is the captivating first novel in the Two Rivers series from Sunday Times best seller and creator of Vera and Shetland, Ann Cleeves.

In North Devon, where the rivers Taw and Torridge converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father's funeral takes place. The day Matthew turned his back on the strict evangelical community in which he grew up, he lost his family too.

Now he's back, not just to mourn his father at a distance, but to take charge of his first major case in the Two Rivers region; a complex place not quite as idyllic as tourists suppose.

A body has been found on the beach near to Matthew's new home: a man with the tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

Finding the killer is Venn’s only focus and his team’s investigation will take him straight back into the community he left behind and the deadly secrets that lurk there.

Review

This is the first Ann Cleeves book I have read/listened to. I know! - where have I been. This was chosen by my book group to read, and I thought I would give it a go. I'm so glad I did. I've read reviews from long time Ann Cleeves fans and they don't seem too happy with it though!

I listened to the audio and for me it was so well narrated with the different voices and dialects (all by one person) that it felt like I was listening to a play. It took me a while to get the characters straight in my head, but once I did I listened to it in two sittings, I just had to know what on earth was going on.

A body is found on the beach and the search is on to find out who he is and why did someone kill him? It turns out that he used to talk to a woman who has Down's syndrome on the bus, and she's realised he's the man who is dead - but is there a connection between them and The Woodyard - the day centre she and others attend? I really liked the three women's voices the author gave to the women with Downs Syndrome, it was really sensitively done too.

There are well written characters in this book and so many sub plots concerning Detective Venn, the village he was brought up in, the Brethen he abandoned and the fact that his partner manages The Woodyard. There is a strong female in Jen a fellow detective who Venn has views about, which we then see are far from the mark when we get to hear her voice.  

I'm giving this book 4 out of 5 stars. My thanks to Borrowbox and my local library for the audio to listen to.