This review contains spoilers for Raven Black and Blue Lightning. “She became what other people wanted her to be; she reflected back their dreams and desires.” There is an exquisite beauty to the structure of the Shetland series: two quartets, miniatures that try to capture the islands, with a well-defined character arc across each quartetContinue reading “Book review – Wild Fire”
Tag Archives: Shetland
Book review – Cold Earth
This review contains spoilers for Raven Black and Blue Lightning. The penultimate entry in Shetland sees some of the best character writing and plotting of the series, with the book’s major weakness being in biting off more plot than it can chew, for the ending is a little contrived. The premise recalls Raven Black, theContinue reading “Book review – Cold Earth”
Book review – Thin Air
“Guilt was like a shadow, always there, changing shape, darkening the edges.“ This review contains spoilers for Raven Black and Blue Lightning. Of the Shetland mysteries, Thin Air is the creepiest one, leaning gently into the tropes of horror. On Scotland’s northernmost isle, the isle of Unst, two women have gathered for their friend’s hamfarin’,Continue reading “Book review – Thin Air”
Book review – Dark Water
“He walked down the hill into the fog. It lay like a pool over the lower ground, swallowing him up, so that he felt as if he were drowning.” This review contains spoilers for Raven Black and Blue Lightning. Dark Water begins the second of Cleeves’s two Shetland quartets. The division of the series intoContinue reading “Book review – Dark Water”
Book review – Blue Lightning
This review contains spoilers for Raven Black. Blue Lightning rounds off the first Shetland quartet and brings off a powerful, emotional finish to one of the best series in crime fiction. Rarely do crime series manage to tell a story about their main characters that are engaging enough to be more than just another excuseContinue reading “Book review – Blue Lightning”
Book review – Red Bones
“This is about bones in the land. Old, red bones.” This review contains spoilers for Raven Black. Red Bones is Cleeves’s third book of her Shetland series. This story centres the island of Whalsay, and brings to the fore Perez’s young, hapless assistant, Sandy Wilson. His grandmother falls victim to what appears to be anContinue reading “Book review – Red Bones”
Book review – White Nights
“There was the feeling that you had to make the most of it, be outside, enjoy it before the dark days came again. Here in Shetland they called it the ‘simmer dim’.“ This review contains spoilers for Raven Black. There is a unique quality to Raven Black that is impossible to reproduce, with the bleakContinue reading “Book review – White Nights”
Top five – Sense of place
A deep sense of place greatly enhances a story. Here, I’ll be picking out five books I’ve reviewed on this blog with the strongest sense of place. A sense of place goes far beyond fantastic visual descriptions. It’s writing that brings a place alive and makes the setting an integral part of the storytelling. I’veContinue reading “Top five – Sense of place”
Book review – Raven Black
“No one knew he had this beautiful creature to visit him. She was his treasure, the raven in his cage.“ Raven Black is no longer a new novel, as it was written in 2006 by Ann Cleeves. It was the book that shot her from relative obscurity into fame, written as a standalone, but ending up inspiring seven more sequels. Set onContinue reading “Book review – Raven Black”
Top Five – Mysteries
For August, I’ve decided to look back on my top five favourite mystery novels. I have a real appreciation for this genre, having tried to write what was essentially a mystery myself in my first attempt at a novel. It is no trivial thing to work a solvable puzzle into a plot that still readsContinue reading “Top Five – Mysteries”
Wet Broken Things 