Cover Image: The Heron's Cry

The Heron's Cry

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Member Reviews

A great follow up to the first one. Nobody writes coastal atmosphere like Ann Cleeves. Good narration and story which lead you in all directions.

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Although this series doesn't pull you in as well as the Vera or Shetland books, it's still a good read. Maybe we just need to spend more time with the character's but Matthew just doesn't seem as realised as Cleve's other characters .

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***ARC provided by the publisher via Netgalley.co.uk in return for an honest review***

An unlikely murder victim, killed by a shard of glass from a vase created by daughter. Even worse, he is murdered in her workshop.

A second murder, another man from the community of artists. Once again killed by a shard of glass from another vase.

Matthew Venn and his team are in charge of solving the murders. They have to tread carefully through their close knit community to find the killer's identity.

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A brilliant listen by a fantastic narrator. So many twists and turns had me the wrong murderer so many times.
The ending just great. Would listen to this narrator again and a great change of setting location for this author.

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A great piece of literature with reflective characters who immerse you in a fast moving plot. Definitely worth taking the time to read and enjoy.

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I tried the first few chapters of this narration before switching to the kindle reading version. I found the narrator's voice too flat and unexpressive which made it difficult for me to engage with the story. The novel it is delivering is a straight forward police procedural from Anne Cleeves, more well-known for her Vera novels. The characters are in need of more development and will probable become more multi-dimensional with subsequent books in the series. At the moment they are a bit clichéd. This audio book would come into its own on a long car journey. but is not a substitute for the readable book.

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Ann Cleeves novels just seem to get better and better.
This is the second book in the "Two Rivers"series, in which we meet a new cast of characters who are extremely likeable and realistic. The scenic backdrop of North Devon gives all the appearance of a sleepy rural environment, and the pace of the story matches the steady thoughtful personality of Detective Matthew Venn. However, appearances are deceptive, and in this book, as the previous one, the pace quickens, towards the thrilling concluding chapters, where the dangerous potential of the Devon landscape and its dramatic weather are fully exploited.
Although in Venn, we do have a fairly idiosyncratic man heading up the investigations, I would say he has pretty equal billing with the rest of his team within the story line, which is an aspect I particularly like. We are not faced with the hackneyed lone - probably alcoholic - detective with his/her faithful sidekick. Instead we have a quiet intelligent man, supported by a strong team of colleagues. The social environment of North Devon is portrayed as somewhat bohemian, with a group of artists providing the focus of the investigation in the "closed community" style of mystery.
As usual, I listened to the audio version of the book, which was perfectly narrated by Jack Holden; he had a number of relatively diverse accents to deal with, which he did excellently - subtlety and without overt flourish - everything you look for in a narrator. I can't wait for more "Two Rivers" stories, and I'm looking forward to watching the much pre-publicised TV series.

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A wonderfully satisfying mystery, well-paced for audio and with a good choice of narrator to tell this Matthew Venn story.

DI Venn and his team are called to a rural farmhouse/artists commune when a dead body is discovered by one of the tenants, Eve Yeo. Te victim is her father Nigel, killed with a piece of Eve's sculptured glass artwork. Dr Nigel Yeo had been investigating the local medical trust's involvement in the suicide of a local young man who threw himself off a cliff along a secluded coastal path of North Devon.

What follows is a well plotted story with another death or two, a great selection of characters - especially those close to DI Venn who are perfect foils for his slightly uptight ways - and a very pleasing conclusion as the murderer is revealed, not long after we've revisited that North Devon coastal footpath on a windy and stormy night.

This is my first Ann Cleeves audio but it won't be my last. I think I'll be downloading the back catalogue in the very near future.

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This is my first book by Ann Cleeves and I am overjoyed to discover a new brilliant author. I have no idea how I haven’t read any of her other books up to now! Although The Heron’s Cry is the second book in the Two Reavers series, it reads fine as a stand-alone. It is a good quality traditional detective mystery, well written, atmospheric, with realistic characters and a gripping story line. I listened to the audio version and the narration was excellent too. I can’t wait to read more by this author.

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A bit of a whodunnit set in the local area around Barnstaple Devon. One person dies, then another and with it the motive and ploy keeps developing, well written with a modern day country environment. Thanks #NetGalley for the audiobook version to review.

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The audio book was very good…. Gripping from start to finish and well read by the narrator who used different intonations for each character . The writing style is simple and I’m glad to have listened to the (long!) audio version rather than read the printed version

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The Heron's Cry - Ann Cleeves
Narrated by Jack Holden

I received an advance review copy for free thanks to NetGalley and MacMillan UK Audio and I am leaving this review voluntarily

North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.

Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

I have not read The Long Call so this was a new series to me, but I was no way hampered by that. The characters are all very likeable and Cleeves spends a lot of time discussing the relationships and backgrounds of the characters.

Overall this is an entertaining adventure. I didn't work out who the killer was before it was revealed. For fans of thriller and Ann Cleeves I would highly recommend this book.

Rating 4/5

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A beautifully crafted novel by Ann Cleeves. I was fortunate to be given access to both the ebook and the audio book by NetGalley and as the story was so engrossing, found this to be very useful as I could switch from one to the other so in effect ‘I didn’t have to put the book down’. Ann Cleeves has always been a favourite author of mine and this is the first book I’ve read of her new series of characters. Although unnecessary, I wish I’d read the first one of this series and I’ll now go back and read it too. The team of detectives is a very mixed bunch, each person with their own quirks and they knit together very well. The story moved along at a gentle pace and I was drawn into it before I realised what had happened. The book is very well written and contained none of what seems to be the required ‘bad’ language and sex which prevails these days. In terms of the audio version of the book, it was very well narrated and the narrator certainly managed to hold my attention. I’d recommend this book to any fan of this genre.

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Ann Cleeves is once again on top form with this book. I have no idea how she comes up with such elaborate storylines with twists & turns that keep the reader/listener guessing until the very end, but each of her novels is fresh & new, with no repetition or churning out the same stuff time & again.
I really shouldn’t like Matthew Venn, after all, he’s taken the place of my very favourite, Vera, in the imagining of the author. I find his character rather stilted and a bit off-hand (I much prefer Vera’s stomping around in her boots and shouting ‘eeh, pet’ and ‘Kenny!’ to Matthew’s more considered approach to policing), and I don’t really warm to him in this or the previous book; however, I didn’t find this detracted from my enjoyment of the story. I’m not sure whether that’s how the author wrote Matthew, as he is described as being rather staid & not much for socialising etc., or whether it’s the narrator’s voicing of him.
Well read on the whole, I’d be interested in hearing whether the local accents are true to life or not - as a Geordie I’ve always loved the Vera audiobooks as they’re all read by local actresses who don’t have to ham up a Geordie accent (unlike some other audiobooks - not Ann Cleeves - set in the north east which are so bad I shout at the narrator!) but having never travelled that far south I’m unsure whether the locals are voiced well. Hopefully so as I found the narrator kept me as the listener interested throughout. When listening to audiobooks I sometimes find myself distracted from the story, but Ann Cleeves’ fabulous story and the narration kept my interest piqued - so much so I listened to this whole book in one day, which is something I rarely do as I usually keep my audiobooks for a treat on my daily dog walks.
Thoroughly enjoyed listening to this audiobook, and am already looking forward to the next Matthew Venn story.

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3.5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My review is on the audiobook version, the narrator was very good although I did find it a little hard to keep up with the characters since he more or less gave a different accent for everyone. Hence it only being a 3.5 rating. Otherwise this was an enjoyable crime fiction, this is the second book in a series but is fine as a stand alone read.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

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This was book 2 in the new Matthew Venn Series by Ann Cleeves and it built very well on the success of the first book. Matthew is a great character and it was good to get to know him and his fellow colleagues better in this book.

We have a mounting death count in this book, which presents a challenge to Matthew and his team, especially as there seems no obvious reason for the murders.

As usual with any Ann Cleeves book she holds her cards close to her chest and it is quite difficult to work out who the killer is or what the motive was, until towards the end of the book; this actually adds to the enjoyment of her books. The reveal as always was excellently written, as was the whole book and I strongly recommend it to anyone who enjoys high quality crime fiction.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publishers for providing a copy of this book for me, for an an open and honest review.. This was the audiobook version of the book and Jack Holden did a great job narrating the book, and gave it more of an atmospheric feel. I look forward to listening to more books read by him.

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Superbly Drawn…
The second in the Detective Matthew Venn (Two Rivers) series finds North Devon mid heat wave with tourists engulfing the pretty area. All is not quite as serene as it appears, however, and when Venn is called out to a potential crime scene he has more questions than answers but things are about to take an even more sinister turn. With bodies rapidly mounting, Venn has his work cut out. Superbly drawn with a credible cast of characters and an engaging storyline. Narration is well done and well nuanced bringing the characters and storyline to life. A top class addition to the series and a wholly enjoyable listen.

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I had forgotten that I really liked this author and this is another of those books it’s hard to put down. Although it’s a part of a series, it can be read as a stand-alone story. In fact I had forgotten most of what went on before and it is only alluded to rather than slotted in as an essential part of the tale. The discussion on the lack of support for mental health issues was topical and well tackled. I look forward to the next Ann Cleeves title.

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I wasn’t aware that this is the second book in a series with Matthew Venn, police officer, the central character. It certainly works as a stand alone and it was easy to pick up on the backstories of recurring characters.

The story centres on the violent death of a former Doctor; killed with a glass shard. Other deaths follow and Venn and team are hard pressed to find the killer. The plotting is carefully woven around another thread involving a suicide internet site and it has some dark moments when activities on this site are explored. It’s a mystery thriller; suspects are lined up and it’s difficult to second guess who’s responsible. Overall, I found it just a little lacking in pace and excitement and I didn’t find the central characters as engaging as Stanhope or Perez. But they are all well drawn and it’s as much character driven as plot driven and I guess they’ll all develop further. It held my attention and I’ll look out the first in the series on the strength of this.

Narration was OK. I didn’t like the male narrator’s attempt at a female Liverpool accent and I wouldn’t chose to hear another narrated version based on that. For the story it’s a 4*, narration 3* and I’ll give a rather generous 4 overall because I think I’d have enjoyed a text version more.

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