About
The Heron's Cry Synopsis
Now a major ITV series, The Long Call, adapted for television by screenwriter Kelly Jones and starring Ben Aldridge.
The number one Sunday Times bestselling series featuring Detective Matthew Venn, from author and creator of the Vera and Shetland series, Ann Cleeves - soon to be a major TV series.
North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coast-line. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder - Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed. His daughter, Eve, is a glassblower, and the murder weapon is a shard of one of her broken vases.
Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved though to find that Eve is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.
Then another body is found - killed in a similar way. Matthew finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home . . .
The Heron's Cry is the second novel in Ann Cleeves' Two Rivers series following her Sunday Times bestseller, The Long Call.
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Press Reviews
Ann Cleeves Press Reviews
As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves' latest. Matthew Venn is a keeper. A stunning debut for Cleeves' latest crimefighter -- David Baldacci on THE LONG CALL Had me hooked - a promising beginning to another fine chapter in the Ann Cleeves story - The Times on THE LONG CALL
Clever, compassionate and atmospheric, with a great cast of new characters to love. I am already a Matthew Venn fan -- Elly Griffiths on THE LONG CALL A triumph that cements Cleeves' status as one of Britain's best crime writers - Daily Express - Daily Express on THE LONG CALL
Brilliant, thoughtful and deeply engaging -- Sara Paretsky, New York Times bestselling author of the V.I. Warshawski series on THE LONG CALL Ann Cleeves' new series gets off to a terrific start with The Long Call - her native Devon is wonderfully evoked, and Matthew Venn is a very appealing new detective. Another sure-fire hit - -- Martin Edwards, author of Gallows Court, on THE LONG CALL Cleeves combines a flair for evoking sense of place with a thoughtful, complex plot - - Mail on Sunday on THE LONG CALL
The troubled Venn is a great protagonist, and Cleeves may well have created her next top TV cop - Heat Magazine on THE LONG CALL
A traditional mystery of the best sort - The Guardian on THE LONG CALL
Evocative and gripping - an absolute triumph - Daily Mirror on THE LONG CALL
Author
About Ann Cleeves
A letter from Ann Cleeves to our readers.....
Dear Lovereading members,
I first came to Shetland when I was nineteen. I'd dropped out of university and was offered, quite by chance, the job of assistant cook in the bird observatory on Fair Isle, the most southerly island of the archipelago. It's thirteen hours by ferry from Aberdeen to Shetland mainland and then another three hours in a horrible little boat to Fair Isle. I thought I'd come to the end of the world. But I arrived in spring when the lowlands were covered in flowers and the seabirds were nesting on the cliffs and I fell in love with the place. I've been visiting ever since. In Shetland I learned to cook, to clip sheep and even to knit. I met my husband on Fair Isle and some of my best friends live in the islands. Shetland is bleak and bare, with a magic all of its own. I hope these books give a flavour of the place and of the preoccupations of its people. Besides telling a story that you won't want to put down...
Best wishes, Ann Cleeve
Ann Cleeves worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of 'Murder Squad', working with other northern writers to promote crime fiction. In 2006 Ann was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger for Best Crime Novel for Raven Black. Her Vera Stanhope series is now a major ITV drama starring Brenda Blethyn. Ann lives in North Tyneside.
In 2017 Ann Cleeves was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger - the highest honour in British crime writing. The Dagger award recognises authors whose crime writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to the genre.
More About Ann Cleeves
