Having recently-ish realized how much I enjoy reading mysteries, particularly of the crime variety, I jumped at the chance to start reading Ann Cleeves’ Two Rivers series when it started with The Long Call. I enjoyed the first book (review here), the second a little less so (review here), but I was still interested in reading The Raging Storm, book three and published in early September. It didn’t quite live up to my expectations and, sadly, I don’t know if I’ll continue with the series.

Here’s the book’s description:
When Jem Rosco - sailor, adventurer and legend - blows in to the local pub, The Maiden's Prayer, in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone are delighted.
The whole place has a strange, unreal quality, the village that time forgot. Backed by a worked-out quarry, with a shingle beach and a north-facing quay, there's little to recommend it to tourists.
When Rosco disappears again, they think nothing of it; that's the sort of man he is. Until the lifeboat is launched to a hoax call-out and his body is found in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.
This is an uncomfortable case for Venn. Greystone is a stronghold of the Barum Brethren and he came here as a child. Faith and superstition mix as another body is found in Scully, and Matthew finds his judgement clouded.
The wind continues to howl, and he realizes that his own life is in danger.
The mystery - paired with the descriptions of the town where the murder took place - was what kept me reading The Raging Storm. I was intrigued and wanted to know how Rosco ended up dead and Cleeves was spinning a tale that kept me guessing. There was just enough tension to keep me on my toes without being too intense (I read mysteries, not thrillers, for a reason!).

Even though I read mysteries for the, well, mystery, I still like to feel invested in the characters. With this one, it honestly could have been any nameless, faceless cops who were solving the case. The three officers who were investigating could have been anyone and felt so incredibly two-dimensional, and that includes Matthew Venn, who’s the anchor of this series. It’s hard to criticize Venn sometimes since he seems to have some well-hidden and well-managed anxiety, past trauma, or something similar that keeps him from connecting with people. Unfortunately, in writing, he comes across as standoffish and it’s hard to care about a character like that. Not that we need to care about the characters but I think that’s a hope of Cleeves, that we’ll be so invested in Venn and the mysteries he solves that we’ll keep coming back for more.

Honestly, I don’t have much more to say about The Raging Storm. I wanted to like the latest novel from Ann Cleeves but it came up short in many ways. Maybe someday I’ll try another of her books but, for now, I’ll take a pass on any further Matthew Venn novels.

*An egalley of this novel was provided by the Canadian distributor of this novel, Publishers Group Canada, via NetGalley in exchange for review consideration. All opinions are honest and my own*

The Raging Storm was fantastic. It was the first I’ve read in this series and it was fascinating. The sense of place, the foreboding undercurrent – it all made for a great read. I look forward to reading more in the series, but it’s solid as a standalone.

It’s tough to say much without spoiling, but as you read, it’s like you’re walking alongside Detective Matthew Venn. Sometimes he went down the wrong road, sometimes you will too.

What a suspenseful book! I really enjoyed the plot and the characters. Ann Cleeves is such a good mystery writer. She has a way to creates a whole world and an interesting team of detectives. I really appreciate her writing and all of her books. .

Ok, so this is on me and I didn't realize this was the third book of a series until I was a bit into it. That said, I did love the writing and it's easy to see why her work gets picked up for television shows. I plan to get back to this after reading the first two books but I'm not sure when that will be.

Good mystery with twists and turns. Matthew Venn is investigating a murder of a sort of famous explorer who had come back to Greystone to wait for someone, but who is unknown. As he and his team investigate, the bodies start to pile up.

I enjoy this series and the characters in this small inclusive town are very intriguing. Looking forward to more in this series.

Thanks to the publisher for a review copy via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Anne Cleeves continues the Matthew Venn series with this suspenseful murder that takes place on the British coast. When Venn is called in to investigate a body found in a dinghy moored off one of the coastal island, he discovers the victim is the famous adventurer Jeremy "Jem" Rosco. Much of the evidence is washed away in a horrible storm (hence the name) so it is up to Venn and his cohorts to uncover why Jem returned to the town of his birth and who held a grudge bad enough to kill him. Braving blackouts, landslide and taciturn villagers Venn soon discovers that there is more than just an old grudge. Cleeves also gives us a new look into Venn's backstory that may shed light on the detective, as well as the murder. If you're a fan of Ann Cleeves you will love this latest installment. Venn fans will be delighted as will mystery lovers of all kinds. Many thanks to Net Galley for the chance to read an ARC.

Loved it! Every time I turned the page I wanted to know what was going to happen next I don’t but the book down

I listened to this book in audio format, and this may be why I'm rating it only a 4, and not a 5. The reader did a great job, actually, capturing the nature of each of the characters in his narration. However, the pace of the book was somewhat erratic and while I can speed up and slow down my own reading to match an inconsistent pace, it would have been inappropriate for Holden, the reader, to do so.

Erratic pace aside, this book is a great addition to the Two Rivers series. At the outset of the series, I wasn't sure whether I actually liked the main detective, Matthew Venn. He seemed rather stuffy and morose. As Cleeves has built his character over the three books in the series, however, I've grown to understand and like him a great deal. I also very much like his single-mother sergeant, Jen Rafferty, who plays a major role in this investigation. This is a strongly character driven procedural series, as is Cleeves' forte. The characters who are specific to this novel, as well as those who are ongoing regulars, are well developed...some likeable, some not so much. In this novel, it is difficult to tell which characters fall into which category until the very end.

The book takes place on the Devon coast, and the writing about the fierceness of the weather is compelling. The sea plays a significant role in the book both as a location for deaths and bodies, and as a force for obscuring evidence. It is also a source of a distinct atmosphere of remote wildness.

The book could certainly be read as a standalone without any sense of being left out of the full story. However, the previous two books in the series have helped to build a more sympathetic perspective on Venn than one might get from this book alone. Great writer, great series, great book.

A great third addition to the Two Rivers series, and an easy read whether you've read the others prior. This police procedural follows Detective Matthew Venn and his team as they investigate the murder of Jem Roscoe, a community legend. The characters of Venn, Rafferty, and May make for a dynamic team and bring different skills and mindsets to solving this case. As they race against the impending weather, they dive right in to examine his close knit and religious community to find a murderer. I was kept guessing to the very end and looking forward to the next Ann Cleeves book.

The third installation in the Two Rivers series, featuring Matthew Venn, takes the reader back to the Southwest Coast of England and a tiny village on the shore. Ann Cleeves's begins the door on a cold and blustery day which plays into the mood of the story. A sailing legend returns to his hometown and brings intrigue along to the village. Circumstances lead to an unusual death and many in the town look suspicious. This book took me awhile to read because of Cleeves's ability to write so beautifully that I did not want to rush through the chapters. Her writing begs the reader to sit with the words and imagine the characters and setting. I look forward to whatever Cleeves releases next. Her books are a must read for me.

Atmospheric and evocative, Book 3 in the Two Rivers (Inspector Matthew Venn) series,
this author (and this series) can be counted on for all the elements of a top-notch police procedural, with the bonus of a team of detectives, led by Inspector Matthew Venn, as well-developed, multi-layered and interesting as any characters you will meet between the pages, in any genre.

Beginning with Matthew himself, a victim of a stifling religious-cultlike upbringing, (now a self-chosen outcast), not so successfully battling the leftover shame, guilt and self-judgement threatening his peace-of-mind, as he attempts to find a way to finally enjoy life with his lovely husband Jonathan. Along with single mom DS Jen Rafferty, whose struggles to manage her own chaotic career, while somehow also caring for her two teenagers, carries its own burden of guilt. And finally, DS Ross May, whose raw ambition and somewhat juvenile competitiveness with his partner Jen can be seen to stem from his own unhappy and somewhat shabby childhood.

When the team is called to Greystone, a bleak and oppressive coastal North Devon town, the raging sea provides a powerful backdrop for murder. A body found in an anchored dinghy - the victim, a visitor to the town, known for both his sailing prowess and his cocky arrogance - proves to be a tricky homicidal puzzle to solve. As the plot weaves and waves its way through the village and its inhabitants, Matthew and his team encounter suspects, context, and danger as the storm intensifies and the body count grows - right up to a dramatic ending this reader came nowhere near to guessing.

A wonderful read, this is a perfect choice to sink into on a day when reading takes top of the agenda (you will not want to put this one down).

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author or an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

I am a big fan of of the English tv series, Vera, and I never thought about the author bring a prolific mystery writer . Somehow, I thought the renowned director had the writing commissioned. So my surprise was outmatched by embarrassment as I discovered that Ann Cleeves was the author behind the show. Reading The Racing Storm, I could picture this new series featuring Mathew Venn, a thinking man’s detective as the old phrase stated, Turns out this is the third adventure in this series (seriously, I’m late to this party). I enjoyed how Mathew isn’t flashy or outgoing (he leaves that to his husband) and is still a little uncomfortable with homophobia in small town Britain. Now I have ordered the rest of the series and will report back. Meanwhile I enjoyed this masterpiece of a mystery and loved the characters of this odd town.

I expected the story to be dark as the retelling happens at the height of a September gale in an unappealing place, and it kept getting darker. There were several mysteries - how did the celebrity sailor arrive, who was he there to meet, how and why did he become a casualty?

Having read the previous installments of The Two Rivers Series my thoughts run parallel. The Raging Storm required attention and concentration. It was not a book that could be easily put down and left for a day or two. I had to reacquaint myself with the secondary characters and their relationships but in fairness this was my problem not that of the story.

Cleeves weaves an intricate mystery reintroducing the primary characters of the previous installments so there is definite continuity. Once again there were many secondary characters and potential subplots that constantly pulled at me - could it have been this one, but why, and if it was that one, what about the other him/her, and why would they have….. lots of questions about “who got caught up in the violence, the stories and recklessness”.

No question that Ann Cleeves is a master of this genre and I look forward to the next installment in The Two Rivers series. Manny thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for a copy.

I adored Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series and was so sad when it ended. The Matthew Venn series, however, has become a delightful substitute. With each book, the carefully drawn characters and the gorgeous settings pull me into a wonderful world of crime and menace. The characters she creates are ones that you can’t help caring about. The Raging Storm was a satisfying detective story and I can’t hardly wait for the next in the series to see what Venn and his team have waiting for them!

When I requested this book, I didn't pay close enough attention to realize it was the 3rd book in a series. While I may have benefitted from reading the first two books before reading this one, I found it wasn't necessary. The Raging Storm stands well enough on its own. It's a cozy mystery, and full of interesting characters with lots of small town secrets. I enjoyed slowly uncovering the layers of this book and I plan to read the first two books of the series now that I've finished this one.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with the opportunity to read and review this book.

This was my first book by this author. I think it was okay as a stand-alone book, but I think reading the others in the series might have given me more insight into the characters and helped me to connect with them more.

I really liked the first half of the book. I thought the author did a great job of setting the scene. The last half was not as interesting and I didn’t find myself reaching for the book to finish it.

I didn’t think the killer, nor their motive, was believable. Overall this book was just okay for me, perhaps if I had read the others in the series and was interested in more character development I would have enjoyed it more.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Third in the Matt Venn series, Venn and his team travel to Greystone to investigate the murder of a Jem Rosco, a famous sea adventurer. Is the motive for this murder money, or revenge or something different all together? The investigation isn't the only connection that Venn has with Greystone. It is the center of the religious church that Matthew was raised in but turned his back on. He can feel the mistrust and judgment of the townspeople as he tries to conduct his investigation.
Cleeves is a master storyteller. Dropping bits of information as the story unfolds, the characters develop slowly and methodically. Why was Roscoe being so vague about the reason for his return, and what secrets was he keeping? Would the key to his murderer be found among the townspeople, with whom his life was interconnected or was the mystery visitor that he was eagerly waiting for.
The characters of Matt Venn, and his team of Jen and Ross also continue to develop with each book. None are perfect by any means and these characters are what bring me back to each release. Venn reminds me of a younger, less perfect Chief Inspector Armand Gamache from the Louise Penny Three Pines series.

This recent book by Ann Cleeves is the third featuring Detective Matt Venn. The site of the murder is a small community that consists primarily members of the conservative church Detective Venn was raised in. Each book in this series builds more of the character of our detective. He is a complex and wounded man. The murder is even more complicated if that is possible. I like Ann Cleeves books. I think it will be a few more books, before I enjoy Detective Venn as much as I do Vera Stanhope or Shetland.

Ann Cleeves has always been one of my favorites. I’ve gone through the “Vera” and “Shetland” series and loved them both. The raging storm does not disappoint. I liked the characters and plot. I Alway like trying to guess the ending and like to be surprised.

I've never been to the UK seaside, but thanks to Ann Cleeves, I sure feel as if I have. She has the amazing ability to drop you right into the setting of her books. Jem Rosco became a famous sailor and adventurer, but the townspeople of Greystone, Devon never forgot their former classmate and friend. When he returns to Greystone, they are thrilled to see the celebrity return. But everything changes when Jem turns up dead at sea, his body drifting in a dinghy.

Detective Inspector (DI) Matthew Venn has ties to Greystone as well--his parents brought him to this religious place as a child. Navigating it now to investigate Rosco's murder feels treacherous. He must deal with the small town relationships and past (and current) hurts and secrets.

Cleeves tells the story from Venn's point of view, along with his colleagues Jen Rafferty and Ross May. The book is the third in the series featuring Venn, and while it's wonderful to pick up with the characters again, it can certainly stand alone. I especially love that Venn is gay--a fact that is never central to the storyline, but is woven in here and there. Watching Matthew and his husband interact makes me happy; it's so important to have gay characters in thrillers (who aren't the murderers or the victims).

STORM is difficult to put down. I was pulled instantly into the atmospheric, stormy story. The novel cleverly releases the facts and various relationships to form the background of all the characters, keeping you guessing until the very end. Much like Venn itself, the book is thoughtful and introspective. This compelling and complex read is quite worth picking up.