Review by Booklist Review
The body on the beach in Devon was identified quickly as Simon Walden. He was staying rent-free at a home in the area, and he helped in the kitchen at the Woodyard Centre. Simple enough . . . just find out who blew his face away. But Detective Inspector Matthew Venn's investigation only reveals more mysteries. Turns out Walden wasn't a charity case but a respected chef who had run his own restaurant. And he'd just closed a real-estate deal that netted him a small fortune. He'd befriended a young woman with Down syndrome. He brought her candy. She perceived no threat. The case is personal for Venn, a gay man whose husband manages the Woodyard. Author Cleeves spends more than 200 pages setting this up, in prose as evocatively bleak as the Devon coast. Cleeves announces the plot's shift into high gear by revving the language: ""The clouds ripped apart to let through shafts of sunlight."" As usual with this talented author, the key is relationships, and the murder is an occasion to examine them and then, finally, to expose what rips them apart.--Don Crinklaw Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Set in Devon, England, this thoughtful series launch from bestseller Cleeves (the Vera Stanhope series) introduces Det. Insp. Matthew Venn, who spent his childhood among the Barum Brethren, a strict evangelical community led by the charismatic Dennis Salter. As a teenager, Matthew rejected the teachings of the community and was banished. Now in his late 30s, the tightly wound and reserved Matthew works in nearby Barnstable and is married to Jon, who runs a multi-use community arts center called Woodward. When a local man turns up stabbed to death on a beach near Matthew and Jon's house, the resulting investigation draws a few too many connections to Woodward--including that the victim volunteered there--and soon Matthew's past and present lives begin to collide. Cleeves makes good use of Devon local color and populates this subtle, expertly paced mystery with distinctive supporting characters. Hopefully, future installments will delve even further into the intriguing Barum Brethren. Agent: Sarah Menguc, Sarah Menguc Literary Agent (U.K.) (Sept.)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Cleeves's new series stars Matthew Venn, a British detective living near the sea in North Devon with his new husband and facing emotional demons from the past as well as physical ones in the present. When a dead man is found on the beach and two women with Down syndrome are kidnapped, Matthew is convinced there is a connection between the crimes and fears that it may come too close to home. He grew up in the area as part of a strict evangelical community, the Brethren, which he abandoned, and was disenfranchised when he married. His husband is the director of a newly opened community center with links to both the leader of the Brethren and the victims. In Matthew, Cleeves gives us a flawed character rife with insecurities. The events in the book begin the process of his healing, as broken family ties appear to be mending. Matthew's team is introduced, with tensions and backstories developed. The plotting is complex and intriguing, the location comes alive, and the resolution satisfies. VERDICT Fans of Cleeves lamenting the end of the "Shetland" series will find much to love in her new characters and setting. [See Prepub Alert, 3/4/19.]--Sharon Mensing, Phoenix, AZ
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A clever police officer in Devon, England, confronts anger and sorrow from his early life.DI Matthew Venn was brought up by parents who were members of the Barum Brethren, a small religious sect. When he renounced his religion, he was shunned by his parents and the sect members, became a police officer, and married the love of his life, Jonathan Church, a sunny optimist who manages the Woodyard Centre, a restored factory that's home to a covey of counseling services, artists, and charitable organizations. Venn is called from his father's funeral by PC Ross May to investigate a corpse on the beach near Venn's home. It's been stripped of all ID but an envelope bearing an address in a nearby town. DS Jen Rafferty and May find a house owned by Caroline, daughter of Woodyard trustee Christopher Preece, who shares it with Gaby Henry and a short-time lodger whom Gaby identifies as Simon Walden, the body on the beach. Caroline, who works for her father's mental health charity, felt sorry for Walden, who was living with crushing guilt from a drunken driving accident that killed a young girl, and offered him a place to stay. To Venn's dismay, many of the suspects are involved with the Woodyard Centre. Caroline, Gaby, and Walden all worked there, Caroline's father's charity is housed there, and her boyfriend, Edward, is a curate who sometimes helps out. Whenever Walden rode on a bus, he always sat next to Lucy Braddick, a woman with Down syndrome who attended classes at the Centre. Walden had plenty of money, even if they can't find it, so why was he scrimping on lodgings and transportation? A call from Venn's mother returns him to the orbit of the Brethren after another member's daughter with Down syndrome vanishes from the home of sect leader Dennis Salter. The search continues even as Venn ponders recusing himself from a case that hits so close to home.Fans missing detective Jimmy Perez (Wild Fire, 2018, etc.) will find a worthy successor in the equally complex Venn, who presides over an excellent mystery in this series kickoff. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
