ARC BOOK REVIEW: The Raging Storm (A Matthew Venn Mystery) by Ann Cleeves

Publication Date: September 5, 2023 Format: Ebook  Genre:  Mystery

Publisher: St. Martins Press  Length:  392 Pages Buy: Kindle | Audio

Synopsis

Fierce winds, dark secrets, deadly intentions.

When Jem Rosco—sailor, adventurer, and legend—blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he arrived, Rosco disappears again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.

This is an uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Greystone is a place he visited as a child, a community he parted ways with. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found, and Venn finds his judgment clouded. 

As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself, is safe from Scully Cove’s storm of dark secrets.

Review:

Thank you to St. Martins Press for gifting me a free copy of this book through netgalley.com. I am leaving this review voluntarily. 

These are slow moving mysteries that focus more on the people than the murder.  Matthew Venn likes to get history on all involved so investigators dig deep to see if there is any connection to the man found dead. 

Raging Storm is set in a small town of mostly Brethren families. Outsiders are looked at with unease. Since Matthew grew up Brethren he has an insiders view into their world and can often block the silence. Ross, one of the detectives is pompous and doesn't like Venn's methodical way of working and he is jealous of his coworker Jen and her relationship with the boss. Jen is balancing being a single mom of two kids and being away when they need her. 

You get to know these characters over the different books.  I'm sure you could read this as a stand-alone but I think you would miss something in the relationships. 

I really like this series and love that you don't have to have fast paced action in order to write a good mystery.  Sometimes the people themselves provide you enough entertainment. 

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