Jem Roscoe, a well known celebrity adventurer is found dead in a dingy during a storm at the harbor of Scully Cove and small village of Greystone. Venn is assigned the case, but he's not eager to return to Greystone. He has history with the village. The village is superstitious and full of legends. And then another body is found...
I adore character driven mysteries - and Cleeves is a master at this style. She has created a wonderful group of characters and I feel like I'm catching up with old friends when I start a new Venn book. Venn is smart, intuitive, honest and will go the extra mile to solve a case. His loves his husband Jonathan (as do I - his take on things is always frank, but thoughtful and light hearted.) The two DC's - Jen Rafferty and Ross May also have personal lives that continue to move forward with every book.
The setting is dark and atmospheric in this entry. Greystone is insular, and not overly welcome to outsiders. The inhabitants are unwelcoming and cautious with what they share.
And then there's the mystery. A great plot that kept me guessing. Just as I settled on my suspect, I was proven wrong. I'm also a fan of twists and Cleeves gives us a good one in the final chapter. I love the slower pace of the investigation.
I choose to listen to The Raging Storm. The narrator was Jack Holden and he did a great job. His voice embodied the mental image I had created for Venn. He speaks clearly and is easy to understand. His voice has lots of movement, capturing the emotions, action, and more. I often find I become more immersed in a book when I listen to it. That was definitely the case with The Raging Storm. An excellent performance of an excellent book. Hear for yourself - listen to an excerpt.
2 comments:
Oh, this is good to know - I realized I hadn't read the second book in the series, so I've checked it out from the library. I have the first one 4.5 stars on librarything!
Thanks for the head's-up!
It's a great series Amy - enjoy!
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