Binding: Paperback
Date Published: 29 Sep 2026
'Everything Ann Cleeves writes is incredible' - Richard Osman
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:
'Ann Cleeves is a stone-cold genius' - Marian Keyes
'Ann Cleeves routinely makes the difficult look easy' - David Baldacci
'The Queen of the detective novel, thrilling millions of readers' - Daily Express