The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves – begins when Jem Rosco – sailor, adventurer and legend – blows into the local pub, The Maiden’s Prayer, to escape the autumn gale, much to the delight of the residents of Greystone.
The whole village and its surroundings have a peculiar feel of unreality, as in “the village that time forgot.” Seldom visited by tourists, it consists of a few houses and a ubiquitous pub, backed by a worked-out quarry, a shingle beach and a north-facing quay!
Rosco, prone to ‘doing his own thing’, causes no concern amongst the villagers when they find him gone. When the lifeboat is launched to a call-out that proves to be a hoax, however, his body is found in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove. The cove is a place with bloodcurdling fabrications of its own.
For D.I. Matthew Venn it is a disquieting situation as Greystone is a stronghold of the Barum Brethren and he came here as a child. Belief and superstition mix as another body is found in the cove. Matthew is bemused by this coincidence, which he finds is affecting his judgment.
As the mystery deepens, he begins to comprehend that his own life is at risk!
This popular author’s wonderfully descriptive narrative transports the reader to the crime scene and its wild surroundings.
As you read feel, the sand beneath your feet, the crash of the waves in your ears and a taste of salt on your tongue. Mix that with fear and speculation and take a seat for a rocky boat ride! You won’t be disappointed!
A nerve-wracking, but amazing, must-read novel by this talented author.
The Raging Storm is available in Hardback, Paperback and E-book.
ISBN: 9781529077704
About Ann Cleeves
Ann Cleeves is the author of more than thirty-five critically acclaimed novels. In 2017 she was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA ‘Diamond Dagger’. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope, Jimmy Perez and Matthew Venn, who can be found on television in ITV’s Vera, BBC One’s Shetland and ITV’s The Long Call respectively. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations. 2022 marked 30 years of publishing with Pan Macmillan.
She is a member of ‘Murder Squad’, working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. Ann also spends her time advocating for reading to improve health and well-being and supporting access to books. In 2021 her Reading for Wellbeing project launched with local authorities across England’s North East. She lives in Northumberland where the Vera books are set.
