Welcome to Litsy!

This is a solid procedural with fully-formed characters and complex mysteries. The investigation unwinds slowly and methodically, and, as is often the case with the genre, digs deeply into the sordid secrets of everyday people‘s lives. Where most of the Cleeves novels I‘ve read have sad, tragic conclusions, this one is more disturbing to me. I‘m not a fan of the audiobook narration, but I‘m a fan of Matthew Venn, so I‘ll be back for more.

I needed a palate cleanser and Cleeves always delivers. Yes, there is a murder or two to solve but I was much more interested in the characters that we are starting to get to know better now.

Eve Yeo comes downstairs to her glass-blowing studio to find her father dead, stabbed through the neck with a shard from one of her pieces. The night before he had met DS Jen Rafferty at a party and asked to consult her. Who wanted to ensure his silence?

Good storytelling but not as much fallout for Jonathan and the Woodyard from the previous book as I would have expected.

Jen had drunk too much. They were in Cynthia Prior's garden, lounging on the grass, and it was just getting dark.

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

Listened to this book. Perfect medium for Ann Cleeves. Enjoyed getting to know the characters more deeply. Jonathan and Jen are delightful

Full review at thejwordpress.wordpress.com

3.5 ⭐️

📚 physical book
📚⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📚 for buddy reads, & non fiction- use sticky notes, sometimes underline
Tagging @BookBabe @LiteraryinLawrence @Tamra @BookishMarginalia @Branwen
#thoughtfulthursday

I love maps in books. It helps me so much, especially if I have never been there. #bookmaps

Slept late. Rainy,cloudy day. Time to read.#coffeesndbooks

Slept lots, walked rectangles in my yard to 3/4 mile cause my body needed it. Not used to being a lay about! On antivirals, cough meds, Tylenol for covid symptoms. Quarantined until Saturday. Beautiful late afternoon, 70 degrees, slight breeze, blue sky with scattered clouds. Bird song,a few cars. In anticipation of opening this book. Love Ann Cleeve‘s books! #porchlife

I liked this, but what I *really* liked was the storyline where Matthew and Jonathan were preparing to have Matthew‘s mum over for Sunday lunch. I must be having a slice-of-life moment, so please hit me up with your favourite slice-of-life novels (or graphic novels).

My last 2 books were The Herons Cry and The House in the Cerulean Sea..both 4 stars from me. Loved the quirkiness of the Cerulean Sea which is set in an orphanage for Magical Children and it‘s a heartwarming tale❤️.
Next book for me is The Islands which has had good reviews here. And also this is my reading spot on the verandah..if I can escape the mozzies!!
#crimefiction #australianfiction #fantasy #bookreview #weeklyreport

Another great listen! This one kept me guessing until the very end. Glad to see a couple of my favorite secondary characters from The Long Call show up as well. So glad this was available on Libby

The second book in the Matthew Venn series set in North Devon. It's a good and enjoyable read.

Just finished. Oh how I love books by Ann Cleeves! 5⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I have really enjoyed all of Ann Cleeves‘ books I‘ve read so far! I really like this series and hope there will be many more books. I love Matthew Venn‘s character and his story. I can‘t wait to read more!

Started this one last night.

Bk6 & 7 of November are done. I managed to finish these by audiobook mostly while I was in hospital. I started the tagged book which is the 2nd in the series but couldn‘t remember the MC so went back to reread The Long Call first. I love the new setting for this, North Devon is not a place written about much so Google Maps was my friend. Highly recommend this & all Cleeve‘s work. The tagged was my #Doublespin bk for November‘s #BookspinBingo

I‘m over 600pgs into The Reality Dysfunction by Peter.F.Hamilton but I‘m having a SciFi overload, so I‘m switching to some British crime for a few hours then I‘ll go back and finish it. I‘ve been looking forward to the new Cleeves for awhile, I really miss her Shetland books already & am hoping there‘s a new Vera coming soon🤞 #NovelNovember #readathon

Bk2 of today‘s long overdue #Bookmail is the 2nd in Ann Cleeves new crime series. Set in the south of England this time(Vera was NorthUmberland & Shetland was the most northern part of the UK),Detective Mathew Venn lives & works in Devon, just above Cornwall on the SW coast of England. In an unusually hot summer, he‘s called to an artists retreat where he finds Dr Nigel Yeo fatally stabbed with a piece of one of his daughters blown glass vases.

Gah. I loved the first Detective Venn book so was looking forward to reading this one. I just couldn‘t ever get excited about it. Matthew felt like a minor character with the main focus on other detectives. That said, I feel very distracted lately so this may be a case of “it‘s not you. It‘s me.” I‘m not sure??? I‘ll still read the next book in the series. In other news, first Michigan snow of the year! #imnotready

Second in this new series, knowledge of the characters is growing and so are the deaths.
Enjoyed this one as with all her books and didn‘t guess the murderer!

Just as good as the first one. I love the characters and the North Devon setting. I'll be hanging out for the next in the series, and probably reading some other Ann Cleeves books in the meantime.

Not herons but geese. And not the southwest but the northwest.

'This is your full-time job? Working in the cafe?'

For the moment.' She walked out of the shallow water and joined him. I've got a degree. From Oxford. But there's not much call for students of Victorian fiction in contemporary Britain.'

Ross didn't know what to say to that.

Author's joke? (Bestselling Oxford English lit grad)

I love watching Vera and Shetland, the TV series based on on Ann Cleeves‘ other books, so I was excited to get to start a new detective series from her. This second book is just as good as the first. I love the setting in Devon, the main character, his husband, and his unusual upbringing. I think these elements are going to make for a great series so I‘m looking forward to the next one. And this is also being made into a TV show for ITV/BritBox!

Book. 230/2021 Finished 26/9/21 ⭐️⭐️⭐️ Audiobook

Disappointing , no where near as good as the first book

Sort of blah! Check out my blog post!

https://reecaspieces.com/2021/10/04/the-herons-cry-by-ann-cleeves-audiobook-audi...

Ran out to PRB to pick up my preorder of the tagged book and grabbed a copy of Under the Whispering Door, too. I enjoyed the 1st Matthew Venn novel, so I‘m looking forward to this sequel. Did I preorder the B&N special edition of Under the Whispering Door? Yes. It should be here Friday. Did I order the special edition from Illumicrate that ship in October? Also, yes. Did I buy a copy today because all the Litsy posts made me jelly? Hell , yes.

#BookMail

Thanks to this week's distractions, I had an inkling about who might be behind the murders, but - hold on tight - I was wrong. But the person I had in mind did some bad stuff to some people nevertheless.

I hope Cleeves is going to write more books in this series. I like the detectives.

'Jen had drunk too much.'

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Just finished this one.

#SuperSeptember @Andrew65 @EadieB

Original plan was to listen to The Heron's Cry but then I found early copy so I ended up reading in Print.

When my @audible Preorder became available I went ahead and read a2nd time. Wanted to check out new Narrator. He hits his stride in Chapter 2 and it's excellent. Definitely recommend the audiobook.

With 2nd Readings of Mysteries, I always catch little things I missed. 'Knowing Who Done It' makes for different read. 🎧📖😎

This is so good! I love the Shetland and Vera mysteries, but this may be my favorite Cleeves series. Complex, interesting characters and a very challenging murder mystery. I was completely taken aback to discover the murderer. Now I can‘t wait for the next book.

Cleeves' second in the Matthew Venn series is just as twisty and slick as her first, featuring skillful character development as well as engaging description and dialog. Cleeves is by far one of the best mystery writers practicing today, including intricate plots with lots of little off-shoot stories meant to deceive the reader until the final reveal. So happy to find out this series is being filmed!

There are only a handful of authors for whom I‘ll pay full Kindle price, rather than waiting until it‘s marked down. Ann Cleeves is one, especially since I loved the first book in this new series. Starting this now.

This is how you spend a Sunday: Veggie Burger, Key Lime Pie, & a good book. Great mystery! Kept me guessing right up till the end.

Said it before & I'll say it again, Ann Cleeves perfectly captures what it's like to leave a cult. Awkwardness in social settings. Struggle to find your place. It's why I love Detective Matthew Venn. You see his insecurities from his upbringing but also that he's made a good life for himself out in 'The World.'

"Jen had drunk to much." ?
@ShyBookOwl
#FirstLineFridays

Detective Matthew Venn is checking out the murder victim's house and finds: "One mug, rinsed and ready to go in the dishwasher, on the draining board in the kitchen. A pair of slippers carefully placed together close to the entrance to the hall. A copy of Friday's The Guardian, neatly folded on a coffee table."

What's he going to find in your house❓
Mine is empty whisky glass, hair clip, flowers & a stack of books.

So there I was walking around Barnes & Noble w/ my Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte this isn't out until next week. AND I spot it on the New Release Shelf‼ Checked & my Preorder hasn't shipped. Talked to Booksellers, apparently Publisher didn't mark it as not to put on the shelf. She couldn't cancel my Preorder. Will call tomorrow & see about that. If all else fails I can return the one that I'm shipped.

Off to read past my bedtime. 🕵🏻‍♂️🫖📖

Book 6 finished for #AwesomeAugust

This is the second book in Ann Cleeves new series, and it was a great read following on where book 1 left off. This time we have a succession of murders but no real indications initially why. As usual Ann Cleeves writes great plots and great characters, and very much keeps her cards very close to her chest which makes it very difficult to work our the killer, but I do love her books. Totally recommended.

Started reading book 2 in the Matthew Venn series, having received a #Netgalley Review copy.

Reading this as part of #AwesomeAugust

If anywhere as good as book 1 should be an excellent read.

#TheHeronsCry #AnnCleeves #BookSpinBingo #StackingTheSeries #SeriesRead2021

The Two Rivers Series, Book 2 Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases. Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew needs to find the killer before they strike again. Complex characters drive this plot.