This and That with Karen : The Herons Cry by Ann Cleeves

Aug 7, 2021

The Herons Cry by Ann Cleeves

Hello my cozy friends,

Today I want to talk about a Mystery more so than a cozy "The Herons Cry" by Ann Cleeves the 2nd instalment in her Two Rivers Mystery Series. Which I’m super excited is being made into a tv series like her Shetland and Vera books.

North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. 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 with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's 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 she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.

DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft.

I enjoyed going back to North Devon and the world of DI Mathew Venn, and his quirks but I liked how the author also let’s us see into the lives of the other characters just as much. We learned a lot more this time, and I liked how Lucy still played a part.

The story focused on mental illness, and the stress it can have on the NHS, family and the person suffering. The mystery had lots of sub plots that it kept me guessing till the very end.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good mystery.