Coastal locations in novels leave me cold, especially when they’re buffeted by storm and sea which they invariably are. But if anyone’s going to make that sort of location work, it’s Ann Cleeves. So I approached The Raging Storm, third in the Matthew Venn ‘Two Rivers’ series set in North Devon, with real anticipation. Storm starts sharply and though there’s a long lull (albeit with an accompanying staccato of driving rain) the tide’s rising quickly again by the end of the novel.

Our experience of Cleeves is strictly Shetland plus The Heron’s Cry so we know she does a sense of place. People reacting against or with their surroundings is what it is all about. In The Raging Storm, though, Cleeves seems more interested in exploring human geography. There’s a sense of community, of people interacting with each other. What we really get here is how boundaries are formed: there are clubs, there are faith groups, there’s the pub, there are the lifeboat people, and there are families. Everywhere there are ways in which people are included or excluded for reasons of class, sophistication, gender or religion.

In my review of The Heron’s Cry I made far too many references to Venn diagrams (Matthew Venn! Geddit), and I apologise, obviously, but I can’t be expected not to take delight in the various references to various potential suspects being referred to as mixing in different circles (Circles bring us back to Venn diagrams! Yay) from other suspects. But if The Heron’s Cry was about power – let’s face it, most books are about power – The Raging Storm has the air of humans having far less agency both against their enemies and their elements. People are drawn back to this godforsaken corner of North Devon. It’s the sea, see. Turns out that this one’s about a sense of place, too, just like the others. But this place is a home for stories and myths as tall as the worst wave, with man-made superstitions based on the murdering smugglers of the lore of generations yore. Here, it’s not about the yolo but the loyo. Oh no.

Look. There’s just something about the character Matthew Venn (together with his sidekicks Jen and Ross) that makes me want to be flippant. I like Venn, even though I know he is quite an acquired taste. He is considered, though not always considerate. His inner thoughts are almost shocking in their self-awareness. He has a finely tuned sense of guilt, such that he can torment himself over his slightly vindictive streak and often-evoked irritations. He lost his faith quite young and very publicly and in so doing lost his community and his family. But it also means that he’s ideal for thinking through who is in and who is out. We’ve been here before, with Jimmy Perez finding himself shut out of the confidence of the inhabitants of certain islands. But here Venn’s understanding of his outsider status is multi-faceted. Jen’s hyper-aware of being judged – as a single mother, as a Scouser, as a single Scouse mother. Ross is a man with little imagination, or so Venn thinks, but Ross still has a dream and it involves making good.

With all this going on, it doesn’t really matter what the mystery is all about, but there are enough twists and turns to keep us involved. There’s a sequence in particular where Venn manages to put first Ross, then Jen into danger. The scenes are tightly written and we can feel the menace in the air. But once the issue is settled (as, let’s be honest, we kind of know it will be) there’s little other than a nagging unhappiness for Venn to confront. A character such as Venn needs to be confronted. When the next Two Rivers instalment is out, that’s what I’ll be looking for. In the meantime, The Raging Storm is a fine exploration of close-knit relationships in communities that are one phone call away from a lifeboat. Any lifeboat.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for the review copy and to Anne Cater for the blog tour invitation.

Other Ann Cleeves novels reviewed on Cafethinking:

Raven Black (Shetland book 1)

White Nights (Shetland book 2)

The Heron’s Cry (Matthew Venn/Two Rivers book 2)