A scorching heatwave marks the start of the summer in Devon. Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death, when the body of a young woman, Lottie, is found in the swimming pool of a luxurious holiday home. The girl’s best friend, Hannah, whose family owns the house, is missing. The girls had arrived a few days earlier to celebrate the end of their school exams, quickly stirring unrest in the small community with incendiary social media videos mocking the place as parochial.
When further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community filled with secrets. The fact that Hannah’s father, Paul Armstrong, is a rising political star with powerful enemies draws intense media scrutiny to the case.
With the summer heat come holidaymakers, and it emerges that some of them may have stronger connections with the Armstrong family than first thought. Venn knows all too well that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silences that they keep.
I met Venn and company with book three, and I enjoyed them immensely. That continued with book four, as it became clear the team was settling into its routine. Ross still has a lot to learn, but I did like him more in this one than the previous. That makes me nervous about reading books one and two. I also think that Venn is on a personal growth. I said he is harder on himself than others, and it is clear Ann Cleeves has made him aware of that, too. He and Jenn Rafferty continue their dynamic. Venn’s personal journey involves his husband Jonathan’s past, and I felt Venn’s support, nerves, and concern. However, it did not overwhelm the main plot of the novel.
The mystery was also great. Two young girls having been murdered is a tragedy, and Cleeves grasped that emotional resonance with the victim family’s POV. I will admit that I had a suspicion about the motives from the beginning, but that doesn’t take away any of the impressions. If anything, it makes the actual final solution feel more intense. There are plenty of suspects, red herrings, and possibilities.
Overall, I rate this novel 5 out of 5 stars.
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