When a famous explorer is murdered, the secret of his killer's identity may well be rooted in his past. Jem Rosco arrives in the tiny English village of Greystone in the midst of a storm. Though he's secretive about his reasons for renting a cottage, saying only that he expects a visitor, he spends every night in the Maiden's Prayer pub chatting up the locals, many of whom remember him as a troublesome local youth who attained fame and fortune. The riddle about his purpose in Greystone gives way to a larger mystery when the village lifeboat, called out in a fierce storm, finds an anchored boat near Scully Point containing the naked body of Rosco, who's been stabbed to death. Inspector Matthew Venn remembers Greystone from visits during his youth, when he and his family were devoted members of a religious group called the Brethren that he parted ways with after losing his faith and marrying his husband, Jonathan. From the beginning Venn finds the case odd and vexing, with plenty of suspects yet no really strong motives. Since the murder clearly took place in the rented cottage's bathroom, why would someone go to the trouble of placing the body in a boat and anchoring it in a spot with an evil reputation? With the help of his team, Jen Rafferty and cocky, ambitious Ross May, Venn investigates Rosco's past and present looking for a more compelling motive for murder. Staying in Greystone brings back bittersweet memories for Venn, and he uncovers a number of feuds and love affairs gone wrong among the residents. Another death further complicates the investigation, but the introspective Venn never gives up. A surprising denouement moves this character-based mystery to the top tier. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Jem Rosco is unquestionably Greystone's most famous son, having gained notoriety for his solo around-the-world sailing trip that catapulted him into the rarefied world of celebrity adventurers. He navigates loftier circles now, so when he reappears unexpectedly, locals take notice. He's a jovial favorite at the pub where he hints at a mysterious visitor who will explain his sudden presence. When Rosco's body is found adrift at sea in an abandoned boat and his rental cottage turned into a bloody hellscape, Matthew Venn and his investigative team descend upon a town that still supports the religious order that expelled Matthew years earlier. Two other murders tied to Rosco's shadowy past occur in quick succession, but Venn's empathy-based interrogation technique exposes copious clues. In this third installment in her Two Rivers series, following The Long Call and The Heron's Cry, Cleeve's taciturn detective has settled into his role as chief inspector, more comfortable with his leadership duties and in his personal life as a gay man estranged from family and church. Quiet tension, a moody atmosphere, and engaging characters heighten the mystery.

Bestseller Cleeves's outstanding third Matthew Venn novel (following 2021's The Heron's Cry) sees the detective returning to a small village on the northern English coast to solve a pair of murders. In the middle of a storm one September afternoon, Jem Rosco--sailor, bon vivant, and local legend--enters a pub in his misty hometown of Greystone to await a visitor he won't name. A few days later, a local rescue crew responding to an anonymous distress call discovers Rosco's lifeless body in an anchored dinghy. Det. Insp. Matthew Venn and his bickering sergeants are called from Devon to investigate. Venn is less than enthusiastic: Greystone is home to the Brethren, a religious sect his family once belonged to, and he left unceremoniously several years earlier. As the detective and his officers dig into Rosco's past, local magistrate Barty Parker--husband of Rosco's first love, Nell--turns up dead as well. Then Nell herself disappears, and pressure mounts to identify the killer before the body count climbs. Cleeves crafts a devilishly intricate mystery that will surprise even seasoned genre fans, and Venn remains an appealing lead every bit as memorable as the author's Vera Stanhope or Jimmy Perez. Cleeves's fans and newcomers alike will be hungry for the next entry. (Sept.)

Greystone, in England's North Devon, is a remote, forbidding, stormy coastal community where lifeboats are essential. When Jeremy Roscoe walks into the Maiden's Prayer, he's welcomed as a local legend, an adventurer who attended Greystone schools and left to sail the world, becoming a TV star and celebrity. Now he's right there, renting a cottage, buying rounds in the bar every night. He slyly hints he's waiting for someone. But when he fails to show up one night, the locals feel cheated. Then the lifeboat is called out for a rescue, but it's too late--national treasure Roscoe is dead, in a stolen dinghy. Detective Matthew Venn and his small team report to Greystone, and it's a bitter return for Venn, who was there as a child with his parents' religious group, the Barum Brethren; some of the locals still belong to the group that Venn left. When another body is found, Venn realizes he's not the only one with bitter memories of Greystone. VERDICT The third (after The Heron's Cry) in Cleeves's award-winning series is an atmospheric police procedural that builds on the other books while introducing fascinating suspects.--Lesa Holstine