The Dying Light: A Detective Matthew Venn Novel
Sep 2026 · Matthew Venn series Book 4 · Sold by Minotaur Books
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About this ebook
“Everything Ann Cleeves writes is incredible.”—Richard Osman
DI Matthew Venn peels back layer upon layer to discover the dark secrets one family is keeping in this searing new novel, brimming with energy and taut with claustrophobic tension.
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.
Taut, atmospheric, and brimming with suspense, this searing new novel finds DI Matthew Venn caught between a powerful family’s secrets and a powder keg of local tensions.
DI Matthew Venn peels back layer upon layer to discover the dark secrets one family is keeping in this searing new novel, brimming with energy and taut with claustrophobic tension.
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.
Taut, atmospheric, and brimming with suspense, this searing new novel finds DI Matthew Venn caught between a powerful family’s secrets and a powder keg of local tensions.
“Everything Ann Cleeves writes is incredible.”—Richard Osman
DI Matthew Venn peels back layer upon layer to discover the dark secrets one family is keeping in this searing new novel, brimming with energy and taut with claustrophobic tension.
A scorching heatwave marks the start of the summer in...
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Ratings and reviews
3 reviews
Linda Brown
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September 30, 2026
Very readable😊4.5🌟 This story has terrific suspense & features lots of diverging clues leading to red herring trails, a sad tragedy for Hannah & Jake & an investigative team of Matthew & Jen that really felt like a team, each pulling an equal weight in the case. It's eminently readable, with no really graphic, macabre bits, limited action, & cerebral consideration rather than physical action advancing the plot. I really liked the way professional vs. personal lives of the detectives treated.
Linda Dossett
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September 29, 2026
Newest DI Venn series installment. A good read, but slow moving and dry. Plenty of potential suspects, it took approximately half the story before I knew who had done the deed, although I did not have the total story and a bit of surprise on the slight twist at the end. I like Matthew Venn, he struggles with his insecurity and he truly has a real streak of honesty and humanity. This is a good read, nothing flashy, just a down to earth whodunnit.
Josie Johns
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October 3, 2026
it was good and I like the characters but semi figured it out eary on,
About the author
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.
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 Gol...
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