Ann Cleeves has written four Matthew Venn novels in her Two Rivers series. Three are available now, and the fourth, The Dying Light, is due in the United States on September 29, 2026. There is also an optional short story, The Girls on the Shore, to read between the second and third novels.
If you want the simplest reading route, start with The Long Call and follow publication order. Each book brings a new investigation, but Venn’s return to North Devon, his marriage to Jonathan, and his relationships with his colleagues gain depth as the series continues.
Matthew Venn books in order at a glance
| Order | Title | First publication | What to know |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Long Call | 2019 | Introduces DI Matthew Venn and North Devon’s Two Rivers setting. |
| 2 | The Heron’s Cry | 2021 | A murder investigation reaches close to Venn’s home life. |
| Optional | The Girls on the Shore | 2022 | A short story set after the first two novels. |
| 3 | The Raging Storm | 2023 | Venn investigates a death in a coastal village tied to his past. |
| 4 | The Dying Light | 2026, forthcoming as of September 28 | A death and a disappearance draw Venn into a politically sensitive case. |
The publisher’s Two Rivers series page numbers the four full-length books in that order. The short story is a companion, not a fourth or fifth novel.
1. The Long Call (2019)
Matthew Venn is back in the North Devon landscape where he grew up. His return comes with painful history: he left the strict evangelical community of his childhood, and the death of his father brings that estrangement into focus. Then a man is found murdered on a beach near Matthew’s home.
This is the place to begin even if you usually jump around in detective series. The murder stands on its own, but the book also establishes what matters to Matthew beyond police work: his uneasy connection to his past, his life with his husband Jonathan, and his approach to people whose secrets are tangled with their community. The publisher’s series guide gives an overview of its opening case.
Read it for: A character-rich series beginning, a coastal setting, and a detective trying to make a life in the place he once left.
2. The Heron’s Cry (2021)
North Devon is crowded with summer visitors when Venn investigates the killing of Dr. Nigel Yeo. The murder weapon is a piece of glass from a vase made by his daughter, Eve, who is a friend of Jonathan’s. A second death raises the stakes, while that personal connection makes Matthew’s usual boundaries harder to maintain.
The second book is a good test of whether the series is for you. It keeps the mystery at the center but gives more room to the people around Matthew. The case shows how easily professional duty and personal loyalty can collide in a small community.
Read it for: The team dynamics, an intricate investigation, and a mystery that reaches into Matthew and Jonathan’s social circle.
Optional: The Girls on the Shore (2022)
On a cold day, Matthew notices two young girls alone near the shore and tries to learn why they are there. Pan Macmillan describes The Girls on the Shore as a Matthew Venn short story and dates it January 11, 2022. That makes the natural reading slot after The Heron’s Cry and before The Raging Storm.
You can skip it without losing the main thread of the novels. If you enjoy the quieter side of Venn’s character, it offers another brief visit to his world. Edition listings vary in page count because some include an extract from a Vera Stanhope novel; check the contents before assuming the entire listed length is the story itself.
3. The Raging Storm (2023)
Jem Rosco, a well-known sailor, returns to the village of Greystone and then disappears. When his body is found, Venn must investigate a place that has its own relationship to the religious community he left behind. Storms, isolation, and local rumors shape the atmosphere of the case.
This is the entry for readers who especially love Cleeves’s use of place. The coast is more than scenery: the village’s history and the way its residents see one another affect what people are willing to say. Reading the earlier books first gives Matthew’s discomfort with that history more weight.
Read it for: An isolated coastal mystery and a deeper look at the past Matthew thought he had escaped.
4. The Dying Light (2026)
A young woman is found dead in the pool of a luxurious North Devon holiday home, while her best friend is missing. The home belongs to the family of an ambitious politician, turning a local investigation into a case with intense public attention. A music festival and tensions between residents and visitors complicate what Venn and his team can learn.
As of September 28, 2026, the novel is not yet released. U.S. publisher Minotaur Books lists September 29, 2026 as its on-sale date; U.K. publisher Pan Macmillan lists October 8, 2026 for its hardback. Readers seeing different dates are likely looking at different regional editions.
Read it for: A new Matthew Venn case that puts family secrets, political power, and a North Devon community under pressure. This description is based on the publishers’ prepublication summaries; it is not a review.
Do you have to read the Two Rivers books in order?
You can approach an individual case as a mystery, but publication order is the best choice for a first read. The Long Callexplains why returning to this landscape is difficult for Matthew. Later books build on your familiarity with his marriage, his team, and the communities he investigates. Starting at book one also lets the emotional story develop without learning its earlier turns out of sequence.
For a quick checklist, the four novels are The Long Call → The Heron’s Cry → The Raging Storm → The Dying Light. Add The Girls on the Shore between books two and three if you want every Matthew Venn story currently identified here.
Is Two Rivers the same series as Matthew Venn?
Yes. U.K. listings generally call the books the Two Rivers series, while the U.S. publisher labels them the Matthew Venn series. They are the same novels, in the same order. “Two Rivers” refers to the North Devon setting around the Taw and Torridge estuaries, where the rivers meet the sea.
Is The Long Call television series part of the reading order?
No. The ITV adaptation of The Long Call is a television version of the first novel, with Ben Aldridge playing Matthew Venn. It can introduce you to the character, but it does not replace a book or change the novel sequence. If you want to discover the mystery on the page first, read The Long Call before watching.
Where to begin after Matthew Venn
If the North Devon setting is what draws you in, try Cleeves’s Shetland mysteries for another crime series shaped by its landscape. If her patient attention to character is your favorite part, her Vera Stanhope books are an obvious next stop. Neither series is required reading for Two Rivers; you can begin with Matthew Venn alone.
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