The Long Call by Ann Cleeves (thoughts)

Summary from Goodreads:

"In North Devon, where two rivers converge and run into the sea, Detective Matthew Venn stands outside the church as his father’s funeral takes place. Once loved and cherished, the day Matthew left the strict evangelical community he grew up in, he lost his family too.

Now, as he turns and walks away again, he receives a call from one of his team. A body has been found on the beach nearby: a man with a tattoo of an albatross on his neck, stabbed to death.

The case calls Matthew back into the community he thought he had left behind, as deadly secrets hidden at its heart are revealed, and his past and present collide.

An astonishing new novel told with compassion and searing insight, The Long Call will captivate fans of Vera and Shetland, as well as new readers."

My Thoughts:

Don't you just love when you find the perfect book at just the right time that fits your reading mood?  This book was exactly the type of read that I needed without even knowing it.  This isn't a book to be rushed through in my opinion.  Instead, I took my time with this one and just enjoyed the ride that the author was taking me on.  And what a ride this was!  One of the things that I enjoyed most about this book was that the author really took the time to give the reader a sense of place with this book.  I felt like I was really there in North Devon investigating right alongside Matthew.  I also have to say how much I appreciated Matthew's character.  He's a quiet character but the strength in his character really shines through the pages even as he struggles with self doubt at times.  I really, really enjoyed him as a main character which makes me so happy that this is just the beginning to this new series.  I liked the conflicts that he had at times because of his upbringing and the experiences he had after leaving the community he grew up in.  The mystery portion of this book was also really enjoyable for me as it kept me guessing until the end.  I really liked that there were ties not only to Matthew's past with the case he was investigating but also ties to his husband's work.  It made the case more personal for Matthew which made the stakes for him figuring everything out that much more important.  The other characters in this book were also really enjoyable which has me so excited about this series.  I couldn't help but appreciate how everything came together at the end of this book.  I didn't see it coming and honestly I kind of thought that I had it figured out at one point while I was reading.  How wrong I was though!  That was probably the only part of this book that I rushed through and that was because I just had to see how it would all end.

Overall, I just really enjoyed my time with this book!  I'm so glad that I have finally given this author a try as I've had her books on my TBR list for years.  This new series was the perfect push to finally read her - now I have lots of other books to look forward to which will make the wait for the second book in this series not seem so long!  This isn't a book to rush through in my opinion.  Instead, I would recommend doing exactly like I did and just immersing yourself in this book.  Reading this book slowly allowed for me to appreciate everything that the author did with not only setting up the mystery but also the sense of place that she created.  I honestly am really looking forward to reading more of these characters because they were all so great!  I would recommend this book to fans of both mystery and suspense.  I also have to say that those readers who enjoy Deborah Crombie or Louise Penny should give this book a shot.  Highly recommended!

Bottom Line:  A lovely beginning to this new series that has me so excited to have found this author and all of her books!

Disclosure:  I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher.  Honest thoughts are my own.