The Long Call

A Detective Matthew Venn Novel

By: Ann Cleeves

Narrated by: Ben Aldridge

An instant New York Times best seller!

From Ann Cleeves - best-selling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows - comes the first in a gripping new series, told with deep compassion and searing insight.

“Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite mystery writers.” (Louise Penny)

A People Magazine Best Book of Fall 2019

In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his estranged father’s funeral takes place. On the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family, too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back to the people and places of his past, as deadly secrets hidden at their hearts are revealed, and his new life is forced into a collision course with the world he thought he’d left behind.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

©2019 Ann Cleeves (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Very engaging

Great strory. A definite “page turner”. Could not put it down. I love Ben Aldridge as an actor. As a narrator, I was often confused who was “talking”.

Enjoyed

loved it! very well done performance. captured each character and their personalities. Story thought out and persuasive.

My first Ann Cleeves novel

My first novel by Ann Cleeves, though I have watched all her series on Britbox. So brilliantly written, more depth than the tv shows even those are amazing too! I love the character development, the story’s twists and turns, so fun to figure out!! And the narrator was wonderful, he did a good job with accents and genders, also so easy to listen to. Lovely. I will listen to the next boom in this series with glee!

Staccato reading

this was an early Ann Cleeves, and the sentences are very short. As a result the reading comes across as very jerky, which is hardly the the speakers fault.

Too many plot threads

Too many characters and too many plot threads. They got confusing. I tried but just couldn't finish.

A bit slow at first

I like this book overall. But, I found the first half of the book to be a bit of a slog. It was really slow. Way too much angst on the detectives part. I found the ending interesting, but I felt like I was relieved to be done with this book. I thought the performance was fantastic. It was a great voice with all the right inflections.

Beautifully written, compelling narration

This story touched a part of me, because I have a family member who is a vulnerable person. the plot was a well crafted and difficult to unravel until the end. These are the kinds of mysteries that I most enjoy. It was my first dive into Cleeves after reading Shetland. I think I like Matthew as a detective. Much better than Jimmy. Hoping there are more than just three of these novels.

diversity

Once again Cleeves makes a memorable character and I hope the series continues as well as her other's do. Matthew Venn is a believable character and I relate to him well. I really enjoyed her inclusion of people with learning disabilities as well as their family dynamics. On to book 2!

Set in Devon, England

I haven't heard a detective story set in Devon since Agatha Christie. The characters are interesting and the reader does an excellent job with the accents.

Impressive!

I really enjoyed this book and am looking forward to more crimes being solved by DI Venn. Narrator was great as well. I found DI Venn's backstory fascinating, so many people have been raised in religious sects or cults.
I found it interesting to see how he managed to break away and integrate himself into so called 'normal' society.
Meanwhile, he has managed to find a job to meet his need for social justice. I look forward to hearing more about his co-workers as well. In addition, the subject of Down's syndrome and learning disabilities was handled in a sensitive and caring manner.