I'm a big fan of Cleeves' Vera Stanhope's series; so, I was happy for the chance to try this new series. This book is the third in the Two Rivers' series. I like the main character, Detective Matthew Venn and his partner, Jonathan. Matthew returns to a community that he tried to leave behind, having been raised in an evangelical environment. The case he's investigating is complex and filled with secrets and superstitions. This was an engaging, gripping, page-turner read. Thank you, NetGalley, and the publisher for the ARC.

THE RAGING STORM was a quick and easy read, but ultimately fell a bit flat. I read the two previous books in this series and found them more enjoyable than this one.

For me, The Raging Storm was an unsatisfying storm. The story takes a long time to unfold and the details revealed seem trivial. I wondered when author Ann Cleeves was going to pick up the action. When she finally did, it was more of a "who cares?" response from me as the murder victims were not likable, despite the first one being a rogue and adventurer, the second a public figure. I did finish the novel as I particularly liked the lead investigator, Mathew Renn. I would read more about him and his husband.
Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.

Book 3 in the Detective Matthew Venn series. Celebrity Jem Rosco disappears shortly after arriving in Greystone. His body is found in a dinghy near Scully Cove. Detective Matthew Venn is on the case. I enjoy a good police procedural and Ann Cleeves delivered with this book. A great addition to the Two Rivers Trilogy.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGallery for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

Thiis third book in Ann Cleeves’s Two Rivers/ Matthew Venn series is an atmospheric and compelling mystery.. When television personality and famous sailor Jem Rosco is found murdered in the middle of an autumn storm, Chief Inspector Venn and his team are called to investigate, unleashing several dark secrets ib the course of their interviews with various town residents.
If you have read Ann Cleeves before and want more of the same, this book will definitely deliver. At its heart, THE RAGING STORM is a police procedural drama that quietly and slowly builds to a thrilling conclusion with many red herrings on the way. Along with Inspector Venn and his husband Jonathan, readers will also see series regulars Sergeant Jen Rafferty and Constable Ross May. While there are hints of character development and some advancement in the overall series storyline, the plot of this book is far more focused on the mystery itself. Therefore, I think one could start the series here without too much confusion.
Like her other works, Cleeves’s new novel showcases her skill as a storyteller. THE RAGING STORM is definitely a good mystery. Cleeves fans will love this. Having read 19 books by Ann Cleeves, I also thoroughly enjoyed this one. However, I think THE RAGING STORM is a plot-driven piece of what will ultimately be a character-driven series. A good and satisfying addition to a great series.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with an advance electronic copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book I've read by Cleeves and it was packed with mystery and small-town secrets. This is a character driving but it immerses you in the story. I understand this is a series but I don't feel it affected my feelings for this book.

What I liked:
- I enjoyed getting the POV not only of the main investigator (Matt) but also his two detectives (Jenn and Ross) who work beneath him.
- This was very much character-driving but the pacing from the police producers to the background of the people in the town was steady.
- There were a lot of unlikeable characters but that didn't take away from the story at all. Actually, it made it more interesting.
- I thought the ending was satisfactory and completely didn't expect it.

Thank you to the publisher at Minotaur Books and Netgalley for a copy exchange for an honest review.

New York Times bestselling author Ann Cleeves returns with an evocative third mystery in the Two Rivers series featuring DI Matthew Venn. Prior to The Raging Storm (Minotaur), Venn had attempted to put the past behind him, but to no avail. When Jem Rosco, a celebrity adventurer, is found dead and naked in a dinghy drifting off the rocky coastline, Venn is dispatched to Greystone, Devon, to investigate the crime.
As a child, Venn had spent summers with his parents at the Brethren retreat in the dull seaside village. He now faces unpleasant memories about the religion he has questioned and rejected. And his own mother’s loyalty to the Brethren continues to torture him.
The tiny village of Greystone has a long memory, and the elders remember the embarrassment Venn caused his family and the sect. However, the town had been delighted about the return of another former resident, Jem Rosco. Rosco had been a delinquent youth, and contrary to the village’s predictions, he had achieved international fame as a sailor, adventurer, and legend. Although as a child, Rosco had never fit in: now as an adult, he is revered, but he has limited his community interaction to nightly pints at the Maiden’s Prayer pub.
Venn quickly discovers that no one knows a lot about Rosco’s present life. He is an enigma, blowing into the village like the North Wind. Yet the more Venn digs, the more he realizes everyone seems to possess an intimate connection to Rosco, himself, or the crime. But there is no evidence to connect any suspect to the murder. The only certainty is that Rosco had mentioned a mysterious mission — to meet a visitor who never materialized. Rosco’s untimely demise has left the village wondering about the true reason for his return and the identity of his visitor.
The Search for a Killer’s Motive
With the help of Venn’s loyal assistants, Jen Rafferty and Ross May, Venn scours the coast, uncovering the motives for killing Rosco. They are as varied as the shells, stones, and bones washing up on the shore. Old secrets and rivalries resurface in Rosco’s former lovers, spouses, school friends, admirers, and foster parents. Was it revenge, money, or jealousy that prompted Rosco’s murder?
Interestingly, Jem Rosco is not the only legend hovering over Greystone. As the result of a prank lifeboat call-out, his body was found afloat in the treacherous Scully Cove. Scully Cove is mired in superstitions as the scene of unexplained deaths, drownings, and accidents. The locals avoid it, and view the inlet as a place where the angry tides sweep people out to sea, or impale them on the sharp rocks. Contributing to the lore, Rosco’s death scene appeared staged. Someone wanted him found, but why? Why not dump the body in the roiling sea?
Chilling Mystery Shaped by Its Setting
Once again in The Raging Storm, Cleeves captures the heart and soul of Britain’s Devon Coast with her expressive, and impressive, use of landscape imagery. As in every Cleeves novel, the setting becomes an essential character, assuming a life of its own. This mystery would not have been as dramatic without the dangerous gale winds blowing, the white caps slapping against the shore, the jagged cliffs lording over the rocky shoreline, or the town isolated from the rest of the world by Mother Nature’s wrath.
In The Raging Storm, this landscape defines the residents of Greystone, while it creates impediments and unforeseen dangers for the strangers in town, like Venn, Jen and Ross. In the eye of a force nine gale, Venn and his team are forced to battle the elements, suspicious residents, and uncooperative witnesses to uncover the truth about Jem Rosco’s death. Meanwhile, Venn must battle his personal demons, unaware that his own life is in peril. For fans of Ann Cleeves, The Raging Storm offers an intriguing continuation of her new Two Rivers franchise. Cleeves has fashioned complicated characters, villains, and plots, and offers a glimpse of life in Devon England that leaves the reader craving more of Matthew Venn. The Raging Storm is chilling to the core.

A wonderful book! I love Ann Cleeves writing style and police procedural books. I feel Ann Cleeves builds the characters so well you feel you know them, and in this book the location had a role as well. She makes you feel you have sat down among friends to catch up. This is the third Matthew Venn book we get a closer look at the personal life of of the Detective Inspector Venn. I felt I was getting to know him better. When we begin, there is a murder. A local man’s body found in a dinghy in Scully Cove, which has a past of it’s own. Detective Inspector Venn begins the investigation into Jem Roscoe’s murder which is filled with speculation and superstition. Just when the answer seems to be coming, another body is found, again in Scully Cove. This only heightens the superstition rumors. And leaves Venn very frustrated and perplexed. This is a very good read. It keeps the reader guessing throughout. I would definitely recommend the book!
Thanks to Net Galley and Between the Chapters Book Club!

PRt of a series. Im definitely going to read the previous books. Excellent procedural novel. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: 4.5 rounded up--Somehow I'd never read Ann Cleves, but I'll be reading her books in the future! She's a master at her craft. This is a beautifully written, deceptively spare police procedural about a murder located in the isolated coastal town where the lead detective had grown up as part of a religious cult. The characters are deftly drawn and the plot moves along at a nice pace. The ending was surprising but believable. I really enjoy well done mysteries and Ann Cleves will be a write whose work I'll be reading in the future. This is part of a series but stands alone well. Cleves leaves me wanting more: the mystery is explained but the characters have depth.

The latest Matthew Venn mystery finds him investigating the murder of a famous sailor. He knows someone must be lying, and things take another turn when someone else is murdered.

I enjoyed this one like I’ve enjoyed the last ones! I do think this one was a bit slower overall than previous ones. The final reasoning too was a bit strange, but overall a solid entry!

I received my copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was disappointed in this book, the third in the series featuring Matthew Venn. This was so slow moving that I struggled to finish this novel. Missing was any meaningful interaction with Matthew’s husband. In the previous book his sergeant Lynn Rafferty had her own backstory and was present in her capacity as an investigator. She is a likeable character and was sorely missing in most of the book. The other sergeant was featured in the book, but his character showed him to be a whiny self-serving man who was jealous of Lynn and her relationship to Matthew. There is no backstory with this character. The descriptions of the Devon countryside helped move the story along, but ultimately the excessive and long-drawn-out investigation and subsequent ending left me frustrated, because I know how good an Ann Cleeves book should be.

Lots of characters to keep track of. I muddled my way through, but felt like I was in school again trying to finish a long homework assignment. If you like police procedurals, it’s not a bad read, but plan to be patient.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for letting me read and review.

Jeremy Rosco arrived in Greystone and became a nightly fixture at the local inn while awaiting the arrival of a friend. One month later his body was found floating in a dinghy in the local storm tossed waters. Rosco was a celebrity known or sailing around the world, but his love of sailing originated here. He also had a history with a number of people in the area, including Eleanor, his first love. When Matthew Venn and his team arrive to investigate the death they find more questions than answers. How did the boy who was raised by a single mother afford the boat that took him around the world? Why would he rent a cottage in Greystone when he owned a home nearby? Who was he waiting for and who had a reason to kill him?

Ann Cleeves’ The Raging Storm is a complex mystery set in a small village where everyone knows each other. Venn had spent time there as a child on religious retreats. Religion still plays an important part in the community. While Venn has rejected the religious community, the rumors and superstition surrounding the cove brings back memories and affects his impressions. A second body and an attack on Venn and his team finally allows him to make connections between Rosco’s teen years and events in the present. The crashing waves and rugged cliffs are the perfect location for an atmospheric mystery that keeps you guessing to he end. I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s - Minotaur for providing this book for my review.

An uncomfortable case for a local detective as the crime scene is in a village that haunts his youth. The seaside town is shrouded in superstition and rumors, and heavily judgmental. Its residents are chilly as the winds howl as a storm brews finding the killer.

The Raging Storm vividly described its sea, the town and its inhabitants. From the local pub to the abandoned quarry, this community compels you to the end. There were a few confusing issues - detective/husband relationship and the many characters introduced throughout the investigation.

Since this is book #3, I wonder if I've missed some essential info to better appreciate this installment.

Thank you St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for the complimentary copy.

An apt description for this third entry in the Two Rivers mystery series might be “dark and stormy”. A dark atmosphere is generated by the location of Greystone, the relationships and secrets that unfold when Detective Inspector Matthew Venn is called to investigate the death of Jem Rosco. This is a lovely twisty tale with a surprise or two.

Police procedurals, where members of the team have defined characters and stories, make for riveting reads. And, after Vera, Ann Cleeves has given us yet another complicated and dedicated detective in Matthew Venn from the Two River series.

I felt I was right there in the small coastal village of Greystone, where this story is set, alongside Venn trying to piece together all the pieces of the puzzle as they present themselves one by one. The backdrop of the storm and terrible weather felt like the right setting for the gruesome murder of a once celebrated sailor, Jem Rosco. He has returned to his old haunts after years of achieving remarkable goals and is a celebrity with a fan following.

Jem lands one day in the village and is seen in the local pub everyday for a few weeks ostensibly waiting for someone to meet him. He stopped appearing suddenly making everybody wonder if his visitor had finally arrived. Speculation is still rife when he is discovered dead in quite a sorry state.

Venn and his team of two with their own rivalries and stories, work hard to wind through the information which they have to pry from people of the village. The closed reticent behavior of the village only added to the atmosphere and intrigue. Till the very end it was near impossible to make any sense of what was going on.

I loved the book given to me by Netgalley and St. Martin's press in exchange for a review and I highly recommend it to all mystery lovers.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves!

I think this was a dark story. The weather was gloomy and contributed to the atmosphere. I have not read the other Matthew Venn books but i think i want to go back and read them. I am a big fan of Ann Cleeves Vera Stanhope books so i thought i would try this one. Matthew and his team go to Greystoke because of the murder of Jem Rosco, a famous sailor who had returned home. Matthew had been to Greystoke as a child. There was a religious community in the area that his family visited. It was very closed off. While investigating Jem's death, there was another dead body. Lots of red herrings and i must admit, i never guessed the ending. It was a surprise and i loved that I never figured it out. This book is well worth your time if you like mysteries and Ann Cleeves books. Well done and i highly recommend this book!

I received a copy in exchange for an unbiased review.

3.5 stars
Another great installment in the Matthew Venn series. I liked checking in with the recurring characters. They make a good team! Matthew is so inquisitive and insightful. I’m also glad we’re continuing to learn more about The Bethren and its followers. Looking forward to the next book!
*Thanks to Minotaur books & MacMillan Audio for the copy for review