A professional and a loner who probably doesn’t own a cat. He’s more Philip Marlowe than Jane Marple. This character also pulls the books away from the cosy subgenre.

Shetland is fronted by a grim, lonely detective in the form of Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez. The latter is not exclusive to cosy mysteries but often inherent in the genre as a whole, adding to the tension of the plotting and the awe of the final revelation.

What it does share in common with cosies, is a tight-knit community – a key trope in the subgenre, which means everyone knows who’s who and, more significantly, everyone’s a suspect. But instead of rolling green hills and blossoms in bloom, you get the bleak beauty of the Shetland Islands. While the Shetland books are not cosy mysteries, they still evoke a great sense of atmosphere. Just like Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation prompted me to read Death on the Nile (although I’d have read it, even without the movie), the TV series Shetland drew me to the books upon which they’re based. The case files of Jimmy Perez continue in White Nights, the thrilling second Shetland novel.This series of books by Ann Cleeves is set on the Shetland Islands and rooted in the realm of straight-up detective fiction, even bordering on noir. As the case develops, Perez finds himself peering deeper into the past of the Shetland Islands than anyone wants to go. But when Inspector Jimmy Perez insists on broadening the search for suspects, a veil of distrust and fear is thrown over the entire community. The body is found close to the home of a lonely outcast and local suspicion falls firmly on him. As Fran opens her mouth to scream, the ravens continue their deadly dance. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbour. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a vivid splash of colour on the white ground, ravens circling above. On New Year's Day, Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow. Raven Black is the first book in Ann Cleeves' bestselling Shetland series - now a major BBC One drama starring Douglas Henshall.Ī remote community with a killer in their midst.

Ann cleeves raven black series