Ann Cleeves is the author of over thirty critically acclaimed novels, and in 2017 was awarded the highest accolade in crime writing, the CWA Diamond Dagger. She is the creator of popular detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez, who can now be found on television in ITV's Vera and BBC One's Shetland. The TV series and the books they are based on have become international sensations, capturing the minds of millions worldwide. The Heron's Cry is book two in her Two Rivers series featuring Devonian Matthew Venn. The first book in the series, The Long Call was published to critical acclaim. It is currently being adapted for television. Ann worked as a probation officer, bird observatory cook and auxiliary coastguard before she started writing. She is a member of 'Murder Squad', working with other British northern writers to promote crime fiction. She lives in North Tyneside near where the Vera books are set.
Cleeves is quietly carving out a reputation as the new Queen of Crime * Sunday Mirror * A fine writer * Sunday Telegraph * Ann Cleeves is a skilful technician, keeping our interest alive and building slowly up to the denouement. Her easy use of language and clever story construction make her one of the best natural writers of detective fiction * Daily Express * Nobody does unsettling undercurrents better than Ann Cleeves -- Val McDermid, bestselling author of the Tony Hill & Carol Jordan series Ann Cleeves has an enviable talent . . . I love these books * CrimeSquad * Had me hooked — a promising beginning to another fine chapter in the Ann Cleeves story -- <i>The Times</i> on <i>The Long Call</i> Cleeves combines a flair for evoking sense of place with a thoughtful, complex plot -- <i>Mail on Sunday</i> on <i>The Long Call</i>