Reviews

This was a mystery/thriller about an investigator coming back to his roots to investigate a body found on the beach.

This is the beginning of a series that I will watch for #2.

My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for this advanced readers copy. This book is set to release in September 2019.

thecurseofchris's review against another edition

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3.0

I was really hyped for this book at first because I had heard a lot of good things about the author, but in the end it just felt very average to me. The mystery was intriguing but eventually it just became stale and overly long to get to the conclusion.

suvata's review against another edition

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4.0

I see that Ann Cleeves is quite a prolific writer yet this is first of her books that I had the pleasure of running into. This book is the first of a new character she’s developed, Detective Matthew Venn. He is a very likable character which made for a very enjoyable cozy mystery indeed.

pepperpentangle's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

gabmc's review against another edition

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4.0

This is the first book in a new series by Ann Cleeves, who also writes the 'Vera' and 'Shetland' books. Detective Matthew Venn and his team are called to a dead body in a beautiful location on a beach quite near where Matthew lives. Matthew has just been at the funeral of his estranged father. He was brought up in a religious sect known as "The Brethren" but could no longer be a member when he came out to his parents. His husband, Jonathon, manages The Woodyard - a community that supports the arts, people with disabilities and learning about the local area. The dead man, Simon Walden, volunteered in the kitchen at The Woodyard. As Matthew investigates Simon's murder, a woman, Christine, who goes to the day centre at The Woodyard disappears, possibly kidnapped. There are several powerful men on the Board of Trustees of The Woodyard who seem to be closing ranks. I really enjoyed getting to know these new characters and new locations.

moiram's review against another edition

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4.0

I have been a fan of both Vera and Shetland on tv for several years, but this is only the second Ann Cleeves book I have read. Generally, I prefer reading the books before seeing a tv series, so with this being the first in a new series, it was a great chance to read it before they turn it into a tv series. I stayed up way too late the last two nights reading this - I had to know how it would turn out!

kdonohoe13's review against another edition

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1.0

This book was painfully slow. I barely got through it.

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