When Jem Rosco - sailor, adventurer and local legend - blows into town in the middle of an autumn gale, the residents of Greystone, Devon, are delighted to have a celebrity in their midst. The residents think nothing of it when Rosco disappears again; that's the sort of man he is.
Until the lifeboat is launched to a hoax call-out during a raging storm and his body is found in a dinghy, anchored off Scully Cove, a place with legends of its own.
This is an uncomfortable case for DI Matthew Venn. He came to the remote village as a child, its community populated by the Barum Brethren that he parted ways with, so when superstition and rumour mix and another body is found in the cove, Matthew soon finds his judgement clouded.
As the stormy winds howl and the village is cut off, Venn and his team start their investigation, little realising their own lives might be in danger…
The Raging Storm was longlisted for the Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2024; voting has now closed, and we await the announcement of the shortlist!
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"Cleeves crafts a devilishly intricate mystery that will surprise even seasoned genre fans, and Venn remains an appealing lead every bit as memorable as the author's Vera Stanhope or Jimmy Perez. Cleeves's fans and newcomers alike will be hungry for the next entry."
"A surprising denouement moves this character-based mystery to the top tier."
"an atmospheric police procedural that builds on the other books while introducing fascinating suspects."
"As ever, this is a carefully plotted crime novel from Cleeves, with the sea and the raging weather adding an extra thrill to an intriguing mystery. Venn, with the religious past he walked away from, is an excellent addition to her stable of detectives."
"Jack Holden's return to narrate the third installment in this series is a treat. Cleeves's descriptive prowess transports listeners to the bleak and formidable cliffs of Greystone, Devon ... Holden masterfully conveys the inner struggles of Venn and his team, rounding out the humanity of the investigators."
AudioFile (review of the audio edition read by Jack Holden)
The Raging Storm is now available in paperback, hardback, Kindle and audiobook (read by Jack Holden) editions.
- It was published in the UK on 31st August 2023 by Pan MacMillan (cover shown above); the paperback was published on 14th March 2024.
- The US edition (cover below) followed on September 5th from Minotaur Books; now also available in paperback (published on August 6th 2024).
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