Chapter summaries The Raging Storm: a Detective Matthew Venn Novel Ann Cleeves

Chapter Fourteen Summary: Ross May Digs into Rosco’s Past

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

After Venn and Jen Rafferty leave to interview the teacher, Ross May heads to the Maiden’s Prayer pub instead of going straight to the Bartons’ cottage—a small act of rebellion. He makes phone calls and learns that Rosco’s agent dropped him and that his ex-wife took the news of his death without grief. Ross finds a recording of Rosco on BBC’s Desert Island Discs, where the adventurer describes a tough childhood in North Devon and falling in love with a posh girl at the yacht club. Ross wonders if that girl could be the mysterious woman Rosco was expecting. He visits the sailing club in Morrisham, meets commodore Barty Lawson, who reveals that Rosco once dated Lawson’s wife, Eleanor. The boat that broke the round-the-world record, the Nelly Wren, was named after her. Barty Lawson is drunk, and Ross sees Davy Gregory arrive to drive him home.

Key Events

  1. Ross deliberately delays going to the Bartons’ cottage, returning to the pub as a gesture of independence.
  2. Ross contacts Brian Branscombe and Vicki: no lab results yet, but Vicki finds an address for Rosco’s ex-wife in Barnstaple and a GP who hasn’t seen him for five years.
  3. Ross listens to Rosco’s Desert Island Discs interview, learning about his early life, his father’s death, his mother’s low-wage work, and his discovery of sailing through a school poster.
  4. Rosco describes falling in love with a “posh girl” when he first joined the yacht club.
  5. Ross proposes to Venn that the old girlfriend might be the woman Rosco was expecting.
  6. Ross drives to Morrisham and enters the sailing club, meeting commodore Barty Lawson.
  7. Lawson explains that Rosco was a cocky, risk-taking outsider who later received a sudden windfall to buy a boat.
  8. Lawson reveals that the boat Nelly Wren was named after his wife Eleanor, who was Rosco’s teenage sweetheart.
  9. The barmaid confiscates Lawson’s keys before ordering a taxi.
  10. Davy Gregory (the taxi driver and former farmer) collects the drunk Lawson, offering Ross a direct link to a witness who was with Rosco the night he died.

Character Development

  • Ross May: Feels overlooked and resentful of Venn’s attention to Jen. His solo investigation showcases his ambition and capacity for lateral thinking, but also his emotional insecurity.
  • Matthew Venn: Though offstage for much of the chapter, he trusts Ross to follow a promising lead, showing a delegation of responsibility.
  • Barty Lawson: Introduced as a bitter, heavy-drinking aristocrat. His jealousy of Rosco’s relationship with Eleanor is palpable, and his vulnerability is exposed when his wife is mentioned.
  • Davy Gregory: Appears unexpectedly as Lawson’s taxi driver. His role as a caretaker for the local elite adds a layer of complexity to his character.
  • Jeremy Rosco (through radio): Emerges as a romantic figure with humble origins, a sharp contrast to the legend built around him.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

  • Class and resentment: Rosco’s working-class background and his later success create tension with the genteel sailing community. Lawson’s description of him as an “irritating oik” underscores the class divide.
  • Hidden pasts / secrets: Rosco’s first love resurfaces; the naming of the boat suggests a lifelong emotional attachment.
  • Water and boats as freedom: The sea “saved” Rosco from a troubled home, yet it also becomes his burial place—a motif of both liberation and danger.
  • Names and identity: The Nelly Wren derives from a pet name for Eleanor; Rosco’s careful naming reveals a sentimental side that conflicts with his public image.
  • Observation versus legend: Ross hears the historical, ordinary Rosco through the radio interview, contrasting with the heroic explorer narrative.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter shifts the investigation from Greystone’s present-day tensions to Rosco’s past. It introduces a strong motive rooted in romantic jealousy and provides a direct link between the victim and a local power couple (the Lawsons). The appearance of Davy Gregory as Lawson’s driver also connects two key witnesses: Gregory, who drove Rosco on the night of his death, and Lawson, whose wife was Rosco’s first love. Ross’s personal resentments reveal subplots that may affect his loyalty and collaboration with the team. Finally, the chapter deepens the theme of class conflict by contrasting Morrisham’s decorum with Rosco’s rough upbringing.

Study Questions and Answers

  1. Why does Ross delay his visit to the Bartons’ cottage?
    Ross feels belittled by Venn and uses the delay as a minor rebellion. He wants to prove he cannot be pushed around, reflecting his insecurity about his place in the team.

  2. What does Rosco’s Desert Island Discs interview reveal about his early life?
    Rosco grew up poor in North Devon with an alcoholic father who died young and a mother who worked long hours in a café. Sailing gave him a sense of purpose and introduced him to the “posh girl” who became his first love—Eleanor Lawson.

  3. Why is the boat’s name, Nelly Wren, significant?
    “Nelly” was Lawson’s pet name for his wife, Eleanor, who was Rosco’s teenage sweetheart. Naming his record-breaking boat after her suggests Rosco never moved on from that relationship, implying a deep emotional motive behind his return to Greystone.

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