Dying Light: A Detective Matthew Venn Novel

Description:

"Everything Ann Cleeves writes is incredible."--Richard Osman

DI Matthew Venn peels back layer upon layer to discover the dark secrets one family is keeping in this searing new novel, brimming with energy and taut with claustrophobic tension.

A scorching heatwave marks the start of the summer in Devon. Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death, when the body of a young woman, Lottie, is found in the swimming pool of a luxurious holiday home. The girl's best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing. The girls had arrived in Devon a few days ahead of the family to celebrate the end of their school exams, and had managed to make waves during their short time there; they disrupted the folk music festival at the neighboring farm, with Lottie posting incendiary videos on social media mocking what she snobbishly considered to be a parochial community.

When further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community filled with secrets. Hannah's father, Paul Armstrong, is a rising political star, a fact that quickly draws intense media scrutiny to the case, not least because there are many who would want to take him down. With the summer heat come holidaymakers, and it emerges that some of them may have more connections with the Armstrong family than first thought.

Caught between a powerful family's secrets and a powder keg of local tensions, Venn and his team must navigate a treacherous path. He knows all too well that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silence that they keep . . .

Brief description:

ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind three hit television series--Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn, and The Long Call, starring Ben Aldridge--all of which are watched and loved in the United States. All three are available on BritBox.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She was awarded the OBE in 2022 for services to reading and libraries. Ann lives in the United Kingdom.

Review Quotes:

"Everything Ann Cleeves writes is incredible."―Richard Osman

"In Matthew Venn, Ann has created a complex, daring, subtle character." --Louise Penny

"Matthew Venn is a keeper."―David Baldacci

"Brilliant, thoughtful and deeply engaging."--Sara Paretsky

"Ann Cleeves is a phenomenal talent. Her instantly iconic Detective Matthew Venn is a treasure--and we will all follow him anywhere."--Hank Phillippi Ryan

"Cleeves's true strength lies in her descriptions of the natural world, gorgeously captured."―New York Times Book Review

"[Cleeves's] newest detective―buttoned-up, gay, married, ex-evangelical Matthew Venn―is a righteous successor."―People

"Venn remains an appealing lead every bit as memorable as the author's Vera Stanhope or Jimmy Perez. Cleeves's fans and newcomers alike will be hungry for the next entry."―Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"[Cleeves] tells a captivating story."―Wall Street Journal

"If there is a writer who does atmospherics better than Ann Cleeves, I don't know who it is. . . her grasp of character is impeccable."--Globe & Mail