Once again Ann Cleeves weaves her magic in a book that grips the reader from the beginning and holds them throughout, capturing the natural beauty of the Devon coast at its deadly best.The quiet village of Greystone is abuzz when the sailing legend Jem Rosco shows up and tells everyone he is there to meet someone, but he won't say who that someone is--adding to the gossip surrounding him. When Rosco's naked body is later found in a dinghy anchored in a cove during a raging storm, Matthew Venn and his team are called in to solve the mysterious death.
Just as Rosco had ties to the area, so does Matthew Venn. Greystone has a large contingent of the religious cult he was raised in and he has old connections to some of the residents as well. Viewed suspiciously by the residents and coldly by the cult, Venn works to establish trust with both factions to try and solve this case. When another death occurs that is deemed suspicious, the race is on to find the killer.
I admit that Cleeves' old Shetland Island series and her current Vera Stanhope series are among my favorite reads. I also admit that I wasn't completely sold on her Matthew Venn series when it first started, but I'm happy to find that Matthew is growing on me. In this outing, we get more background on Venn and the circumstances of his upbringing. Having renounced the religious cult and then being thrown back into it to solve the murders shows how adept Venn is at dealing with all sorts of people.
The plot and characters in this book are complex and the writing is excellent with enough twists and red herrings to keep the reader engaged. Once again, another engrossing police procedural by Cleeves.
Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. The publication date is September 5, 2023.
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Excellent review, Laurie!
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