Raven Black: Book One of the Shetland Island Mysteries (Shetland Island Mysteries, 1) Paperback – June 24, 2008

I felt as though I was right there and that all the characters were believeable people. Richly written great story line and unexpected but believeable twists.

I was drawn to this story because of its setting in the Shetland Islands and I was not disappointed. The author writes well about island life among people in a remote area where there are no secrets except the ones that are most terrible. The story centers around two murders of young women - one eight years ago and one recent. Both girls were recently seen in the company of Magnus, the town's odd-man-out, whose limited intellect, sheltered life, and domination by his controlling mother, even in death, does not bode well for the poor guy to defend himself.The story takes place shortly after New Years when everything is still and frozen and coated in snow - the chill of the season goes perfectly with the chill of the events. Magnus himself is a sa man hungry for companionship and fascinated by the two beautiful young women who show up at his house on New Years Eve, drunk and being silly. When one of them lies dead in a snow-covered field a few hours later Magnus' problems begin.From the beginning I liked Magnus and felt sorry for him. It was clear he was in a completely disadvantaged position but who, among the cast of local characters, could be the killer. The hero of the story, handsome detective Jimmy Perez (please, authors, can we stop giving handsome heroes ridiculous diminutive names) is quickly on the case and both the mystery and a romance ensue.Ann Cleeves is one of those writers whose writing is so clean and straight-forward that it never distracts you from the story. Her chracters are believable and mostly likable. As the plot begins to unravel and we see how everything occurred I can't say I was surprised by anything - it was well-done but not remarkable. I would definitely read other books in this series and found the books particularlymemorable for its portrait of Shetland Island life.

This is the first book in this series and it is outstanding. I bought it in hardcover when it first came out. I read it and was thoroughly engrossed in the mystery. It is an excellent mystery. Back then, I did not write many reviews so I have never reviewed this book before even though it is so memorable that years later it sticks in my mind. (I am old now, officially eligible for senior discounts; my mind is less sticky than it was when I was younger.)I bought this book in hardcover when it was first published because I was (and am) a fan of this author's older novels, many featuring bird watchers. The author has developed tremendously as a writer and plotter since those earlier mysteries.Some readers may find that the discovery of the teenage girl's body in the snow is gruesome. There are ravens in this novel and they are carrion eaters. Long time mystery readers like me are not grossed out. It is fiction, after all. Actually, I have read enough by now to know that, in real life, violent death is even more gruesome than portrayed in any fictional novel or any TV crime show. (Just a hint to some gentle readers, we do not want to find real dead bodies in real life.)The body is discovered near the home of a man who is considered a crazy anti-social person. He becomes the primary suspect. The detective is a youngish man with a Spanish surname, a tad bit unusual in the Shetland Islands. To solve the crime, he needs to reconstruct the life of the young victim. The Shetland Islands are the kind of place where the same families live there for centuries. Newcomers and outsiders are viewed with suspicion and long term resident families have social advantages over newcomers. The reader needs to sort through all the red herrings to determine who the killer is. I remember that I did not "solve" this mystery.

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

Love the Shetland Stories! Anne Cleeves is an awesome story teller!

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.

Un buen libro dentro de la serie Shetland, con la calidad habitual de la escrita de la autora.

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.

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。