The Dying Light (Two Rivers #4) by Ann Cleeves
Publication Date: September 22nd 2026 by Minotaur Books & Macmillan Audio
Pages: 384
Audio Book Length: 10hrs 33min
Narrator: Jack Holden
Source: Publishers
Rating: ★★★★
My
Thoughts:
Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and his team are called
to a small coastal town in Devon after a young woman, Lottie, is found dead in
a swimming pool. Lottie had been vacationing with her friend Hannah, the
daughter of a politician, who is now missing. The two made an impression around
town, and not in a good way. Lottie made waves at a local farm music festival
by posting mocking videos on her socials and was rude at the local pub, as
well.
But was Lottie really the intended target, or was someone
after Hannah because of her father’s politics? There’s also a tragic incident
from the girls’ past that may have caught up with them. Matthew and his team,
Jen, Ross, and Victoria, methodically work the case, uncovering information bit
by bit.
The Dying Light was an engrossing police
procedural that nicely balanced the investigation with glimpses into the
detectives’ personal lives. I read the last installment, and it seems like the
team is more cohesive now, working well together. Ross was a little immature
and grasping for recognition in the last book, causing some friction, but he
seems to have grown here. I’ve liked Jen, a levelheaded single mother, from the
beginning. Matthew has an interesting
background, being brought up in a strict religious community and then leaving
the faith.
I alternated between an audio and e-copy and can
recommend either. Jack Holden’s performance was excellent! He had a way with
the regional English accents that made them distinct. He did well performing a
variety of characters, male and female in a range of ages.
4 Stars
Book Descrisption:
The Dying Light is a searing new novel featuring DI Matthew Venn, brimming with energy and taut with claustrophobic tension, as the detective peels back layer upon layer to discover the dark secrets this family is keeping.
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 . . .
