I am quite enjoying this series. ( )

Ann Cleeves writes interesting mysteries that draw the reader to press on in the story. This is my first Matthew Venn novel and I am uncertain if I like him. Matthew constantly worries about his early life and his connection to the Barum Brethren in which his mother follows and many of his possible suspects follow. Matthew must also cope with his husband, Jonathan. The terrible weather figures into the story as human emotion and the weather vie for dominance. What is the motive for the terrible murder of Jem Rosco, a famous sailor and adventurer? Who has reason to kill Jem? The novel follows all the suspects that Matthew suspects as he attempts to reconnect with his mother. Too many characters and not a great motive for all the deaths. ( )

Famous explorer visits area he grew up in and is found dead in anchored boat. Soon after husband of explorer's first true love is dead at foot of cliff. Digging deep into the past doesn't produce clear answers but an attack on Venn and his sergeant does.

This is the third of Cleeves' stories featuring Matthew Venn. He is a gay detective who lives in Devon. He was once part of a religious cult, the Barum Brethern, but they essentially drummed him out of their society when he came out as gay. Even his parents turned their back on him. In this book, much of the action revolves around a village, known as Greystone, which has a significant proportion of Barum Brethern living in the area. Some are folks Matthew knew as a boy.

Anyway, a boat is found anchored off the coast in a rather isolated cove. There is a body lying within. The victim was clearly murdered, and then posed in the boat, but how could the body get posed in such a way in the middle of a raging storm and with no other boats about to take care of the people who had set the scene? Also, there's no good way to get back to land from the anchored boat even if the people doing the murder had been able to swim to shore. There's no obvious path up to the bluffs overlooking the scene from the shore. At least, that's what people thought.

Anyway, Matthew has to figure all this out, while also dealing with various people associated with the Barum Brethern. It's a fairly decent story, although I haven't found the Matthew Venn stories as gripping as some of Cleeves' other series, such as the Sheltand or Vera series.


#TheRagingStorm #NetGalley
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This is the third installment in the Two Rivers series following The Long Call (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2019/09/review-of-long-call-by-ann-cleeves-new.html) and The Heron’s Cry (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2021/09/review-of-herons-cry-by-ann-cleeves-new.html).

Jem Rosco, a celebrity sailor/adventurer, arrives in the isolated town of Greystone in Devon. He visits the local pub daily but then one day his lifeless body is found in a dinghy anchored in nearby Scully Cove. Detective Inspector Matthew Venn leads the investigation; he is somewhat familiar with the locale, having visited it as a child when he was part of a Christian fundamentalist group. Venn is assisted by colleagues DC Ross May and DS Jen Rafferty, but the body count increases before the case is solved.

The plot is typical of a police procedural. It begins slowly, but tension is ramped up as the number of suspects grows and a second body is discovered. As expected, two of the officers find themselves in danger towards the end. The one aspect that bothered me is the killer’s motive: I was not totally convinced. The guilty party has to be quite the mastermind to devise the complicated scheme.

As the title suggests, the novel is very atmospheric because of the setting. Cold, rainy, windy weather is a constant presence, but the storm is not just meteorological; it is soon clear that an emotional storm is responsible for some of the events. The secluded village of Greystone, as its name implies, is bleak, and full of superstitious, reticent villagers who are wary of outsiders. And Scully Cove has a reputation as an unlucky place amongst the locals.

What I enjoy about the series is the character development of the investigative team. Each has distinctive traits and personal issues. Venn is introspective, a complex and wounded man. I see growth in him from the first novel. Rafferty is still trying to find a family life/work balance but seems less overwhelmed. May continues to be annoying; he’s egotistical, impatient, ambitious, and petulant. Venn wishes that May could be “shocked . . . into introspection or maturity.”

As are the others in the series, this book is an enjoyable read. It is not exceptional in quality, but lovers of the Vera Stanhope and Shetland series will find it satisfying.

Note: Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2024/01/review-of-raging-storm-by-ann-cleeves.html) and follow me on Twitter (https://twitter.com/DCYakabuski). ( )