The Heron's Cry by Ann Cleeves

 

DI Matthew Venn and his sergeant Jen are called early one morning.  They arrive at an artist's commune to find a murdered victim.  Dr. Nigel Yeo had approached Jen the night before at a party, asking if he could talk to her later about something that was bothering him.  But that talk will never happen now as he is lying in his daughter's glassblowing studio, a shard of broken glass in his neck.

As Matt and Jen investigate, they find tension at the commune.  There is one family with two children and another on the way who farm the land the commune is on.  There is at least one more full-time artist who lives there besides Dr. Yeo's daughter, Eve, as well as other who come and go.  Why would any of them want to harm Nigel?

The police learn that Nigel had been looking into the case of a local teen who had committed suicide.  There was talk that the hospital had mishandled the teen's case and perhaps someone wanted to stop Dr. Yeo from his investigation.  But there is also a website for depressed teens that has a subset of users who call themselves The Suicide Club.  The teen had been part of that and maybe the fault lies there but who is behind it?

This is the second book in the Two Rivers series set in North Devon.  Matthew grew up in the area in a very strict religious church and had left when he renounced the church and its members after he came out as gay and was called a sinner.  Now he is back with his husband and has to fight his memories as he fights to solve crimes.  This book is recommended for mystery readers.