This was an excellent start to a series and I am looking forward to more. The characters were well developed but not overly so, which I like. The plot was interesting and kept me intrigued as different stories were woven together in a surprising way. I definitely recommend this one for sure, and will make a point to read more from this author.

This books was just a struggle to get through (hence this review that is forever late), which is a shame because I overall appreciated the concept and plot. Maybe I just never fully felt invested in the multitude of characters? I ultimately had to use the audiobook to get through it - but unfortunately, didn't enjoy the narrator much.

This is my second Ann Cleeves novel and I didn't fully enjoy the other one either - so maybe this author and I are just not meant to be? Which is totally okay - I'm sure there will be murder mystery lovers who love this novel and its characters.

The Long Call was my first Ann Cleeves book, but it definitely won't be my last. Don't let the soothing tone fool you. This story delivers on edge of your seat intrigue and mystery. Plan to stay up late reading, as I was unable to put this one down! The British investigative team, lead by Matthew Venn along with Jen Rafferty and Ross May have an unidentified murder victim. Their investigation hits very close to home for Venn, as the investigation intertwines with his personal life. Once identified, clues surrounding the victim, Simon Walden, leads the team down several paths yet all circle around Walden. Happy that this is the first of a series, and look forward to the development of Venn, Rafferty and May in future books.

This was a nice story. I’m not going to lie it started out really slow at first, even with the murder it was still dragging. But I’d say nearly half way in it started to pick up pace. And it ended up being really good. Matthew better known as Matt or Matty as I’d call him throughout the book was a gay police officer and came from a strict religious sect. He lost his beliefs and the sect as well as his family disowned him. 20 years later he’s back with his husband/partner Jonathan who runs a community center that helps vulnerable people. The main people working with Matt is Jen who was the victim of domestic abuse and Ross the office suck up (this will be explained in the book too). This was a great book I liked how it ended and the story was greatly written. I can totally see myself living in this area as well as being or trying to be friendly with the characters in the book. I really liked the commentary/thoughts that went unsaid and found myself both laughing and crying throughout. Ann Cleeves really did an amazing job with this one. I’d love to read more about Matthew and the team and their family’s and friends in more books.

The mystery genre is honestly my second favorite genre to dig into. Whether normal, paranormal, cozy, or gruesome, it doesn’t matter to me. All I need is a juicy mystery, good characters, and a satisfying ending. The Long Call by Ann Cleeves definitely delivers on most fronts!

I honestly was a little hesitant when I began the novel. The judgmental personality of protagonist Matthew Venn really put me off and I was unsure how I would rate this book. Heck, I was even worried about this becoming yet another book I would have to put as DNF. Luckily, as the story unfolded, so did Matthew’s personality. We’re shown why he is so formal and conservative. We meet his mother and learn a little about the congregation he grew up in. This background information definitely helped not only give meaning behind his somewhat stilted views, but also softened Venn’s edges. We see that his disapproving nature is surface level and it doesn’t actually color his actions. He can still trust Jen despite his reservations on her personal life, and ultimately, that redeems him as protagonist for me.

The mystery itself was really well crafted. This is my first time reading Cleeves and I can definitely see why she’s such a popular author. All of the pieces are there and everything feels so obvious, yet it is just barely out of reach. There is no last minute twist or gotcha! to cheapen the plot. It is simply solid work with all of the puzzle pieces visible and then being shown the box at the end as to how they fit. The atmosphere and setting were also incredibly well done. As someone that is obviously not from the UK, I’ve found that some books that are incredibly localized can be harder for ‘outsiders’ to relate or get into. This was definitely not the case here. There is just enough flavor that Britons can appreciate the nuances and non-Britons don’t feel uncomfortable or lost.

I think The Long Call by Ann Cleeves is definitely inspiring me to not just continue the series, but pick up other mysteries by the author. It is simply well written, a good mystery, and solid characters.

Ann Cleeves is known for her "Vera" detective, first famous in books and then television. I confess I'm only peripherally aware of these, but i did known her name. With The Long Call, Cleeves begins a new detective series. Matthew Venn is at his estranged father's funeral in North Devon, when he gets a call that a body has been found on the beach. We get a slow introduction to the characters. Matthew is much more introverted and quiet than many of the detectives we see in fiction. He does have a conflict in his background. He is gay, but he was raised in a very fundamentalist religious community, so there is a lot of conflict there. The author handles this with sensitivity, and really, his being gay has little effect on the story other than with family conflicts. I struggled a little with the mystery plot. It seemed a bit hard to follow at times. However, the author has drawn the beginnings of some characters that I feel sure will reveal many interesting layers as she unfolds future stories. I enjoyed the book, and would read the next in the series to see if it draws me in more. I am definitely interested. I would rate this 3.5 but I'm rounding up to 4. Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read this book.

I was really excited when I first heard there would be a new series from Ann Cleeves, and couldn't wait to start it. Having finally gotten to The Long Call, I can say that as usual, Ms Cleeves does not disappoint. The story, characters, and scenery are well thought out and written well. I'm a big fan of Vera and Shetland, and am happy to add Two Rivers to my must read pile.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing this title in exchange for an honest review.

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves is the first book in a new series by this author. It had a great start and premise but I found this book really difficult to read. The characters were not that interesting and it was a struggle to read. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

Excellent characterization and setting, but I found the story a bit too implausible. Overall, an atmospheric mystery and since it appears it is the start of a new series, I would consider reading the rest to see where the author takes the characters. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing the DRC of the book for a review!

This is my first book by this author and although I like the storyline the characters took a bit of getting used to. Once I got into the story it was hard to put down. The writing is great and the story was long but I do look forward to reading more books by this author in the future.

The Long Call
by Ann Cleeves

St. Martin's Press
Minotaur Books

St. Martin's Press
Mystery & Thrillers
Pub Date 03 Sep 2019


I am reviewing a copy of The Long Call through St. Martin’s Press and Minotaur Books and Netgalley:




Detective Matthew Venn stands outside a church in North Devon, where the two rivers converge and run into the sea. He is there as his estranged father’s funeral is taking placing. After Matthew left left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he not only left the community but he also lost his family.






Just as he turns to walk away again he receives a call from someone on his team. There has been a body found on the beach, a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck. The man has been stabbed to death.






Matthew finds himself being called back to the people and places of his past with this case. And deadly secrets at their hearts are revealed. He finds his new life is on a collision course with the life he had thought he had left behind.



I give The Long Call five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

I enjoyed this mystery novel. I thought the character development was great, and the plot moved along at a nice pace. I am definitely interested in reading more titles from this series as they are published!

We have a new series by the always excellent crime writer, Ann Cleeves. I've enjoyed her Vera series as well as Shetland. Ann has a way of creating complex, real characters that continues in this new book. It's a bit early to say if we'll become as fond of Matthew Venn and the Two Rivers stories set in North Devon, as this story was a bit too dense for my taste, with many characters and a new protagonist. But I'm willing to give it a chance.

Thank you Macmillan Inside Reader's Club for our gifted review copy.

This is such a great start to a series! And it is set in Devon. double YES! It's dark. suspenseful & procedural - just like I like my crime novels. I can;t wait for more from this series!

"The Long Call" is the first in a new mystery series by Ann Cleeves. She is an experienced mystery writer and I looked forward to reading this book. It did not disappoint, Ms. Cleeves has written another engrossing mystery with strong characters and a plot that drew me in and kept me reading until the very end.

I highly recommend this book.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Long Call by Ann Cleaves
This is the first one I have read of hers and it DEFINITELY won't be the last! I highly recommend this book. It had me on the edge of my seat. In fact, my husband had to remind me to eat my breakfast numerous times I was so engaged. Looking forward to the next one.

This is not the most exciting book by Ann Cleeves. I actually did not finish the first time but I gave it another try two weeks ago. A little flat and predictable. Nonetheless a decent police procedural mystery. 3.5 stars.

3.5 stars
<img src="https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/herring-gull-sea-260nw-687244015.jpg"/>
<blockquote><i>". . . he could hear the surf on the beach and the cry of a herring gull, the sound naturalists named the long call, the cry which always sounded to him like an inarticulate howl of pain."</i></blockquote> With these words Ann Cleeves sets the scene for her first book in the <i>Two Rivers series</i>. When I read these words I thought myself clever. I thought it was a clue to who the killer was. Silly me. I had duped myself. But these words do foreshadow what is to come. The characters in <b>The Long Call</b> have gone through indescribable pain. -- The guilt over having caused the death of an innocent. Rejection and loss of family because of sexual orientation. The list goes on. -- Yet in this world most hold their secrets dear. They are not always kept to hide shame or escape retribution. For some secrets represent freedom, independence, being grounded in your own truth. <i>"He was so sympathetic that she was almost tempted to confide in him. To confess. But she'd grown up thinking that secrets were sometimes all she had, so she just shook her head." "We all need secrets, just to keep sane, to feel that the world doesn't own us."</i>

In the end I did not find myself drawn to the character of Matthew Venn as much as I thought I would. As a married gay police detective who grew up in a fundamental evangelicals sect Venn is a totally original character. I should have been intrigued. But I do not fault the book for this. I found Cleeves to be a skillful and insightful writer. Maybe I have an albatross tattooed on my neck. For the life of me I am struggling to focus. Reading is typically my outlet but in these times my anxiety is ramped up in high gear. A book that would normally take me 6 or 7 hours to read is now taking days. All in all, I would like to revisit Cleeves's work after this crisis has passed.

<i>Special thanks to Minotaur Books for access to this work.</i>

**Thank you to Minotaur Books for the free copy!**

This is the first time I've read any of Ann Cleeves's work and, I have to admit, I wish I'd started a lot sooner. Thankfully, THE LONG CALL is the first in a new series and I can hardly wait for the next installment. The characters, the setting (beautifully descriptive!), the story...I am hooked! Highly recommend for fans of police procedurals with plenty of thought-provoking engagement.

This was my first go with this author and I have to say, I really enjoyed her writing style, as well as plot and character development. In particular, I was pleased to see the main character is a Gay detective, which is not typical in murder mysteries I have read.

Matthew Venn is developed nicely, with the opening scenes set at the funeral of his father. He was ostracized by the church they belonged to and has been estranged from his parents for years. However, he does live nearby and his husband is the director of an organization that supports both the engagement of developmentally challenged adults in life skill building as well as those who are in need of mental health counseling. Their worlds collide when a volunteer is found dead on the bank of the nearby river.

There's quite a list of characters but I didn't feel lost by that and was able to keep each storyline in my mind. The plot development was really well done. I had a sense of what may have happened but, in the end, it took some turns that I truly didn't see coming and appreciated.

All in all, a solid 4 stars and I can't wait for book two in this series! I will probably pick up some of the other mysteries she's written with other characters and settings. Satisfying read.