Ann Cleeves The Herons Cry

Bit of a stretch certainly, but some of her later books are. I haven’t read the Matthew Venn novels but tried a couple of the Palmer-Jones’ mysteries and wanted to scribble “could do a lot better” on them from page one!

Even the “The Killing Stones” has a very watered down Jimmy Perez struggling to solve a murder that Tosh would have sorted out in ten minutes on her way home to change the baby’s nappy!

Oh, going off track a bit, I really miss Jimmy Perez as the lead in Shetland.
The current two women simply do not cut the mustard with both of them relishing in the ploddy & boring & ughhh!
Needless to say, I don't watch Shetland anymore, it has been ruined! what a shame because it was fantastic, midweek viewing. Grrrr.

I agree Ilovedogs22 Shetland is not the same without Jimmy Perez.

I found the Matthew Venn books depressing and boring.

I found the Matthew Venn books depressing and boring.

You obviously haven’t encountered George and Molly Palmer-Jones!

I agree about the Matthew Venn books. (Didn’t enjoy them).

I just couldn’t take to him, he seemed devoid of personality and charisma.

I'm not mad about the Matthew Venn books apart from liking the North Devon setting. Compared to the Shetland and Vera series, not as good, I agree with other posts, a bit dull.

Sorry OP that didn't answer your question. Try specifically aiming your queries at AI even the obscure appears to get some sort of a resolution these days.

I found Mathew devoid of personality but I guess lots of people are. Could not see how he and his husband could have got on together, but other characters made up for them. Never thought I could say anything negative about Ann Cleeve's writing but I was so disappointed at the end as it was an impossible scenaro.

Not read Matthew Venn, but generally Ann Cleeves hits the spot.

I guess if you had a binbag & a change of clothes you could satisfy OP's scenario as to murder..

Sorry, I can't help with that book since I read it so long ago. I'm afraid once I've finished a book the details leave my memory! I have read some but not all of that series.

I'm just reading the Shetland series now, about one per month. I don't read any book series all in one go; I find it a bit too much. I'm on book 5, Dead Water where Jimmy is still on partial personal leave and a new DI Willow Reeves is stepping in.

We don't have the television show available to us here, but I'm sure it will eventually be.

I’m not sure if I missed that book. I’ll have to try and get hold of a copy. I don’t remember Willow Reeves and only came across her decently in The Killing Stones which is set in Orkney, not Shetland.

“Recently”!

Allsorts

Just started reading this Mathew Venn series of books and really enjoy them. Can anyone help me I got confused with last two chapters. Can anyone murder someone, where they have left blood everywhere and the victim is lying in pools of it, go home with out any blood on them or in their vehicles.

Yes, if the murderer had had the forethought to don gumboots, rainproof cycling gear of trousers and jacket with hood and rubber gloves and bring along some baby wipes and a bin bag.

Then all he or she would need to do was take all outer clothing off and put it in the bin bag (rubber gloves last, obviously) wipe their face carefully and dispose of the bin bag somewhere equidistant from the scene of the crime and their home.

Calendargirl

I agree about the Matthew Venn books. (Didn’t enjoy them).

I just couldn’t take to him, he seemed devoid of personality and charisma.

We often seem to think along similar lines Calendargirl
Whilst admiring Ann Cleves I don't enjoy all her books. Of course the same could be said of any prolific author.

Greyduster

Bit of a stretch certainly, but some of her later books are. I haven’t read the Matthew Venn novels but tried a couple of the Palmer-Jones’ mysteries and wanted to scribble “could do a lot better” on them from page one!

Even the “The Killing Stones” has a very watered down Jimmy Perez struggling to solve a murder that Tosh would have sorted out in ten minutes on her way home to change the baby’s nappy!

Is that because Tosh is a superwoman creation of the BBC?

Also the TV Perez was much aided by the BBC making Cassie around 10 years older than she was in the books,

Allsorts

I found Mathew devoid of personality but I guess lots of people are. Could not see how he and his husband could have got on together, but other characters made up for them. Never thought I could say anything negative about Ann Cleeve's writing but I was so disappointed at the end as it was an impossible scenaro.

I think Mathew Venn's character reflects the buttoned down, repressed child he was forced to be having been brought up in a strict Christian sect.

He was unable to be himself, was forced to leave and then shunned by the sect - including his parents.

In the latest book she is back at school - I found that a little odd.

sodapop

Great minds…..

@greyduster George and Molly were Ann’s first detectives. She wrote them between 1986 and 1996. Tosh et al don’t appear in any of her books, they come from the script writers after she sold the rights to the tv company.

Cassie hadn’t ever left school in the books, just in the BBC adaptation.
I really enjoyed the Killing Stones book- but felt the TV version was not good, or true to the author’s version.

I really miss Jimmy Perez as the lead in Shetland

He is now in Orkney in her most recent book.

I enjoyed reading The Killing Stones too. It felt as if she’d got back into her rhythm with it, but I felt as if Jimmy's character was slightly diminished, as if he was living in Willow’s shadow. Just my take.

Dizzyribs

Cassie hadn’t ever left school in the books, just in the BBC adaptation.
I really enjoyed the Killing Stones book- but felt the TV version was not good, or true to the author’s version.

Yes in the books Cassie was only 6 or 7 when Fran was murdered. So much of his time was spent finding babysitters and trying to get Duncan to do his fair share

On the BBC series she was more like 15 or 16 and then went to Uni etc

I disagree that the murderer would get away from a scene where much blood is spilled without a smidgen of blood somewhere on their clothes or vehicle that forensics wouldn't be able to detect, especially if the perpetrator is faffing around changing clothes and using wipes etc.

There are very clever forensic dogs that are trained to find traces of blood invisible to the human eye.