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Raven Black: Book One of the Shetland Island Quartet (Shetland Island Mysteries) Hardcover – May 29, 2007

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 23,684 ratings

Long a celebrated crime writer in Britain, Ann Cleeves’ fame went international when she won the coveted Duncan Lawrie Dagger for this amazing suspense novel, Raven Black. Like Colin Dexter’s Inspector Morse or Peter Robinson’s Inspector Banks, Cleeves’ new detective, Inspector Jimmy Perez, is a very private and perceptive man whose bailiwick is a remote hamlet in the Shetland Islands.

 

It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter’s eye is drawn to a splash of color on the frozen ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbor, Catherine Ross.

 

The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man---loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when detective Jimmy Perez and his colleagues from the mainland 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 neighbors nervously lock their doors, while a killer lives on in their midst.

 

Ann Cleeves is sure to dazzle U.S. mystery readers with this unforgettable series debut. This series is the basis for the hit BBC show Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, which attracted over 12 million viewers in its first two nights on the air.

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. 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.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

On the remote island of Shetland, teacher Fran Hunter is walking home when she spots a splash of red in the deep, white snowdrifts, with black ravens flying above. What a perfect picture it makes, she thinks. But on closer inspection, she finds that the "perfect picture" is the dead body of local teenager Catherine Ross, whose red scarf has been used to strangle her. Suspicion immediately falls on recluse Magnus Tait, who was accused--but never convicted--of kidnapping another girl eight years earlier. Policeman Jimmy Perez, assigned to the case, isn't convinced of Magnus' guilt. As he investigates, he uncovers a web of sinister secrets, strange superstitions, petty rivalries, thwarted love, and illicit affairs--the dark underbelly of Shetland's tight-knit community. Cleeves offers up a dark, brutal, suspenseful page-turner that will keep even seasoned mystery buffs guessing right up to the end. Emily Melton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Minotaur Books; First Edition (May 29, 2007)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312359667
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312359669
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.1 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.75 x 1.16 x 8.66 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 23,684 ratings

About the author

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Ann Cleeves
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Ann is the author of the books behind ITV's VERA, now in it's third series, and the BBC's SHETLAND, which will be aired in December 2012. Ann's DI Vera Stanhope series of books is set in Northumberland and features the well loved detective along with her partner Joe Ashworth. Ann's Shetland series bring us DI Jimmy Perez, investigating in the mysterious, dark, and beautiful Shetland Islands...

Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.

While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person's not heavily into birds - and Ann isn't - there's not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.

In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.

For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.

Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony

Ann's short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.

In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA's Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world's largest award for crime fiction.

Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: "I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock - but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I'd lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn't have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!"

The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).

Ann's books have been translated into sixteen languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200.

Bio and photo from Goodreads.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
23,684 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the plot intriguing and well-constructed. They describe the book as a fabulous read that keeps them hooked. The characters are described as believable, likable, and empathetic. Readers praise the writing quality as excellent and descriptive. They appreciate the cultural aspects and heritage of the remote islands. The setting is also appreciated as unique and interesting.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

466 customers mention "Plot"414 positive52 negative

Customers enjoy the well-constructed plot with an intriguing mystery. They appreciate the style of the mystery and how it unfolds. The suspense is kept high throughout the book with a rhythm to the narrative that never distracts from the story. Readers find the author's ability to keep them guessing until the end makes this an excellent mystery.

"Not a big who dun it reader, but I really enjoyed this story. I watched the TV show and this is my first Cleeve book...." Read more

"...I couldn’t put the book down, it was that good - with a well-constructed plot; well-written; interesting, detailed, complex characters; a remote,..." Read more

"...Save for a final chase, the activities of the novel are modest, if sometimes unexplained, daily events in the lives of the characters...." Read more

"...I read it and was thoroughly engrossed in the mystery. It is an excellent mystery...." Read more

298 customers mention "Readability"284 positive14 negative

Customers enjoyed the book. They found it well-written and enjoyable to read. The plot, characters, and dialogue were excellent, keeping them hooked until the end. Readers enjoyed the setting and characters, describing Scotland as wonderful.

"...The writing was really good, plot, characters, and diologue were all excellent. I couldnt stop reading." Read more

"...She didn't need to worry about surprises. The book was good enough without that...." Read more

"...I couldn’t put the book down, it was that good - with a well-constructed plot; well-written; interesting, detailed, complex characters; a remote,..." Read more

"...Raven Black is definitely worth a summer read. I will try one of Ann Cleave's continuations in the now complete Shetland Quartet...." Read more

243 customers mention "Character development"225 positive18 negative

Customers enjoy the well-developed characters. They find them believable and likable. The detective is described as empathetic and compassionate, understanding the hopes and struggles of others.

"...The writing was really good, plot, characters, and diologue were all excellent. I couldnt stop reading." Read more

"...and we become attached to the rumpled, self-conscious but highly empathetic detective. This is a story about a brutal murder of a young woman...." Read more

"...a well-constructed plot; well-written; interesting, detailed, complex characters; a remote, interesting setting; a thrilling ‘thriller’; an..." Read more

"...Her characters have memorable histories which separate them from simple, stock mystery characters...." Read more

175 customers mention "Writing quality"164 positive11 negative

Customers appreciate the writing quality. They praise the author's skill at creating scenes and humanizing characters. The remote setting is captured well, and the book is readable with a few nice twists. The narrative voice is praised, and the story is well-laid out.

"...I love the Shetland setting and wanted to learn more. The writing was really good, plot, characters, and diologue were all excellent...." Read more

"...Furthermore I appreciated the beautiful writing...." Read more

"...put the book down, it was that good - with a well-constructed plot; well-written; interesting, detailed, complex characters; a remote, interesting..." Read more

"...The plot is not terribly suspenseful. This is a well written but low key story...." Read more

70 customers mention "Culture"70 positive0 negative

Customers find the book an educational read about isolated islands. They appreciate the well-researched details and the well-developed characters. The story takes place on Shetland Island, a small Scottish town. While some aspects are accurate, others are incorrect, the book is told from multiple perspectives with chapter breaks delineating each one.

"...The story is well-done in many ways. It is told from several points of view with a chapter break delineating each...." Read more

"...setting; a thrilling ‘thriller’; an intriguing mystery; layer upon layer of detail. What I enjoyed most was the ‘sense of place’...." Read more

"...locals and strangers; and the surprises of inbred, small town politics and social maneuvering...." Read more

"I was drawn to this story because of its setting in the Shetland Islands and I was not disappointed...." Read more

65 customers mention "Setting"65 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's setting. They find it interesting and unique, especially for readers unfamiliar with the Shetlands. The setting is used to create an exotic and intriguing place for stories of this type.

"...-written; interesting, detailed, complex characters; a remote, interesting setting; a thrilling ‘thriller’; an intriguing mystery; layer upon layer..." Read more

"...From the town of Lerwick? Cleeves does a great job with specific scenes...." Read more

"Ann Cleeves has chosen a wonderful setting for this series, the isolated Shetland Islands, where people feel safely distant from the evils of the..." Read more

"...I had never read this author. I can only say, it grabbed me--the setting, Detective Perez, the collection of well developed characters, the..." Read more

63 customers mention "Series quality"63 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the series. They find the books provide more plot and character development than the TV series. The books are an excellent introduction to the series and they're ready for the next book.

"The first book in the Shetland series is an excellent work by Ann Cleeves...." Read more

"...of the episodes in the first season and I really feel like the TV episode is done and told much better than the book...." Read more

"...& police dramas set in the U.K. Definitely a series to spend quality time with !" Read more

"enjoying the tv series but tuned in later in the story...." Read more

83 customers mention "Pacing"52 positive31 negative

Customers have different views on the pacing of the book. Some find it well-paced and engaging, while others feel it starts slowly and loses interest. The pacing is described as leisurely and slow at times, making it hard to follow.

"...It starts out slowly, but then as things progress you can almost feel a tempo...." Read more

"I thought It started off slowly. I had difficulty picturing the characters. But it gained momentum as it moved along...." Read more

"...The plot is well-crafted and slowly unfolds...." Read more

"...That was generally OK. It is quite introspective and slow paced, as it deals with the reactions of the various characters to the murder of a teenage..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2024
    Not a big who dun it reader, but I really enjoyed this story. I watched the TV show and this is
    my first Cleeve book. I love the Shetland setting and wanted to learn more. The writing was really good, plot, characters, and diologue were all excellent. I couldnt stop reading.
  • Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2016
    Isn't it wonderful to find a new series that you really like? I did that when I read Raven Black, first book in the Shetland Island Quartet by Ann Cleeves. The story is well-done in many ways. It is told from several points of view with a chapter break delineating each. We get in the mind of many of the people around the Shetland Island. Cleeves doesn't spend lots of time in each point of view, but enough for us to get a feel for the story and the people.

    The author introduces us to her protagonist detective, Jimmy Perez from the eyes of another character. What a cool thing to do! Later we get in his mind and we become attached to the rumpled, self-conscious but highly empathetic detective. This is a story about a brutal murder of a young woman. It later links this murder with a previous murder to a child. I don't like it when children get murdered or threatened, but Cleeves does a nice job of protecting us. She doesn't bring us too close to the previous murder victim. We learn more about the current victim. And, although I hated that she was killed, she wasn't as vulnerable as a child.

    Another thing that I appreciated was the description of the place. I've never been to the Shetland Islands in Scotland nor did I know much about the people. This book will take you there. You will feel the bitter cold. You will understand the closed-knit relationship of the Islanders.
    Furthermore I appreciated the beautiful writing. Here's an example: Sally felt if she reached out her hand she'd be able to touch the hole where once Catherine had been. It would feel hard and shiny like ice.

    I actually solved the crime, but that didn't stop me from reading. My one complaint is that one was a bit too contrived--perhaps to try and surprise the reader. She didn't need to worry about surprises. The book was good enough without that.

    If you're looking for a new series (and I wish there were more than 4 because I'm about to finish the second one), pick up Raven Black
    65 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2015
    My ‘sense of place’ meter was working overtime while reading RAVEN BLACK by British author, Ann Cleeves. It is the first in a series featuring Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez. The setting is the Shetland Islands.
    I couldn’t put the book down, it was that good - with a well-constructed plot; well-written; interesting, detailed, complex characters; a remote, interesting setting; a thrilling ‘thriller’; an intriguing mystery; layer upon layer of detail.
    What I enjoyed most was the ‘sense of place’. I also researched unusual (to me) words and phrases. I read with an atlas at my side so as to look up places in the Shetland Islands where the series takes place - a perfect book for this ‘armchair traveler’ and mystery junkie.
    I am happy to have discovered the author, Ann Cleeves. In addition to her SHETLAND series, she also writes a VERA series. Both series have been dramatized on the BBC.
    I have a lot of ‘catching up’ to do.
    I emphatically recommend this book.
    p.s. voe - a narrow sea inlet, particularly in the Shetland Islands, similar to a fjord.
    Shetland and Orkney dialect, from the Old Norse vagr (Wiktionary)
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2010
    Raven Black is the first book in Ann Cleeves' Shetland Quartet. The book cover includes a sub comment "A Thriller." While Raven Black is a good mystery, it was not the sort of book that kept me turning pages in suspense, or frightened me. Save for a final chase, the activities of the novel are modest, if sometimes unexplained, daily events in the lives of the characters. While reading, I felt the editing of the book could have been better. There was an occasional awkward sentence or spelling error. That said, the book was an enjoyable companion for the four or so days I carried it for spare time reading.

    Cleeves' short chapters frequently jump to a separate thread of the story in what has become a standard technique in modern story telling of stringing together compact chapters ending with revelations/hints/cliff-hangars to hold the readers interest. Her tactic worked, engaging me, but not in the thriller, nail-biting sense. It's a common observation, to the point of being a simple truism, that video production for the theatre, DVD, and television as an end point now shapes many facets of modern story telling. Certainly true for Cleeves; nevertheless, Cleeves' short chapters perfectly fit my current grab-a-few-minutes-here-and-there reading style. I could always quickly finish a chapter before putting the book down knowing that I could later easily pick up the story.

    Cleeves captures many of the idiosyncrasies of life on a small island. The urge to get off, the urge to return; the strong identity-dependency friction between locals and strangers; and the surprises of inbred, small town politics and social maneuvering. Her characters have memorable histories which separate them from simple, stock mystery characters.

    The mystery revolves around the murder of a young local girl which re-energizes the island's memory of an unresolved disappearance ten years earlier, also involving a young local girl. Are the disappearance and the murder connected? Finally a third girl goes missing when the island is crowded with tourists for an annual island ritual/celebration. Working to solve the murder, Detective Perez probes island history unveiling deep and sometimes awkward connections between island folk. Finally, through his efforts, the surprising solutions to all three events emerge.

    Raven Black is definitely worth a summer read. I will try one of Ann Cleave's continuations in the now complete Shetland Quartet.

    Harrington Laufman
    2010
    12 people found this helpful
    Report

Top reviews from other countries

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  • User29
    5.0 out of 5 stars Spannende Lektüre - Interesting Novel
    Reviewed in Germany on October 9, 2020
    Das Buch eignet sich für Leser, die Interesse an den psychologischen Vorgängen als Verbrechenshintergrund haben und auch gerne Anteil an den Zweifeln und privaten Sorgen von Detektiv Jimmy Perez nehmen. Die Bücher dieser Serie setzen kein Wissen voraus und können alle einzeln gelesen werden. Für mich war das erste Leseerlebnis suchterzeugend. Ich konnte das Buch manchmal nicht aus der Hand legen und werde die ganze Reihe und wohl noch weitere Bücher der Autorin lesen. Die Schilderung der kargen, düsteren Landschaft der Shetland Inseln und deren verschlossener Bewohner trägt wesentlich zur Handlung bei. Man muss auch das mögen, wenn man sich für diese Serie begeistern möchte.
    A very capturing book for fans of psychologically motivated crimes and insight into the detective's mind. Also the bleak and lonely landscape of Shetland and the mentality of its people play a big part in these novels. For me it was absolutely fascinating and I'm going to buy other books of the author.
  • RGM
    5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping mystery
    Reviewed in Canada on November 2, 2018
    I came to the Shetland books from the TV series but soon discovered that the experience of reading the books is quite different and well worth the time. This book is highly readable, very well paced; the characters are well-drawn and, needless to say, the islands themselves are pretty much a character in themselves. I like intelligent, believable stories; its not enough to just get caught up in the suspense or the violence and and ignore whether it actually makes sense. If you like that sort of book, you might like this. The other thing I like is to have characters you care about, something that seems difficult for lot of novelists to accomplish (especially in the mystery line). I've been reading mysteries for a long time and these stand up well alongside Christie, PD James and the other greats.
  • Eurico Silva
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interesante y muy bien escrito
    Reviewed in Spain on January 6, 2019
    Un buen libro dentro de la serie Shetland, con la calidad habitual de la escrita de la autora.
  • Alba
    5.0 out of 5 stars Un excellent thriller
    Reviewed in France on April 19, 2018
    ce qu'on appelle en anglais 'a page-turner' : une fois entamé, difficile de s'arrêter. L'histoire ne faiblit pas, le style de l'auteur est excellent, et le thème (fête folklorique viking) original qui sert de fond est très bien traité, qui croise et recroise le(s) policier(s), les victimes, les suspects potentiels, jusqu'à la fin... On reste en haleine.
  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars テレビドラマの背景がわかる
    Reviewed in Japan on April 4, 2019
    ドラマが気に入って原作を読んでみました。シェトランドの有名な行事が載っていて知らなかったことを知る機会になったかな。