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Overview
Winner of Britain’s coveted Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award, Ann Cleeves introduces a dazzling new suspense series to U.S. mystery readers.
Raven Black begins on New Year’s Eve with a lonely outcast named Magnus Tait, who stays home waiting for visitors who never come. But the next morning the body of a murdered teenage girl is discovered nearby, and suspicion falls on Magnus. Inspector Jimmy Perez enters an investigative maze that leads deeper into the past of the Shetland Islands than anyone wants to go.
Synopsis
Outstanding Praise for Raven Black
"A fine and sinister psychological novel in the Barbara Vine style. Cleeves is part of a new generation of superior British writers."
—-The Globe and Mail (Canada)
"A riveting read."
—-Val McDermid, author of A Place of Execution
"Beautifully constructed . . . brings alive the tensions in a place where everyone knows everyone else and nothing can be forgotten. Raven Black is lively and surprising."
—-Times Literary Supplement (UK)
"Ann's characterization is worthy of the best writers in the field. . . . Rarely has the sense of place been so evocatively conveyed in a crime novel."
—-Daily Express (UK)
"With a cast of well-drawn and convincing characters and an unexpected conclusion, Raven Black is the perfect novel to while away the long winter evenings by the fire."
—-The Tribune (UK)
"Raven Black shows what a fine writer [Cleeves] is . . . accomplished and thoughtful."
—-The Sunday Telegraph (UK)
"Cleeves is a very good writer—-strong on atmosphere, plot and people."
—-The Times (UK)
The New York Times - Marilyn Stasio
On these bare bones, Cleeves drapes moody descriptions of the harsh climate conditions on bare wastes of heather moorland, stark observations on the revolting instincts of birds of prey and suggestive profiles of characters who have lived too long in these lonely parts. Never mind the murders; her study of a forgotten soul waiting for someone to come to his door and wish him a happy new year is enough to freeze the blood.
Editorials
From the Publisher
“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
Marilyn Stasio
On these bare bones, Cleeves drapes moody descriptions of the harsh climate conditions on “bare wastes of heather moorland,” stark observations on the revolting instincts of birds of prey and suggestive profiles of characters who have lived too long in these lonely parts. Never mind the murders; her study of a forgotten soul waiting for someone to come to his door and wish him a happy new year is enough to freeze the blood.— The New York Times