Sunday Times bestselling author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope series, Ann Cleeves, returns with the second in a series set in North Devon and featuring Detective Matthew Venn.

Now a major ITV series, The Long Call, starring Ben Aldridge.

The number one Sunday Times bestselling series featuring Detective Matthew Venn, from author and creator of the Vera and Shetland series, Ann Cleeves.

‘Matthew Venn is a keeper . . . stunning’ – David Baldacci

North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coast-line. 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. His daughter, Eve, is a glassblower, and the murder weapon is a shard of one of her 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 Eve is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found – killed in a similar way. Matthew finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home . . .

The Heron’s Cry is the second novel in Ann Cleeves’ Two Rivers series following her Sunday Times bestseller, The Long Call.


Praise for The Long Call:

‘Had me hooked . . . a promising beginning to another fine chapter in the Ann Cleeves’ story’ – The Times

‘A triumph that cements Cleeves’ status as one of Britain’s best crime writers’ – Daily Express

‘Clever, compassionate and atmospheric . . . I am already a Matthew Venn fan’ – Elly Griffiths

‘Cleeves combines a flair for evoking sense of place with a thoughtful, complex plot’ – Mail on Sunday

‘A traditional mystery of the best sort’ – Guardian

"Had me hooked — a promising beginning to another fine chapter in the Ann Cleeves story" - The Times on THE LONG CALL

"A triumph that cements Cleeves' status as one of Britain's best crime writers - Daily Express" - Daily Express on THE LONG CALL

"Cleeves combines a flair for evoking sense of place with a thoughtful, complex plot -" - Mail on Sunday on THE LONG CALL

"The troubled Venn is a great protagonist, and Cleeves may well have created her next top TV cop" - Heat Magazine on THE LONG CALL

"A traditional mystery of the best sort" - The Guardian on THE LONG CALL

"Evocative and gripping – an absolute triumph" - Daily Mirror on THE LONG CALL