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Raven Black (Shetland Quartet 1)
 
 
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Raven Black (Shetland Quartet 1) [Kindle Edition]

Ann Cleeves (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (294 customer reviews)
Print List Price: £7.99
Kindle Price: £3.95 includes VAT* & free wireless delivery via Amazon Whispernet
You Save: £4.04 (51%)
* Unlike print books, digital books are subject to VAT.

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Product Description

Review

"A riveting read."
---Val McDermid
"Chilling...enough to freeze the blood."
---Marilyn Stasio, "The New York Times Book Review
""Cleeves's taut, atmospheric thriller will keep readers guessing until the last page.... Chilling."
---"Publishers Weekly" (starred review)

"Deserves the top crime writer's prize in the United States this year. Don't miss this standout."
---"Rocky Mountain News"

STUART PAWSON

As intricate and as satisfying as a Fair Isle sweater. Pour yourself a wee dram and enjoy. I did.
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Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 484 KB
  • Print Length: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Pan Books; New edition edition (30 Sep 2009)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language: English
  • ASIN: B003GK21P8
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • X-Ray: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (294 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #756 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
163 of 165 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly Paced and Beautifully Written 19 Mar 2007
By Paul Curd
Format:Paperback
This novel won the Crime Writers' Association Duncan Lawrie Dagger for 2006. It is the first Ann Cleeves book I've read, and it won't be the last. It's a neatly constructed crime novel, perfectly paced and beautifully written - the psychological crime novel meets the old-fashioned whodunit.

The novel begins at New Year in the Shetland home of elderly Magnus Tait. A few days later an incomer to the island, Fran Hunter, discovers the body of teenager Catherine Ross in the snow not far from the old man's house. The islanders believe Tait had murdered a young schoolgirl, Catriona Bruce, eight years before and are all certain who must have murdered Catherine. Thrown into this psychological mix is Jimmy Perez, the lonely detective assigned to the case. Jimmy is `emotional incontinent', and you would think he would have trouble suspecting anyone of murder. And yet, slowly but surely, he uncovers the strained relationships and hidden secrets that lead him to the killer.

The sense of place is tremendous - the cold and the isolation are tangible. And the author has captured perfectly the sense of a community seemingly united but with tensions and divisions just below the surface. There are echoes of the cult movie The Wicker Man, with the outsider policeman coming to Shetland to solve the murder against the background of the forthcoming Up Helly Aa fire festival.

There is a fairly large cast of characters, and therefore many suspects, but Ann Cleeves draws each of them well, giving them unique voices of their own. There are clues and red herrings, and I enjoyed trying to solve the mystery before Perez finally discovers the identity of the murderer. And despite my amateur sleuthing, I was completely wrong and satisfyingly surprised when the killer was revealed.... Read more ›
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29 of 29 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Shetland shivers 3 Nov 2008
By purpleheart TOP 500 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
'Twenty past one in the morning on New Year's Day. Magnus knew the time because of the fat clock, his mother's clock, which squatted on the shelf over the fire.'

The opening lines introduce a Shetland islander waiting to be first footed on New Year's Eve, even though nobody has visited him for years. The novel quickly sets up both the mystery aspects and the psychological thriller aspects of this story. Magnus has been isolated from the rest of this small island community for years. The novel is partly an exploration of the history of this and whether it is justified. As readers, Cleeves places us like the camera that one of the girl victims held up to this island community - we see the pieces and try to fit them together to solve the mystery. The sense of place is excellent and Jimmy Perez is an intriguing detective that we want more of - so I'm not surprised that this will be the first in a series. Perez is descended from a Spaniard wrecked on the Fair Isles and the novel deals with the themes of heredity and inheritance as well as exclusion.

I found this novel because it won the 2006 Duncan Lawrie Dagger for best crime novel and will now read more Cleeves.
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32 of 33 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars CWA AWARD - CWA ? Cold Weather Alert 7 Feb 2008
By Ian Paterson
Format:Paperback
Easy to see why this novel won the 2006 Dagger award for best crime novel.
The body of young schoolgirl Catherine Ross ios discovered one morning immediately the close knit community suspect local man Magnus Tait a simpleton who was previously suspected of having killed another girl who disappeared years before on this normally quiet island of Shetland.

Ann Cleeves perfectly paints the picture of the small island where everyone seems to know everyone else's business, the job of solving the murder falls to local detective Jimmy Perez whose hardest job seems to be convincing his team not to jump to conclusions like the locals is perfect any other author and you want bet Perez would be from the city and struggling to deal with this closed community but instead Perez comes from an even smaller more remote island.

There are characters galore and therefore plenty of suspects, I really can't see anyone reading this and guessing the murderer of either of the girls. Is it the same person or someone different ? There aren't that many similarities between the two victims or are there ? Yet when the motives are explained it was entirely plausible.

One other reviewer mentioned The Wicker man and I agree it was something I thought of frequently whilst reading this as much is written on the build on to the Up Helly Aa celebration which seems very similar to the pagan festival in Wicker Man. I think though the book benefitted from not having the outside policeman sent to investigate but instead having Perez already based there.

I note with interest that the author plans to write a Shetland Quartet of novels featuring Inspector Perez with the next White Nights due 4th April 2008.... Read more ›
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful story, great writing 22 Oct 2007
By Carole
Format:Paperback
This mystery is set in the Shetlands in winter, and the weather was a character -- I felt cold through the whole book. There are wonderful twists and turns to the plot, and the characters are extremely well-drawn; you understand how each of them thinks and care about them. I look forward to the next in the series.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Shetland suspense 25 Aug 2006
By Fat Albert
Format:Hardcover
Anne Cleeves' 'Raven Black' perfectly catches the spirit of Shetland, it's people and the tight-knit communities that make up these remote islands. Her cast are beautifully realistic and the rendering of the landscapes allows you to picture the scenes with crystal clarity. Capturing the unique character of the Shetland people and that of the 'Incomers', or 'Soothmoothers', that are attempting to adapt and integrate has leant an uncannily accurate, real-life feel to her fictional story. The subdued undercurrent of tension between the islanders and the Mainlanders who arrive, thinking that they are more cosmopolitan and worldly-wise than the locals, nicely demonstrates the quiet, knowing confidence of a population who are far more cultured and cosmopolitan than a visitor would suspect. Anne works this into the general feel of the novel and also evokes memories of the trials and tribulations of childhood and family life.

The plot and its main and supporting characters build and progress evenly, elevating the suspense and developing it all the way to a most satisfying and unsuspected ending. I do not normally read crime novels and only did so on this occassion because of its location but I would recommend Anne's book wholeheartedly to all, but especially to Shetlanders and anyone else that is in love with the 'Auld Rock'.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Ravenblack
It was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it and I am hoping to read lots more of her book .I have past it along to other family members and they enjoyed it to.
Published 2 days ago by Anita Pyke
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read
This will appeal to anyone who likes to be kept guessing in a who dun-it. I decided to try the Shetland novels after seeing the TV adaptaion of Red Bones and it didn't disappoint. Read more
Published 4 days ago by Ceebee
5.0 out of 5 stars I am hooked
Fantastic setting with wonderful descriptions, but not in excess. The character portrayal is good as is the plot. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Steve Collis
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, feel the cold
Really enjoyed this book and the writing was very evocative of the atmosphere and cold on the island, good mystery if a little predictable
Published 7 days ago by Annie UK
5.0 out of 5 stars Raven Black
Wonderful, I am totally hooked now on these books, and feel that I want to read them all and visit the Shetlands!
Published 8 days ago by Elizabeth Owens
5.0 out of 5 stars A plot that keeps you guessing, and a portrait of an inward-looking...
The book is set in Shetland. A teenage girl is murdered. A local man with learning disabilities is immediately suspected. But did he really do it? Read more
Published 11 days ago by M. F. Cayley
4.0 out of 5 stars A new Holiday Destination
I stumbled across this book by accident and am so very glad that I did! A stunning insight not only into the Shetland Isles themselves but also to a very refreshing approach to... Read more
Published 17 days ago by J. R. Toll
5.0 out of 5 stars Riveting
Brilliant book fooled me right to the end. Not a book to read if you don't have time to read right through.
Published 18 days ago by g kordbacheh
4.0 out of 5 stars thoughtfully written
Raven black was an enjoyable read. It was thoughtful in it's writing and wasn't over dramatised. I look forward to reading book 2 of Shetland Quartet.
Published 21 days ago by chaos47
5.0 out of 5 stars I loved this (not sure Visit Scotland would)!
I was given book 3 by Mum (it had been on the telly) but decided to start with no. 1 on my Kindle. I couldn't put it down. Read more
Published 22 days ago by MRS KATHRYN MCCRORIE
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