Ann Cleeves, the crime writer and a frequent visitor to the Northern Isles, sets her latest murder mystery, Raven Black, in Shetland.

Currently based in Huddersfield, Ann has lived in Devon, Northumberland, and Fair Isle, working as a cook at the Bird Observatory.
Her Detective Inspector Ramsey series, The Crow Trap, The Sleeping And The Dead, Telling Tales and now Raven Black, draw on her varied experience as a probation officer, child care officer, women's refuge worker, cook, and auxiliary coastguard

Ann is a member of the Murder Squad, a group of crime writers based in the North of England

Raven Black opens shortly after New Year with a young woman found dead in the snow. The local community shudders, remembering Catriona, who vanished, but was never found.

The tale introduces us to a broad range of characters and takes the reader from Fair Isle to Whalsay, via the Anderson High School, cafes and pubs on the Street, Sandwick, Brae and an office in the Museum!

Should we suspect the young skipper from Whalsay, the naïve teacher, the older, other woman, the young English lad from Quendale, the over-focused primary head, the eccentric party host at the Haa, or should we concur with local suspicion of Magnus Tait from Hillhead? Detective Jimmy Perez, originally from Fair Isle, leads the investigation, alongside ‘experts’ from south.

The book skilfully blends fictional settings and characters within largely authentic descriptions and often incisive insights to Shetland communities, history and events.