The book is Raven Black: Book One of the Shetland Island Quartet (Shetland Island Mysteries) by Ann Cleeves. It is a quick, satisfying mystery. Set in January about one week before Up Helly Aa, the book ties an old crime, the disappearance of a young girl, to the murder of a young woman about a week before the festival. The characters are well-drawn and interesting and modern. My only complaint is that, in the end, I didn’t entirely buy who the murderer was revealed to be.
And, to continue the conversation on culture, I believe that this book does a great job in conveying the sense of place – certainly the climate. But, the book also speaks of the special society of an island – something of a closed community. The language has not been Americanized. I liked that.
Don’t let the title fool you – there are more than four books in this series. It is now up to six. I do believe I’ll read at least a couple more.
- Raven Black (2006); Gold Dagger Award
- White Nights (2008)
- Red Bones (2009)
- Blue Lightning (2010)
- Dead Water (2013)
- Thin Air (2014)
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