Although the Matthew Venn books do not need to be read in order, readers would get the fullest experience by following this chronological sequence, which coincides with their publication order:⁠[1]

Order Cover Title First published Notes
1 Book cover of The Long Call. The Long Call 2019⁠[8] Introduces Matthew Venn, his team, and the North Devon setting
2 Book cover of The Heron's Cry. The Heron’s Cry 2021⁠[9] Continues the police and personal relationships as a new case unfolds.
3 Book cover of The Girls on the Shore. The Girls on the Shore 2022⁠[10-11] Offers a brief, contained Venn and Rafferty intervention.
4 Book cover of The Raging Storm. The Raging Storm 2023⁠[12] Returns to a coastal investigation with established characters.
5 Book cover of The Dying Light. The Dying Light 2026⁠[13] Follows Venn and his team into another Devon case.
Reading order of the Matthew Venn books.
Reading order of the Matthew Venn books.

Works in sequence

The core reading path consists of the main Matthew Venn investigations: The Long Call, The Heron’s Cry, The Raging Storm, The Dying Light. These books establish and continue the recurring police team, the North Devon setting, and the personal continuity around Matthew and Jonathan, while each case remains broadly self-contained.⁠[3-4]⁠[6-7]

The Girls on the Shore is a supplementary entry in the series. It features Matthew Venn and Jen Rafferty and contributes to the wider portrait of their work, but its shorter, contained safeguarding premise makes it less central to the main run of full-length investigations.⁠[5]

Readers who want the fullest coverage should include The Girls on the Shore in the reading order. Readers beginning the main books can return to it without losing the novels’ larger shape.⁠[3-4]⁠[6-7]

1. The Long Call

Main bookRecommended reading
Book cover of The Long Call.
Book cover of The Long Call.

The Long Call (2019)⁠[8] introduces Detective Inspector Matthew Venn as he investigates the death of a man found on the beach at Crow Point. The case brings together Venn’s police work, his marriage to Jonathan, the Woodyard arts center, and the religious community from which he is estranged.⁠[3]

It establishes the principal setting, team, and personal context.⁠[3]

2. The Heron’s Cry

Main bookRecommended reading
Book cover of The Heron's Cry.
Book cover of The Heron’s Cry.

The Heron’s Cry (2021)⁠[9] follows a new investigation after healthcare investigator Nigel Yeo is found murdered at an artists’ commune. The case draws in Jen Rafferty, Matthew Venn, Jonathan, local artists, and families connected by grief, secrecy, and professional scrutiny.⁠[4]

It stands as a separate mystery, but it also benefits from the reader’s prior familiarity with the police team and Matthew’s domestic world.⁠[4]

3. The Girls on the Shore

Main bookRecommended reading
Book cover of The Girls on the Shore.
Book cover of The Girls on the Shore.

The Girls on the Shore (2022)⁠[10-11] is a shorter, self-contained Venn story in which Matthew finds two young sisters alone on a North Devon beach. The situation develops into a domestic and safeguarding crisis rather than a large murder investigation.⁠[5]

Its place in the sequence is useful for showing Matthew and Jen working together on a smaller case.⁠[5]

4. The Raging Storm

Main bookRecommended reading
Book cover of The Raging Storm.
Book cover of The Raging Storm.

The Raging Storm (2023)⁠[12] returns Matthew Venn and Jen Rafferty to a larger investigation when the body of Jem Rosco is discovered in a dinghy off the coastal village of Greystone. This novel uses an isolated coastal setting, storm conditions, and a community with buried connections.⁠[6]

It remains understandable on its own, while continuing the established professional and personal framework around Venn.⁠[6]

5. The Dying Light

Main bookRecommended reading
Book cover of The Dying Light.
Book cover of The Dying Light.

The Dying Light (2026),⁠[13] sends Matthew Venn into a summer case involving a young woman found dead in a swimming pool at a luxurious Devon holiday home and another girl missing. The investigation brings together a powerful family, local tensions, holidaymakers, and public scrutiny.⁠[7]

It continues the same linked-standalone pattern.⁠[7]

References

  1. The Two Rivers, a new series from Ann Cleeves featuring Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. Ann Cleeves.
  2. Two Rivers by Ann Cleeves. Pan Macmillan.
  3. The Long Call. Minotaur Books. ISBN: 9781250204455.
  4. The Heron’s Cry. Minotaur Books. ISBN: 9781250204486.
  5. The Girls on the Shore. Minotaur Books. ISBN: 9781250859372.
  6. The Raging Storm. Minotaur Books. ISBN: 9781250836793.
  7. The Dying Light. Minotaur Books. ISBN: 9781250836809.
  8. The Long Call, first in Ann Cleeves’s Matthew Venn series. Ann Cleeves.
  9. The Heron’s Cry by Ann Cleeves. Pan Macmillan.
  10. The Girls on the Shore by Ann Cleeves. Pan Macmillan.
  11. The Girls on the Shore. Macmillan Publishers.
  12. The Raging Storm by Ann Cleeves. Pan Macmillan.
  13. The Dying Light. Macmillan Publishers.