The Dying Light
Format:Hardback
Publisher:Pan Macmillan
Published:8th Oct '26
Should be back in stock very soon

From Sunday Times no. 1 bestseller Ann Cleeves comes the fourth Matthew Venn novel in which a puzzling death in a luxurious holiday home must be investigated by Venn and his team.
From Sunday Times no. 1 bestseller Ann Cleeves comes the fourth Matthew Venn mystery, in which a tragic death at the luxurious holiday home of an ambitious politician puts Venn and his team in the media spotlight
'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
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
An absorbing and cleverly misleading mystery * The Times *
Detective Matthew Venn and his team uncover a case filled with political tensions, local divisions and plenty of twists * Womans Own *
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 *
One of the best natural writers of detective fiction * Sunday Express *
Another fine murder mystery which leaves the reader guessing until the final, surprising twist when the killer is revealed * Irish News *
ISBN: 9781529077797
Dimensions: 245mm x 162mm x 35mm
Weight: 596g
384 pages