Minotaur
Published September 29, 2026
Reviewed by Barbara Fister
Matthew Venn is not your typical hard-charging detective. He’s a quiet, thoughtful leader of a team who is good at getting results but, as a gay man estranged from the religious cult he was raised in, deeply insecure. In this case, he needs to solve a double murder of two girls who came to spend a celebratory weekend at a country home before the parents arrive for a holiday. Lottie, a rising internet influencer, is found first, in a swimming pool with a fatal blunt force wound to her head. Hannah, whose parents own the country home, is found later, similarly bludgeoned and drowned in a tidal pool. The fact that Lottie is both famous and has wealthy parents, one of whom is a film star, and that Hannah’s father is a Labour politician who might be the next prime minister adds urgency to a completely mystifying double murder.
Like Cleeve’s other series, the setting of this mystery plays a major role. The site of the murder is along the picturesque North Devon coast, where tourism has become a major industry and housing has grown far too expensive for locals, leading to some resentment. Could the chef at a local dining establishment, who has a juvenile record and an explosive temper, have killed the girls? Does an over-privileged young man working at the bar have something to hide? What about the friendly Americans staying at a local form that offers “glamping” options? It turns out their daughter was at a private school in London with the two murder victims, and there are troubling signs that something that happened in the past is being kept secret. Or was someone out to ruin the fortunes of an up-and-coming member of parliament – something that has the Home Office on alert. It could be anyone – or simply some random actor or an obsessive follower who killed Lottie and then, caught in the act by Hannah, attacked her, too.
This is a deeply satisfying mystery that offers enough red herrings to fill the Bristol Channel. The characters are well-developed and the working lives of the detective team are interesting. Though there are bits of Matthew’s life included – a momentary reunion with his mother, a fraught family situation for his husband – they don’t slow the momentum of the investigation. Ann Cleeves is a pro, and The Dying Light is further proof that she may be prolific but she’s not taking her readers for granted.