From the Bookshelf of English Mysteries Club…

Raven Black (Shetland, #1)

Ann Cleeves

Start date: October 1, 2024

Finish date: October 31, 2024

Discussion: General Archive - current

Why we're reading this: Group read for October 2024
[close] Group read for October 2024

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Showing 2 of 70 topics — 3,002 comments total

General Archive - current

* English Mysteries Club Relaunch
By Bionic Jean · 42 posts · 241 views

last updated Apr 01, 2021 03:15AM

August group read - White Nights by Ann Cleeves
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last updated Aug 31, 2025 03:00PM

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What Members Thought

Aug 24, 2020 Julie Durnell rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, england-uk

I really had a hard time putting this down even though in my opinion I would not consider it a thriller. It's been quite some time since reading the second book (although for the life of me I can't recall why I would have read the second before the first in a series!) and I believe I enjoyed this one much more than White Nights. My husband and I have recently watched all of the Shetland series and I think that enhanced my enjoyment of Raven Black. In spite of the difference between the book and ...more

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May 23, 2017 Lynn rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, police-procedural, dagger-award

Raven Black is the first book in the Jimmy Perez series. Set in the Shetland Islands, Ann Cleeves envelops the reader in the foggy, claustrophobic environment. A teenage girl is found murdered in a field. Immediately, a local man is the suspect based on an unsolved case from 10 years earlier. However, answers never come that easy in a Cleeves novel. She trots out several viable suspects for our consideration, then shifts the focus back to the original suspect.

What I admire most about Cleeves' n ...more

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Jun 06, 2013 Karen Lowe rated it liked it

Although the story entertained me, it was a little too 'drawn out' and lacked depth. Some of the characters didn't convince me. I'd enjoyed others in the series so was a little disappointed.
Also there are quite a few annoying typos - something in the scanning, I think, as several 'b's were given as 'h's, and there was some punctuation missing.
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Feb 07, 2016 Elizabeth rated it it was amazing

Winner of the Duncan Lawrie Dagger award in Great Britain!

"Raven Black" is suspenseful from beginning to end. It is a understated suspense having each page reveal another layer of clues.

It takes place in the Shetland Islands which is a mystery in itself.

A fascinating read! The author has penned two more books to follow "Black Raven".

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