A new series from one of my favourite authors, Ann Cleeves. Set in North Devon we are introduced to DI Matthew Venn when a body is discovered on the beach.
I have read all of Ann Cleeves books and was thrilled to be given the opportunity to read this one.
I have to be honest and say this one didn't grab me, I didn't warm to the main character Matthew Venn, he felt very two dimensional. I was far more intrigued by DS Jen Rafferty and for me she is the character that held the book together. As always the writing was first class as was the description of place and the pacing was excellent.
I enjoyed it enough to want to read the next one and am hoping that a few books down the line I will be enjoying it as much as her Vera and Shetland series which were always going to be hard acts to follow.

A brand new series from Ann Cleeves featuring Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and set in North Devon. As with all Ann Cleeves stories you are guaranteed an interesting plot and lots of twists.
The main character in this new series I found to be lacking personality and too intense. He wasn't a character I could warm to. His sergeant was a more interesting character than he was.
The story was a quick, light read but lacked punch.
Overall I found this rather bland, inferior to both the Vera and the Shetland series.

While a new Ann Cleeves is always cause for celebration, I approached The Long Call with some hesitations. As a long-time fan of her brilliant Shetland-set Jimmy Perez series, which ended last year, I wondered if anything could measure up to the brilliance of those books. And honestly, on the evidence of this book, it doesn't yet, but I think that's more to do with me as a reader needing time to get to know the new characters and settings. Moving from the northerly settings of her previous books, this book follows detective Matthew Venn in North Devon (meaning bleak and windswept coastal vistas are still central despite the move south). The pacing is excellent and, as with all Cleeves books, the minor characters are an absolute treat: one of her strengths is giving you such well-rounded background characters that you feel personally betrayed when one of them is revealed as a murderer. That being said, I didn't warm to the main police characters as quickly as I expected and Matthew, especially, left me feeling a bit cold. However, while this new series has yet to live up to the Perez series (or the much-loved Vera Stanhope books), I have a feeling I'll be just as dedicated to Venn and his team a few books down the line.

The first in what promises to be an excellent new series from Ann Cleeves. As soon as I started reading it was clear that this was from an experienced author, the characters were immediately engaging, drawn in a few perfectly chosen sentences. DI Matthew Venn, who lives with his husband Jonathan in Devon (the place, as always with Ann Cleeves, is as perfectly drawn and important as the plot and characters); DS Jenn Rafferty, a single parent of teenagers, drawn to Devon to escape an abusive relationship and the less likeable DC Ross May. I already want to know more about these people and their lives.
The novel opens with a body on the beach, and there are links with the day centre for adults with learning difficulties which is run by Jonathan. To be perfectly honest I wasn't wholly convinced by the denouement, but am still giving this 5 stars as it's a great read and I will follow the series eagerly.