The Long Call: A Detective Matthew Venn Novel

Written by Ann Cleeves

Narrated by Ben Aldridge

"Narrator Ben Aldridge gives listeners the perfect introduction to Matthew Venn...it's a smashing start to a third series by Cleeves." -- AudioFile Magazine

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!

The Long Call from Ann Cleeves—bestselling 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

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 PEOPLE MAGAZINE BEST BOOK OF FALL 2019

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Release date: Apr 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781250839022

Ann Cleeves

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.

Reviews for The Long Call

[MLJS-piano · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The best part is the sense of a specific and very British place, and a small community where everyone's story is connected and so many people know each other. The characters feel like real humans, and I loved how their complexities unfolded so that each one of them became someone you could care about, or at least comprehend. The narrator does an excellent job with the accents and the voices of each of the characters. This plot used a somewhat tired cliche/trope at its heart, but I was engaged enough in the story and the characters to stay with it; Lucy's bravery and wisdom in particular gives the reader real food for thought. I also liked the undercurrent of nuanced commentary on religion and religious belief, institutions, hierarchy, and Power. ~~ I took off one star because I had to bump up the playback to 1.2 speed because there was so much of a pause at the end of almost all of the sentences, which were often clipped and short. I don't know if that's how the book was written (not having seen it in print), or if that was a choice that the production team made, but I found it very disconcerting. The cadence of the sentences just didn't flow. I will give a listen to at least the next book and see what I think.

[K G · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book was well written and well narrated, but it fell flat.. perhaps if the book had been a bit shorter and the story a bit tighter I’d’ve enjoyed it more - but it’s a far cry from a page turning edge of your seat mystery… All characters are well described but seem to lack depth and there’s no one for the reader to really be emotionally invested in.
Had it not been for the narration I’d’ve thrown the towel in on this one - it was pleasant background noise but the story drifted about so there was no need to pay close attention. Critical details were repeated frequently and the ending was quite cliché.