The Long Call is the first book in a new series from Ann Cleeves introducing us to Detective Matthew Venn. Ann is well known for her previous novels including the Vera series and Shetland. I love the way Ann writes. Your never quite sure where she will take you with numerous dodgy characters and endless motives. Her books are gripping and The Long Call is no exception. I took to Detective Matthew Venn immediately. He seems conscientious and dedicated. I'm already looking forward to the next book in this series.

Thanks to NetGalley for my copy.

Creating a character on which to build a potential series of books is no mean feat, and Ann Cleeves has form – once with Vera Stanhope and again with Shetland’s Jimmy Perez. But both of those series are as much about the landscape and location as they are their lead character, so I was interested to see how she would approach her new series and detective, featuring Detective Inspector Matthew Venn, set in North Devon. It’s an area that I have visited on a couple of occasions but don’t know well, and I was able to see it through her eyes, ‘the special light you only find close to the sea’.

One of the things I particularly liked about this first book in the series was the leading role given to people with learning disabilities (and their families), giving a wonderful window into a world that few of us understand. As someone whose brother faces similar challenges, to have portrayals that go beyond the cliché of learning disability was wonderful. It made such a refreshing change to have proper, complex motives and choices attributed to people who are so often lumped together as ‘different’ and unable to rationalise the decisions they’ve made.

The story itself was absorbing, and it’s easy to see how the series could unfold. It was one of those books you read more slowly at the end than at the beginning, because although you really want to know what happens, you also don’t want it to end. Can’t wait for the next one.