It was the Shetland books and Jimmy Perez that first introduced me to Ann Cleeves, but I stayed for the Vera Stanhope mysteries, and now the Detective Matthew Venn ones. The Dying Light is the latest Matthew Venn police procedural, with an unexpected twist at the end. I love a book that surprises me with a twist that fits perfectly.
Venn’s small team shows up to investigate when a young woman’s body is found in the swimming pool of a politician’s holiday home. Lottie was a friend of the family’s daughter, but Hannah is missing. Sadly, it’s the girl’s mother who stumbles across that body when she and Venn’s sergeant, Jen Rafferty, are returning together to the house. Two dead seventeen-year-old girls. But, who was the target, the politician’s daughter, Hannah, or her friend Lottie? This could be a political hot potato.
Venn doesn’t know if he and his team are the right ones to handle a sensitive case. However, the Chief Constable has more faith than Venn does. “You’re the best murder detective in the region. Since you’ve joined us, the cases you’ve worked have been sensitive and complex, and you’ve managed them all with dignity and competence.” While the team may feel as if they need assistance at times with this complicated case, Venn limits the team to just four, and keeps them all in the loop.
The team also discovers there is really only a small group of suspects, even though there was a folk concert at a local farm over the weekend. But, the girls really only had connections to a small group; family members, Hannah’s boyfriend and his family, the owners of a local pub and an American couple with a strange tie to the young women. Even so, Venn eliminates suspects one-by-one until he realizes he made a major mistake in trust.
Readers of Cleeves’ novels knows she emphasizes the police investigation, but carefully includes details of the personal lives of the police officers, especially the main character. The Matthew Venn mysteries are no exception. The Dying Light has an engrossing plot, and complex characters, along with an interesting setting. It’s just what a police procedural should be.
Ann Cleeves’ website is https://www.anncleeves.com/
The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves. Minotaur Books, 2026. 384p.
FTC Full Disclosure – The publisher sent a copy of the book, with no expectation of a positive review.
