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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
I like Ann Cleeves and I really enjoyed her Shetland saga. So when heard she had another series in Cornwall and it became available at the library I jumped at it.
I like that the book had a gay protagonist and that he and his husband were normal-ish. No caricatures, no ticking every rainbow box to be trendy, just two people in love. As normal as it should be.
I liked also how she wrote about the other characters with learning disabilities ( ie Down’s Syndrome ), making them strong and funny and scared and loving, which corresponds to my own experience in real life.
I recommend
I like that the book had a gay protagonist and that he and his husband were normal-ish. No caricatures, no ticking every rainbow box to be trendy, just two people in love. As normal as it should be.
I liked also how she wrote about the other characters with learning disabilities ( ie Down’s Syndrome ), making them strong and funny and scared and loving, which corresponds to my own experience in real life.
I recommend
The Long Call is the first entry in the new Two Rivers Series. It introduces Matthew Venn, a British police officer, in a same sex marriage and estranged from his mother due to being raised in a strict and cruel sect. When a woman walking her dog finds a man stabbed to death on a beach in North Devon, Detective Inspector Matthew Venn goes straight from his father’s funeral to begin the investigation. While the police are searching for motives for the murder, a woman with Downs Syndrome, who attended Woodyard’s day center and helped in the kitchen, like the murdered man, goes missing. As the team searches for the woman and for a possible connection with the murder, Matthew struggles with a possible conflict of interest because of his husband’s connection to Woodyard. When a second woman with Downs disappears Matthew is further conflicted, knowing his husband would never kill anyone.
The Long Call is a very character-driven police procedural, and these are not happy people. The term “long call” refers to the cry of the herring gull, a cry that always sounded to Matthew like “an inarticulate howl of pain”. That sound is very appropriate. Matthew himself has been ostracized by his family since he rejected the small fundamentalist faith in which he had been raised. And although he clearly loves his husband and is loved in return, he is equally clearly very insecure about their relationship. The members of his team also have burdens to deal with. Jen is raising her two children alone after leaving her abusive husband. Their boss, DCI Oldham, has problems of his own that may endanger his career and that I expect to hear of more in future books. Matthew and his team successfully solve the case but not before Matthew himself is endangered. These characters and their lives have not been so easily resolved, though, and Cleeves has made us care about them and assured that we will want to hear more about them in future books.
Ms. Cleeves provides a vivid portrayal of her locations. Her wonderful writing and descriptions make you feel the sea, marshes and atmosphere of North Devon. She wrote a wonderful story, with an intriguing plot and a great development of her characters. I definitely recommend The Long Call to other readers. I hope to see more, much more, of Matthew and his team.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
The Long Call is a very character-driven police procedural, and these are not happy people. The term “long call” refers to the cry of the herring gull, a cry that always sounded to Matthew like “an inarticulate howl of pain”. That sound is very appropriate. Matthew himself has been ostracized by his family since he rejected the small fundamentalist faith in which he had been raised. And although he clearly loves his husband and is loved in return, he is equally clearly very insecure about their relationship. The members of his team also have burdens to deal with. Jen is raising her two children alone after leaving her abusive husband. Their boss, DCI Oldham, has problems of his own that may endanger his career and that I expect to hear of more in future books. Matthew and his team successfully solve the case but not before Matthew himself is endangered. These characters and their lives have not been so easily resolved, though, and Cleeves has made us care about them and assured that we will want to hear more about them in future books.
Ms. Cleeves provides a vivid portrayal of her locations. Her wonderful writing and descriptions make you feel the sea, marshes and atmosphere of North Devon. She wrote a wonderful story, with an intriguing plot and a great development of her characters. I definitely recommend The Long Call to other readers. I hope to see more, much more, of Matthew and his team.
I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
In the first of a new series (Vera, a previous series, is being shown on PBS), Detective Matthew Venn is called to the scene of a murder not too far from his own home in Devon, England. The victim is a man with no identification on him, but has an albatross tattooed on his neck. He’s been stabbed. Venn and his two-person team begin the arduous task of identifying the dead man. One of his best witnesses is a woman with Downs Syndrome who identifies him as a man she met at the center where she is learning job skills and how to be independent of her widowed father. The center is run by Venn’s husband.
Cleeves unfolds the investigation slowly and methodically revealing things about the dead man one clue at a time and knowing some of the people he and his team have interviewed have been withholding information from them. He knows he should recuse himself from the investigation because of his husband’s connection with the center where the victim volunteered as a bakery chef. He doesn’t ask to be taken off the investigation because the center isn’t immediately involved in the murder.
This is a well-written mystery by an award-winning author. Her characters are well-developed and likeable and the story is driven by them. The story line is complex and well told.
If you like your mysteries to speed along at the speed of an hour-long television mystery show, this is not the book for you. Cleeves is meticulous in how much information she reveals as the story moves at a more sedate pace.
But, if you like British procedurals, then this is the book for you. You’ll want to put it near the top of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for an eARC.
Cleeves unfolds the investigation slowly and methodically revealing things about the dead man one clue at a time and knowing some of the people he and his team have interviewed have been withholding information from them. He knows he should recuse himself from the investigation because of his husband’s connection with the center where the victim volunteered as a bakery chef. He doesn’t ask to be taken off the investigation because the center isn’t immediately involved in the murder.
This is a well-written mystery by an award-winning author. Her characters are well-developed and likeable and the story is driven by them. The story line is complex and well told.
If you like your mysteries to speed along at the speed of an hour-long television mystery show, this is not the book for you. Cleeves is meticulous in how much information she reveals as the story moves at a more sedate pace.
But, if you like British procedurals, then this is the book for you. You’ll want to put it near the top of your to-be-read list.
My thanks to Minotaur and NetGalley for an eARC.
I liked that this was set in North Devon and a bit more relatable for me than the American based ones but perhaps a little bit slow, will try another at some point
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
MURDER IN QUAINT SLEEPY ENGLISH VILLAGE. An oldie but a goodie!
I wasn't sold on the story from the start but stuck around for the setting, and was very pleasantly surprised by how these characters kept surprising me. Early on I felt like the book was a bit too clumsy about the points it was trying to make, but turned out to be surprisingly nuanced on top of delightfully atmospheric (those slightly threatening vibes? On Point!). Also, I did Not expect the murder mystery plot to turn out like it did, and I'm always happy when a book ending surprises me in a good way. Sort of want to check out more of this series in the future!
I wasn't sold on the story from the start but stuck around for the setting, and was very pleasantly surprised by how these characters kept surprising me. Early on I felt like the book was a bit too clumsy about the points it was trying to make, but turned out to be surprisingly nuanced on top of delightfully atmospheric (those slightly threatening vibes? On Point!). Also, I did Not expect the murder mystery plot to turn out like it did, and I'm always happy when a book ending surprises me in a good way. Sort of want to check out more of this series in the future!
slow-paced