Calling all fans of Broadchurch! Raven Black is the next book for you.
Since most people know my affinity for stories set in remote, beautiful UK locations (looking at you, Irish Country Doctor and pretty much anything by Jenny Colgan), Ann Cleeves’s Shetland series has been recommended to me countless times. I’ve made numerous mental notes to give it a try, so when I found myself wandering the backlist section at the library, my eyes light up when they landed on Raven Black.
The first book in this murder mystery series set on the Shetland Islands, Raven Black follows several islanders as they try to solve the disappearance of a local girl from years ago and the very recent murder of a young woman. The story unfolds from various points of view — the suspect, the woman who finds the body, the police detective working the case, the best friend of the murder victim, etc. Although there are a lot of characters to keep track — with frustratingly similar names, I might add — it’s easy to lose yourself in the story as everyone comes together to figure out what really happened on their safe little island.
As usual, I was trying to work out “whodunit” from the very first pages, before the murder even occurred. I told my husband about 50 pages in that I had called it; it was so-and-so for X reason. Lately, I’ve been about 90% accurate with my guesses. Raven Black proved to be in the other 10% because my early theory was COMPLETELY wrong. It was a pleasant change to have a mystery that actually managed to stump me.
If you’re a fan of Broadchurch or Mare of Easttown, you’ll love Raven Black; it’s a solid detective story with just the right amount of side story for the main characters. I really loved the setting of the novel, too. Cleeves creates an appropriately brooding atmosphere with the chilly, damp Shetland Islands. As you go through the story, you get a great sense of the town, the people, the lifestyle, and the culture. I may or may not have stopped reading various times to Google “Shetland Islands real estate.”
Even though it’s a murder mystery, Raven Black is still a nice, easy read. There’s no gore, and for that I’m thankful, because ew. Although I loved the Shetland Islands setting, I didn’t get overly involved in the characters’ lives. So, while I enjoyed this first book in the series, I’m not sure I’ll be reading the following books.
That said…I’ve just looked up the plot for the second book, and it seems pretty good…
What about you? Have you read this bestselling Ann Cleeves series? I’d love to hear your thoughts about it!
Maybe the books are different, but I’ve watched several series of the TV adaption of Shetland, and they look so grim and grey!! Literally, everything there is grey; the sea, the land, the people!! I much prefer her Vera series – they have a lot of dry wit, and we always enjoy counting how many times she calls people ‘pet’ 😂 Simple pleasures…
There’s definitely a lot of grey in Raven Black…but, that’s kinda what I like about it? LOL. But I’ve started following some Shetland Islands IG accounts, and the colors of the sky there are just gorgeous. I could be happy there in a heartbeat. Also, I didn’t know there was a TV adaption of the books! I’ll have to look for those — and the Vera series. I’m very curious. Thanks for the tip!