A review by laura_gaskill
The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves

3.75

I enjoyed the first book in the Matthew Venn series, so I was quite looking forward to this second installment. I love the rich character development, and feel especially drawn to Venn and his husband Jonathan. If you appreciate a true police procedural that lets the reader play along in the casework (and I do) this book does that very well. Where I had to knock off a star was for the ending. Without spoiling anything, I can say that the resolution felt rushed, and the confession ridiculously thorough - like something out of an episode of Scooby Doo, with the suspect spilling their entire story and laying out every single motivation for no apparent reason. It felt unearned, and like Cleeves just got tired and slapped an ending on just before deadline. Which is a shame, because the story up to that point felt very well crafted and satisfying.