by Ann Cleeves
Part of Two Rivers
First published 2023
Detective Inspector Matthew Venn faces an unsettling case when legendary sailor Jem Rosco arrives in Greystone, Devon during a fierce autumn storm. The townspeople celebrate having a famous adventurer among them, but their excitement turns to horror when Rosco vanishes as suddenly as he appeared. His corpse surfaces in a small boat near Scully Cove, a location steeped in local folklore. The investigation forces Venn back into a community he knew as a boy but left behind years ago. As his team searches for answers, a second body appears. Venn struggles to maintain his objectivity while superstitions and gossip complicate the facts. The howling winds mirror the turbulence within him as he discovers that everyone in Greystone, including himself, faces danger from the cove's buried secrets.
Genres: mystery, crime, adult, adult-fiction, british-literature, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, gritty, introspective, suspenseful
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, hometown-return, multiple-murders, unreliable-community
Setting: Greystone, Devon, Scully Cove
Period: autumn
383 pages · Hardcover · Minotaur Books
Content warnings: death, murder