Please Note:  I received an advance copy of this novel from the publisher and NetGalley in Exchange for an honest review.  This did not influence the opinions in my review in any way.

Synopsis (from Goodreads):

North Devon is enjoying a rare hot summer with tourists flocking to its coastline. Detective Matthew Venn is called out to a rural crime scene at the home of a group of artists. What he finds is an elaborately staged murder--Dr Nigel Yeo has been fatally stabbed with a shard of one of his glassblower daughter's broken vases.

Dr Yeo seems an unlikely murder victim. He's a good man, a public servant, beloved by his daughter. Matthew is unnerved, though, to find that she is a close friend of Jonathan, his husband.

Then another body is found--killed in a similar way. Matthew soon finds himself treading carefully through the lies that fester at the heart of his community and a case that is dangerously close to home.

DI Matthew Venn returns in The Heron's Cry, in Ann Cleeves powerful next novel, proving once again that she is a master of her craft.

Review:

The first Ann Cleeves novel I ever read was The Long Call (book 1 in this series).  But most people will know the author from her very popular crime novels that have been made into hit British television series such as Vera.  I enjoyed The Long Call, but I think I like this next book, The Heron's Cry, even more.  Much like Louise Penny (author of the Inspector Gamache series), Ann Cleeves creates a whole town full of characters and relationships that become richer with each successive novel.  With it's small seaside town setting, wonderful characters, and a mystery that is compelling, this was a winning reading experience.

What I Liked:

Setting:

North Devon is a seaside community that get's lots of tourists each summer.  With beaches and smart cafes, it's a popular destination. But for the locals, there is also lots of traffic, and busy restaurants to contend with.  While the characters make their irritations clear, they have also created places that are more for the townspeople.  There is the Woodyard, a community center where people can meet for a coffee, or a yoga class in the daytime, and then see a theatre production there at night.  There's also a thriving arts community.  With a mix of lifelong locals, and London transplants, this is certainly a town I would want to live in.  But even an Idyllic town has its share of crime,,,

Characters:

The author not only has a great cast of characters who are police detectives, but also a wonderful mix of spouses, as well.  Matthew Venn, the lead detective at the local police force, is a quiet, serious person who is married to Jonathan, who is more of a free spirit.  Considering how important Matthew's job is (catching killers), it's no wonder that Matthew is so controlled with his emotions.  Jonathan has no such constraints.  He is more impulsive and more open with his emotions than Matthew.  They are usually a good balance for each other, but not always.  They often miscommunicate.

Jen, another police officer in the group, is a single mom with two teenage kids.  She is often overworked and stressed.  This leads her to make some poor choices in her off hours, when she just wants to relax.  But the demands of the job make this understandable.

Ross is the third person on the team.  I found him harder to like, as he is more of a traditional male.  He thinks he is better than Jen, and always wants to be praised for his work.  But, I understood him too.  He is married, but seems to struggle with understanding his wife.  I think he really wishes this were the 1950's, where he could be the "breadwinner" and his wife would stay at home and cater just to him.  But you can see that this is how he was raised.  He knows that times have changed, and he is (mostly) willing to have more of a partnership with his wife.

Story:

The story centers around a murder at a farm where an eccentric rich man has surrounded himself with artists, and artisans.  Like every small town, there are a lot of people who are related to each other, and this complicates Matthew's investigation.  

I enjoyed reading about how the detective and his team went about piecing everything together.  There were some interesting twists and turns, such as a previous suicide and a possible connection with the murder.  This leads to a look at how stretched the National Health Service is, especially in regards to dealing with mental health issues.  This is an issue in the U.S., as well. 

Trigger Warning for Suicide

Rating:  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Release Date:  September 7th, 2021

Author:  Ann Cleeves

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Genre:  Murder Mystery

Page Length:  400 pages

Source:  NetGalley

Format:  E-Book

Recommendation:  I really enjoyed this book.  But start with the first in the series, The Long Call, to get the whole scope of the town and characters.  I can't wait for the next installment of the series.