The long call - Ann Cleeves

Meet Detective Matthew Venn. From Ann Cleeves, the Sunday Times bestselling creator of Vera and Shetland, The Long Call is the No.1 bestselling first novel in the Two Rivers series.

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

In North Devon, where the rivers Taw and Torridge converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father's funeral takes place. The day Matthew turned his back on the strict evangelical community in which he grew up, he lost his family too.

Now he's back, not just to mourn his father at a distance, but to take charge of his first major case in the Two Rivers region; a complex place not quite as idyllic as tourists suppose.

A body has been found on the beach near to Matthew's new home: a man with the tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

Finding the killer is Venn's only focus, and his team's investigation will take him straight back into the community he left behind, and the deadly secrets that lurk there.

'A stunning debut for Cleeves' latest crimefighter' - David Baldacci, author of The 6:20 Man

The Long Call is the first entry in the Two Rivers series. Continue the mysteries with The Heron's Cry.

Ann Cleeves is the author of more than thirty-five critically acclaimed novels, and in 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez and Matthew Venn, who can be found on television in ITV's Vera, BBC One's Shetland and ITV's The Long Call respectively. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide.

Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of 'Murder Squad', working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. Ann also spends her time advocating for reading to improve health and wellbeing and supporting access to books. In 2021 her Reading for Wellbeing project launched with local authorities across the North East. She lives in North Tyneside where the Vera books are set.

As a huge fan of both the Shetland and Vera series of books, I had high expectations for Cleeves' latest. She easily exceeded those expectations with The Long Call. Matthew Venn is a keeper. A stunning debut for Cleeves' latest crimefighter
David Baldacci, author of The 6:20 Man

Had me hooked - a promising beginning to another fine chapter in the Ann Cleeves story
The Times

Clever, compassionate and atmospheric, with a great cast of new characters to love. I am already a Matthew Venn fan
Elly Griffiths, author of the Ruth Galloway Mysteries

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

Brilliant, thoughtful and deeply engaging
Sara Paretsky, New York Times bestselling author of the V.I. Warshawski series

Brilliant - a page-turning and sensitively told tale, with a vividly evoked North Devon setting, a powerful emotional heft and a new detective hero in Matthew Venn who you will want to follow for book after book. Wonderful!
Chris Ewan, bestselling author of Safe House

Ann Cleeves' new series gets off to a terrific start with The Long Call - her native Devon is wonderfully evoked, and Matthew Venn is a very appealing new detective. Another sure-fire hit
Martin Edwards, author of Gallows Court

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

The troubled Venn is a great protagonist, and Cleeves may well have created her next top TV cop
Heat

A traditional mystery of the best sort
Guardian

Unputdownable series debut! With an evocative setting, a gripping plot, and beautifully drawn characters, The Long Call is a terrific read-and Matthew Venn is my new favorite detective
Deborah Crombie, New York Times bestselling author of Garden of Lamentations

Who knew there could be a third detective as compelling as Vera and Jimmy? Matthew Venn is a triumph of Cleeves' particular blend of compassion and toughness and I already love him
Catriona McPherson, national bestselling author of Strangers at the Gate

Ann Cleeves has done it again! A new detective, a new series, another terrific puzzle of a story that won't let you go until the very end. Matthew Venn quickly earns his place beside Vera and Jimmy in a debut you don't want to miss: The Long Call
Charles Todd, bestselling author of The Black Ascot

In The Long Call, Ann Cleeves builds a prism of a world, multi-faceted, complex, and as brilliant as a diamond. Fans of Vera and Jimmy will love Matthew Venn
Lori Rader-Day

Ann Cleeves is a phenomenal talent. With unfailing skill, gorgeous setting, flawless plot and seamless voice, she brilliantly conjures new worlds in crime fiction. Her instantly iconic Detective Matthew Venn is a treasure-and we will all follow him anywhere
Hank Phillippi Ryan

Cleeves writes of the left-behind and the unfortunate with intelligence and compassion
Literary Review

Murder, mystery and a great new cast of characters mean you won't be able to put this one down!
My Weekly

Hauntingly written, it evokes every possible emotion with Ann's gripping narrative
Woman

Evocative and gripping - an absolute triumph
Daily Mirror