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. The Heron's Cry is the second book in the Two Rivers series following on from The Long Call.

Now a major ITV series, The Long Call, adapted for television by screenwriter Kelly Jones and starring Ben Aldridge.

'Matthew Venn is a keeper . . . stunning' – David Baldacci

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

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. 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 she 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 crime series, following her Sunday Times bestseller, The Long Call.

Praise for The Long Call:

'As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves’ latest. Matthew Venn is a keeper. A stunning debut for Cleeves’ latest crimefighter' - David Baldacci

'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

"Testing our wits against the twisted plots of Ann Cleeves' novels is only one of the pleasures they afford, and The Heron's Cry bristles with her customarily keen sense of locale." - Financial Times on THE HERON'S CRY

"The Detective Matthew Venn, an austere character unable to shake off repressive Brethren upbringing, doesn’t yet command the same affection as of Vera or Jimmy Perez (Shetland). However, human nature is as perceptively dissected as ever and the denouncement to this gripping tale is properly surprising." - Country Life

"This well paced murder mystery cleverly builds the tension to an unexpected climax that you’ll never see coming!" - My Weekly on THE HERON'S CRY

"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" - Guardian on THE LONG CALL

"As ever, Cleeves’ richly evolved setting and characters are as satisfying as the clever whodunnit plot" - Daily Mirror on THE HERON'S CRY

"An incredibly atmospheric thriller, full of complex characters and gripping twists that have you hooked from the start, from the writer that gave us Vera Stanhope" - Yours on THE HERON'S CRY

"Detective Matthew Venn returns, embroiled in another gruesome case involving many suspects and a victim that hits closer to home than is comfortable . . ." - Radio Times

"Written in Cleeves’ trademark engrossing style, The Heron’s Cry will keep you guessing till the end" - Heat

"Ann Cleeves chills readers to the bone with this sleek, atmospheric thriller" - Womans Own