The Dying Light by Ann Cleeves
Detective Inspector Matthew Venn returns for a third case in bestselling author Ann Cleeves’ latest mystery, The Dying Light. Eager to celebrate the end of their high school exams, teenage Hannah Armstrong and Lottie Cauldwell set out for Hannah’s family’s luxurious holiday home, The Tide House, along the Devon shore in Millscombe. They are excited to be on their own for a few days before Hannah’s family arrives, for a bit of fun, and maybe they will attend a local music festival in the town. This may be their last opportunity to spend time alone together as best friends before they head off to different universities at summer’s end.
Hannah’s father, Paul, a former doctor, now a rising political star and MP, and their family are on the way to join the girls. However, upon their arrival, the Armstrongs are faced with unimaginable catastrophes. Lottie is dead in the swimming pool, and Hannah is missing. Venn is called in to investigate; however, this time, the pressure is doubled. Both his bosses and the UK Home Office demand a quick and easy resolution to this case.
What Was the Reason?
Initially, the case stymies Venn. He must determine whether there is a political motive to the killing and the vanishing. Was Lottie’s death an unfortunate accident? Or was it a random act of violence? Who would want to abduct Hannah? Supported by his loyal team — Jen, Ross and Vicki — they must sort out the various suspects and their motives. Could the girls’ parents be responsible for the tragedies? Do the cranky local gastropub owner and his wife have motives? Or did the Brennan family, the producers of the local music festival, hold grudges against the wealthy Armstrong family for buying The Tide House? What about the American campers who turned up out of nowhere?
As Venn’s team delves deeper into the mysteries, secrets, lies and rivalries pit neighbor against neighbor in the small seaside village. Tensions rise as intimate relationships come to light, rumors of past mistakes emerge, and Venn’s team struggles to get the truth from uncooperative witnesses and suspects.
The Past Lingers
Once again, Ann Cleeves paints a brilliant portrait of a complex man burdened by his past. Matthew Venn was raised in a religious cult, and he became estranged from his family when he rejected their doctrine’s teachings. As a youth, he led a sheltered life, and now as an adult and a police officer, his disenfranchisement continues to haunt him. With each fresh case, he struggles to make sense of a world he has recently come to know and understand. He believes he is an outstanding officer, but he questions his judgment, believing his past had blinded him to the real world.
Fortunately, he has found love, acceptance and marriage to Jonathan, the director of the Woodyard, an artist’s retreat. Yet, Venn worries that his background has made him emotionally distant from his husband. In The Dying Light, this flaw becomes apparent when they face Jonathan’s discovery of his birth mother. Rather than being excited about and supportive of Jonathan, Venn becomes insecure, worrying about sharing his husband with another person. Cleeves has filled Venn with irony. While Venn is a man who struggles with close personal relationships, including his widowed mother, he is empathetic with the victims and their families and his coworkers. The reader must wonder whether Venn can feel any genuine joy in his life.
Join the Case
Every moment of The Dying Light is filled with tension and mystery. And, in classic Cleeves fashion, the setting is always a key character in her novels. She weaves in gorgeous, haunting descriptions of the Devon shoreline and towns to amp up the authenticity of the heinous crimes and draw the reader into the story. And also in classic form, Cleeves crafts a suspenseful puzzle to keep her protagonist and her readers engaged until the very last chapter.
Ann Cleeves is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind three hit television series ― Shetland, Vera and The Long Call ― all of which are watched and loved in the United States. All three are available on BritBox. The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She was awarded the OBE in 2022 for services to reading and libraries. Ann lives in the United Kingdom.
