This is third in the Matthew Venn series, and Matthew and his team are called to Greystone on the Devon coast when famous adventurist Jem Rosco is found dead in a dinghy in Scully Bay during a storm. How he died and how he got there is just part of the mystery that turns into more death and foreboding centered around Scully Bay. And Venn has his own memories of the place to color his perceptions. He visited it as a boy when he was still part of the religious group with his family he has since parted with, but they have not. His team discovers everyone has secrets, even themselves, the trick is in discovering which ones are relevant to the complicated case at hand.
This is another Ann Cleeves" story with complex plot and even more richly complex individuals. There are no cookie=cutter characters here, and it is always fascinating to see what makes each one tick, and how all the psychological and plot pieces fit together. The main characters continue to develop and grow, and it's nice to see Matthew loosen up a bit. And the move out to the coast is quite refreshing. Highly recommended.

In this third book of the series about detective Matt Venn and his team, a famous visitor to a seaside town has been murdered and left in a boat tossing on the rough ocean's edge. A main aspect of the mystery regards why Jem, a well-known adventurer and tv personality, has decided to spend some time in this village, and who could have possibly wanted him dead. Matt has his own history in this town, which is where he spent much of his childhood as a member of the cultish religious group, the Brethren. The isolated setting and stormy weather compound the sense of the sinister and danger, which weigh heavily on the investigators. Familiarity with the characters in this series makes it enjoyable to continue reading about them, but the plot itself is not all that memorable.

The setting played a huge part in this novel. Isolation due to weather is getting more common to everyone but in this book it was key. The characters were well developed and grew within the story. I think the plot line will excite my AP class. This is a great book to demonstrate the elements of a mystery with great characters and a very intriguing setting..

✨ The Raging Storm ✨⁣
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⁣Set in a small seaside village, The Raging Storm is part cozy mystery and part police procedural. It’s a character driven book about the murder of a local celebrity and felt very atmospheric. ⁣
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⁣I enjoyed parts of the book, but overall it felt a little stilted and I never really felt drawn to pick it up. It’s also the third in the series, so maybe I would have been more committed to the characters if I’d read the first two! ⁣
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⁣I did really appreciate the atmospheric setting; the village is cold, rainy, windy with lots of dangerous cliffs and an intense storm hits! Perfect for a murder investigation! ⁣
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⁣This was just fine for me, but fans of cozy mysteries will probably enjoy it more. Three stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⁣
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⁣Thank you to @netgalley and the publisher for a complimentary ARC in return for my honest review.

The Raging Storm was too complicated and slow for me but it did have good scenes and the character's were interesting. This book was about another uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and it all occurred where he visited as a child. Is anyone safe from Sully Cove's storm of dark secret's? I would recommend this book to others if they like the author or this type of book. Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for this ARC book in exchange of an honest review.

In Ann Cleeves' third book featuring detective Matthew Venn, he and his team are investigating the death of a local celebrity who just recently returned to his hometown. Matthew finds the investigation uncomfortable since this is a town he visited as a child. And, this was where he was ousted from his family’s conservative church. The presence of so many Brethren families who know who he is, is unsettling to say the least.

I so enjoy Ms Cleeves' writing. Her descriptions of the small village of Greystone, the local residents, and the ocean and its own mysterious ways, are simply outstanding and truly it’s easy to imagine the images that she describes so well. I like the fact that the characters aren’t perfect and the story manages to weave in some of their personal lives, making it realistic and believable.

Beyond that, The Raging Storm is not only a well-plotted mystery but it is also an excellent police procedural. Venn and his team leave no stone unturned as they investigate the murder. As a result, the story is well-written and, while not high-speed, it moves along at an even pace. It is always time well spent when I pick up one of Ann Cleeves' books and this one is 4.5 stars for me. NetGalley provided an advance copy.

Ann Cleeves never disappoints. This book has atmosphere, flawed and deep characters, realistic dialogue and a twisting plot. I’ll recommend this to other readers.

The Raging Storm is the third in the Matt Venn series by Ann Cleeves, I have not read the previous books and felt I could understand the characters and the plot. It starts when Jem Rosco, a local boy made good as a sailing hero returns to his hometown of Greystone. But then, his dead body is found in a dinghy anchored in Scully Cove and Matt and his team are called in to investigate. It’s an uncomfortable situation for Matt as this town is the home of the conservative church that tossed him out. This isn’t a fast paced story. It’s a cerebral police procedural, expecting the reader to pay attention. The author has a way of describing the scenery and the storm that makes you feel like you are there. Her characters are not perfect, but rather perfectly flawed, if that makes sense. The detectives each have their own personal issues and personality flaws, but they are all likeable and extremely good at their jobs.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books and Ann Cleeves.

So was sent an ARC of this book to review, my first by the author and realize I’m an outlier but I didn’t love it, struggled to finish it and feel I’m being generous with my three stars. Took so much back and forth with weird descriptions to uncover any truth and about 60% of the story was unnecessary to lead to the ending that we finally arrived at. Which was pretty underwhelming. It’s a very developed story, which is why i gave the three stars, she can write—just not my cup of tea. Had to look up several phrases and words, which is odd since I read quite a few English/UK authors.

Thanks to netgalley and St Martins press for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Another great one in the Two Rivers series. A great amount of characters/suspects and full of twists. Thanks to NetGalley for the privilege to read and review this book.

Matthew Venn and his team investigate the murder of Jem Rosco; "adventurer, sailor and legend," in the third installment of The Two Rivers series. The Raging Srorm takes place in Greystone at Devon, a setting that builds the mood and suspense with its churning ocean, breathtaking cliffs, and threatening storms. Greystone holds toxic memories for Matthew as he soldiers on and conducts the complicated and very suspenseful murder investigation. Although there are several characters, some reappearing and others new, Ann Cleeves writes like nobodies business. The last several chapters were thrilling and the ending, unpredictable and satisfying. Bring on installment three please!!

This is my first AnnCleeves book. I loved the character of Matthew Venn and I’m anxious to read book one and two of the series. Hope they made into a TV series like they did with vVera Stanhope

This book was really difficult to get into. Most of the time I could not keep up with what was going on with the characters or the storyline, perhaps it was me. Lacking. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Thank you to the publisher for a free netgalley.

If you like complex police procedurals, then this is the book for you. Cleeves has a masterful way of writing a story with many pieces that all come into place. I struggle a bit at times with the pace of her stories, as I find they are sometimes a bit bogged down. But the way she is able to tie it all together with a completely satisfying ending is what keeps me coming back to this series.

This is the third of Cleeves' stories featuring Matthew Venn. He is a gay detective who lives in Devon. He was once part of a religious cult, the Barum Brethern, but they essentially drummed him out of their society when he came out as gay. Even his parents turned their back on him. In this book, much of the action revolves around a village, known as Greystone, which has a significant proportion of Barum Brethern living in the area. Some are folks Matthew knew as a boy.

Anyway, a boat is found anchored off the coast in a rather isolated cove. There is a body lying within. The victim was clearly murdered, and then posed in the boat, but how could the body get posed in such a way in the middle of a raging storm and with no other boats about to take care of the people who had set the scene? Also, there's no good way to get back to land from the anchored boat even if the people doing the murder had been able to swim to shore. There's no obvious path up to the bluffs overlooking the scene from the shore. At least, that's what people thought.

Anyway, Matthew has to figure all this out, while also dealing with various people associated with the Barum Brethern. It's a fairly decent story, although I haven't found the Matthew Venn stories as gripping as some of Cleeves' other series, such as the <em>Sheltand</em> or <em>Vera</em> series.


#TheRagingStorm #NetGalley

Thank you to St. Martins Press for gifting me a free copy of this book through netgalley.com. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

These are slow moving mysteries that focus more on the people than the murder. Matthew Venn likes to get history on all involved so investigators dig deep to see if there is any connection to the man found dead.

Raging Storm is set in a small town of mostly Brethren families. Outsiders are looked at with unease. Since Matthew grew up Brethren he has an insiders view into their world and can often block the silence. Ross, one of the detectives is pompous and doesn't like Venn's methodical way of working and he is jealous of his coworker Jen and her relationship with the boss. Jen is balancing being a single mom of two kids and being away when they need her.

You get to know these characters over the different books. I'm sure you could read this as a stand-alone but I think you would miss something in the relationships.

I really like this series and love that you don't have to have fast paced action in order to write a good mystery. Sometimes the people themselves provide you enough entertainment.

Celebrity adventurer and sailor Jem Rosco unexpectedly and mysteriously arrives in a small seaside village in Devon county, England, an area in which he grew up. Rosco’s arrival causes quite a stir among the locals, many of whom knew him in his youth. Rosco soon disappears and is found murdered in a small boat mysteriously anchored in a sea cove which is steeped in superstition and somewhat feared by the villagers. Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and his colleagues arrive to embark on the arduous task of solving Rosco’s murder, with Venn battling his own challenging memories of growing up in the same area as part of the Barum Brethren, a cult-like religious group he loathed and repudiated as he matured.

Author Ann Cleeves does an excellent job of developing both characters and plot, using what seemed to me to be a realistic portrayal of police procedure and Venn’s nearly obsessive desire to learn as much background information as possible, even facts that appear to have little relevance, to methodically walk the reader with the detectives towards the solution of the crime. Unlike many crime mysteries, this story doesn’t take shortcuts or use illogical and unlikely events to unravel the mystery and ultimately solve the crime. Cleeves use the weather and physical environment to great effect, making the bleakness of the village almost much an obstacle to the investigation as the reticence of the residents.

This was the third book in a series. I had not read the first two, but had no trouble following this one and am looking forward to reading those books and other works by Cleeves.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an advance copy in exchange for my review.

Once again, Ann Cleeves delivers! A wild, rocky seaside setting. A fundamentalist Christian cult. A closed room murder in the great outdoors.

Matthew Venn and his team are called to a death in Greystone, a place familiar to him. There is a Barum Brethren meeting hall here to which he was brought by his parents as a child. His memories of the place are complicated. He and his team must discover just how Jeremy Roscoe met his untimely end.

With a storm raging, Matthew's team, Jen Rafferty, and Ross May, find themselves stranded in the local pub, the Maiden's Prayer — utilitarian at best. Greystone is not a tourist town.

As is her wont, Ann Cleeves has written a mystery with larger-than-life characters and a plot full of dizzying twists and turns. Her books are cinematic, creating a movie of the mind. THE RAGING STORM is no exception.

The backstory continues to evolve. Jen Rafferty, sergeant, single mother, ambitious, travels into her past taking her kids to stay with the ex's parents. Ross May is a misogynist trying not to be. He is also ambitious but lacks self-control. Joe Oldham, Ross' mentor, and Matthew's nemesis makes a cursory appearance. He does nothing to advance an investigation but makes demands for a fast solution.

As the plot ravels and unravels, you will be drawn into this mystery where nothing is as it seems. Put on your most comfortable clothes — PJs and that ratty old robe — and grab your beverage of choice. Now you're ready to settle into another tangled tale by the brilliant Ann Cleeves.

The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves Narrator, Jack Holden Matthew Venn/Two Rivers Series.
This is book three in the series and I have read them all. I think you get more out of the book if you have read the two previous books. I have to confess that I like the Vera series best, the Shetland series next best and this one comes in third. Truthfully, if I had read this series first I might have not read any other books by this author. It isn’t that the series is not well written, it's just that the main character is not very sympathetic, plus I am getting a bit tired of his problems related to his religious background. After all that, I would still say this is a well written story and it was a compelling read. The ending was a surprise and it was all tied up very well.

Okay, I love Matthew Venn. He’s so sweet but awkward and ultimately determined to do the right thing. He’s such a lovable character. I didn’t much care for the rivalry between Jen and Ross, though, so that tempered a bit of the enjoyment I got from the characters themselves. They were all excellent written with their own motivations and backstories that make them who they are, but there are just those people you kind of wish would get over an aspect of themselves, and that’s these two.

The setting is gorgeously grey, dark, and desolate. It was the perfect setting for the mystery and really leaned into those aesthetics and expectations. At times, Greystone truly felt like another character. And the people living there fit in beautifully. Small town, almost cult-y vibes from them all carved out the most base emotions while reading. It was easy to be intimidated, irritated, and othered by them as we interviewed them alongside Jen, Ross, and Matthew.

The mystery was also so good! I had ideas about who it could have been, but being in the heads of the officers themselves made clues stand out while driving readers along with the red herrings. This is the first in a long time I hadn’t guessed the murderer and was surprised at the end.

Ann Cleeves did an amazing job at intertwining different aspects to create an engaging plot with characters you can root for with realistic habits and actions that humanize them.

The only thing I wasn’t super fond of, but knew was going to be a key part in the series was the child character’s serious illness. Maybe it’s because I’m not a UK reader, but I spent more time wondering what the illness was and it was hard to sympathize with the parent in the right way to keep myself in the story when it was discussed. I tried to look up the disease, but nothing came up and a friend in the UK couldn’t find anything either. Was this a made up illness??