Detective Matthew Venn is lurking outside his estranged father's funeral, ostracized by his strict evangelical family, when he receives a call about a body found nearby on the North Devon coast. The victim is unknown to Matthew, but he soon discovers close ties to both his current life and the one he thought he'd left behind. And then particularly vulnerable women start to go missing… Full of atmospheric evocations of the wild seaside setting and rich, compelling characters, this debut to a new series by Ann Cleeves is an immersive, engaging mystery.