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Out on 08 October 2026

The Dying Light

Synopsis

The deadliest truths are those in the shadows . . .

Detective Matthew Venn is called in to investigate a puzzling death. The body of a young woman has been found in the swimming pool of Tide House, a luxurious holiday home in North Devon, and her best friend is missing. The property belongs to rising political star Paul Armstrong and the case quickly draws intense media scrutiny.

As a scorching heat wave rages and further tragedy strikes, Venn and his team begin questioning a community brimming with secrets. The dead woman and her friend had been spotted at a nearby music festival the day before, an event which brought locals and outsiders together - some of whom may have been more connected with the Armstrongs than first thought.

Caught between a powerful family’s secrets and a powder keg of local tensions, Venn must navigate a treacherous path. Knowing that the real answers lie not in what people say, but in the silence that they keep . . .

Detective Matthew Venn of The Raging Storm returns in the fourth novel in the Two Rivers series from Ann Cleeves, the number one bestselling author and creator of Vera and Shetland.

Praise for Ann Cleeves:

'Everything Ann Cleeves writes is incredible' – Richard Osman, author of The Thursday Murder Club

'Ann Cleeves is a stone-cold genius' – Marian Keyes, author of My Favourite Mistake

'The Queen of the detective novel, thrilling millions of readers' – Daily Express

Details

08 October 2026
384 pages
9781529077797
Imprint: Macmillan

Reviews

“The Queen of the detective novel, thrilling millions of readers”Daily Express, Daily Express
“One of the best natural writers of detective fiction”Sunday Express, Sunday Express
“In The Dying Light, we say hello once more to Detective Matthew Venn in a twisty, solemn case involving the murders of two very different teenage girls with lots of potential suspects and motives set around a touristy town that also holds its own secrets. Ann Cleeves routinely makes the difficult look easy, and here the plot sails along with purpose and gravitas, the characters shine and manipulate, and the prose is as first-rate as ever. Whatever Cleeves comes up with next, I will be reading it. And so should you.”David Baldacci
“Everything Ann Cleeves writes is incredible”Richard Osman, author of The Thursday Murder Club