Raven Black: The Shetland Series 1
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4.2 • 393 Ratings
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
WINNER OF THE CRIME WRITERS' ASSOCIATION DIAMOND DAGGER AWARD 2017
NOW A MAJOR BBC DRAMA
"Chilling ... enough to freeze the blood." New York Times
It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a vivid splash of colour on the white ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbour Catherine Ross. As Fran opens her mouth to scream, the ravens continue their deadly dance ...
The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man - loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when police insist on opening out the investigation a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbours nervously lock their doors, whilst a killer lives on in their midst.
Raven Black is a haunting, beautifully crafted crime story, and establishes Ann Cleeves as a major talent in psychological crime writing.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
With the number of Shetland Island novels now in the double digits, those remote, Scandinavian-flavoured isles off the north coast of Scotland are obviously the perfect location for investigating a murder. In Raven Black, the very first instalment in the series, we join Inspector Jimmy Perez as he attempts to solve the killing of a teenage girl whose body was found in a field on New Year’s Day. Right from the beginning, renowned mystery author Ann Cleeves brings the isolated setting and its insular suspects to life, with all the claustrophobia, intensity and mistrust of outsiders that scenario entails. These books have also inspired a long-running TV series.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Set in the remote Scottish Shetland Islands, Cleeves's taut, atmospheric thriller, the first in a new series, will keep readers guessing until the last page. Det. Insp. Jimmy Perez investigates the murder of teenage Catherine Ross, found strangled on a snowy hillside shortly after New Year's. While the police and citizens alike are quick to lay the blame on local eccentric Magnus Tait, who was not only the last person to see Catherine alive but also the prime suspect in the disappearance eight years earlier of another girl, Perez has his doubts. He's soon drawn into an intricate web of lies as he unearths the long-buried secrets of everyone from a roguish playboy to Catherine's only school friend. Cleeves, winner of the CWA's Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award (formerly the Gold Dagger), masterfully paints Perez as an empathetic hero and sprinkles the story with a lively cast of supporting characters who help bring the Shetlands alive. When the shocking identity of the murderer is revealed, readers will be as chilled as the harsh winds that batter the isolated islands.
Customer Reviews
Glad I tried….
Having read and loved all the Vera books I’m now stoked at starting the Shetland series of books. I really enjoyed this one and never guessed…great read…and makes missing Vera a little easier too.
Love the TV series… the books are better
Loved the book & it kept me guessing. Descriptions of scenery made me feel the cold, isolation and open spaces. Characters are described in a way that had me relating them in ways to the scenery… wild & bleak like the land but with so much more hidden under the surface waiting to be exposed like the characters.
A page turner
Well written, engaging. Interesting characterisation & suspenseful plot.