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Book Summary and Reviews of The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves

The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves

The Raging Storm

Detective Matthew Venn Series #3

by Ann Cleeves

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  • Sep 2023, 400 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Ann Cleeves—New York Times bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows—returns with The Raging Storm, the extraordinary third installment in the Matthew Venn series.

Fierce winds, dark secrets, deadly intentions.

When Jem Rosco—sailor, adventurer, and legend—blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. But just as abruptly as he arrived, Rosco disappears again, and soon his lifeless body is discovered in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.

This is an uncomfortable case for Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Greystone is a place he visited as a child, a community he parted ways with. Superstition and rumor mix with fact as another body is found, and Venn finds his judgment clouded.

As the winds howl, and Venn and his team investigate, he realizes that no one, including himself, is safe from Scully Cove's storm of dark secrets.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"A surprising denouement moves this character-based mystery to the top tier." ―Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Cleeves crafts a devilishly intricate mystery that will surprise even seasoned genre fans, and 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)

"The third in Cleeves's award-winning series is an atmospheric police procedural that builds on the other books while introducing fascinating suspects." —Library Journal (starred review)

"Quiet tension, a moody atmosphere, and engaging characters heighten the mystery." ―Booklist

This information about The Raging Storm was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

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Bookworm Becky

Whodunit - #3
Duffel, superstitions, besotted…

Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and his team are back and working on a new case. Jeremy (Jem) Rosco, local celebrity/sailor/adventurer is back in Greystone. His body has just been found naked in an anchored boat in Scully Cove, posed as “if for the lifeboat crew to find.” Detective Venn finds the crime meticulously planned , with almost TOO much information. His intuition says it “looks like a show, a performance.”

Another body is found. Was Barty pushed off a cliff at Scully Cove or did he commit suicide?

A tale of love of power, charisma, manipulation, resentment, envy, and revenge.

Superstitions and legends abound about Scully Cove- the locals are leery. “Skulls and bones and white, white light.” Why was this location chosen? Is there a connection between the two deaths? Why does Detective Venn think its all been staged?


Captivating page-turner! Whodunit / mystery and police procedural. Couldn’t put it down!

Loved the returning characters, plot, and plot twists!

Very descriptive writing.

Roller coaster ride right up to the final reveal!

Treat yourself - read all 3!

I read Book #1 before Raging Storm (but not Book #2). Of course with a new crime, there are new characters. I already knew Detective Venn & his team from Book #1. It isn’t necessary to read the others first. You could read this as a stand-alone.

I need to get #2!

I saw Ann Cleeves at a local author event last month. I bought # 1 at the event and received #3 with my ticket. I’m hooked! Consider me a new fan!

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Author Information

Ann Cleeves Author Biography

Photo: David Hirst

Ann Cleeves is the author of over thirty critically acclaimed novels, and in 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez who can now be found on television in ITV's Vera and BBC One's Shetland. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide.

Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook, and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of "Murder Squad," working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. Ann is also a passionate champion for libraries and was a National Libraries Day Ambassador in 2016. Ann lives in North Tyneside near where the Vera ...

... Full Biography
Link to Ann Cleeves's Website

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