Review of THE RAGING STORM by Ann Cleeves

 3.5 Stars

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.