Raven Black by Ann Cleeves: A review

I had seen the "Shetland" series on television but had never read any of the books, even though I am a big fan of Ann Cleeves' writing. So I decided to remedy that starting with the first book in the series. It was a creditable beginning.

Raven Black takes place in the fictional town of Ravenswick, Shetland, where on New Year's Eve a simpleton loner named Magnus Tait is visited by two teenage girls, Sally Henry and Catherine Ross. When the girls turn up at his door, he invites them in to toast the New Year. The girls then leave but they, especially Catherine, have left a vivid impression on Magnus. A few days later when he's riding a bus, Catherine gets on. When they both start to leave the bus, Catherine offers him her hand to help him down and he invites her in for a cup of tea.

A deep layer of snow covers Ravenswick but the next morning a local artist on her way home sees some bright colors in the distance on the snow and ravens circling around the area. She goes to investigate and discovers Catherine Ross's strangled body which the ravens have already been feeding on. The body is quite near Magnus Tait's home. The police come to investigate, led by Inspector Jimmy Perez.

Perez is another strong and realistic detective creation of Cleeves. His name comes from a Spaniard who had been shipwrecked on Fair Isle and subsequently made it his home. It was there that Perez was born and raised. He went to school at Ravenswick and Lerwick on the main island, so he is very familiar with the area. Soon, a high-powered team of detectives from Inverness is sent in to head up the investigation and Perez is relegated to a relatively minor role. But he establishes a good working relationship with the head of the new team and they begin working well together to try to solve the crime.

The community is sure that they know who killed the girl. Several years earlier, a young girl went missing in Ravenswick and she was never found. The neighbors were sure that Magnus Tait was responsible. Now they have jumped to the conclusion that he is responsible for this death also. The investigators are interested in him but can find no physical evidence linking him to the crime and Perez follows the evidence. Moreover, he finds himself feeling sympathetic toward the lonely man who is an outcast in his community. It soon develops that there are other potential suspects in the murder.

Then a complication arises. While out walking, Fran Hunter, the woman who had found Catherine's body, finds another body that had been buried under some rocks. It is the girl who had gone missing years earlier, Catriona Bruce. This body also was found in the vicinity of Magnus Tait's home. Now Perez must determine whether the two deaths are connected and if indeed Tate is responsible for two murders.

I found that I liked this book much better than the television series. I sometimes found the series perhaps unnecessarily complicated with story lines that were difficult to follow. It's much easier for me when I see it all in print.

One of the strongest parts of the narrative, in my opinion, is Cleeves' evocation of this small, close-knit Shetland community. Everyone knows everyone else and many of the people are related in one way or another. One can feel the claustrophobic context of those relationships.

It's not just the community relations that are a strong element; Cleeves also gives us a powerful picture of the unique Shetland culture, for example their upcoming celebration of a holiday called Up Helly Aa. It is a festival that marks the end of the Yule season and involves a torchlit parade of costumed participants that ends in the burning of an imitation Viking galley. We are given to understand that this is an important holiday for them and there is much discussion of it througout the book. The Viking influence and heritage is strong on the island.

As usual, Cleeves hid the solution to the mystery(ies) of the two deaths very well indeed. I admit I was totally flummoxed and surprised by the conclusion. And that, I suppose, is the mark of an excellent writer of thrillers, a description that fits Cleeves to a T.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Poetry Sunday: Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver

How about we share another Mary Oliver poem? After all, you can never have too many of those. In this one, the poet seems to acknowledge that it is often hard to simply live in and enjoy the moment, perhaps because we are afraid it can't last. She urges us to give in to that moment and fully experience the joy. Although "much can never be redeemed, still, life has some possibility left." Don't Hesitate by Mary Oliver If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don’t hesitate. Give in to it. There are plenty of lives and whole towns destroyed or about to be. We are not wise, and not very often kind. And much can never be redeemed. Still, life has some possibility left. Perhaps this is its way of fighting back, that sometimes something happens better than all the riches or power in the world. It could be anything, but very likely you notice it in the instant when love begins. Anyway, that’s often the case. Anyway, whatever it is, don’t be afraid of its plenty. Joy is no...

Poetry Sunday: Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney

My mother was a farm wife and a prodigious canner. She canned fruit and vegetables from the garden, even occasionally meat. But the best thing that she canned, in my opinion, was blackberry jam. Even as I type those words my mouth waters! Of course, before she could make that jam, somebody had to pick the blackberries. And that somebody was quite often named Dorothy. I think Seamus Heaney might have spent some time among the briars plucking those delicious black fruits as well, so he would have known that "Once off the bush the fruit fermented, the sweet flesh would turn sour." They don't keep; you have to get that jam made in a hurry! Blackberry-Picking by Seamus Heaney Late August, given heavy rain and sun For a full week, the blackberries would ripen. At first, just one, a glossy purple clot Among others, red, green, hard as a knot. You ate that first one and its flesh was sweet Like thickened wine: summer's blood was in it Leaving stains upon the tongue and lust ...

Poetry Sunday: Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman

You probably remember poet Amanda Gorman from her appearance at the inauguration of President Biden. She read her poem "The Hill We Climb" on that occasion. After the senseless slaughter in Uvalde this week, she was inspired to write another poem which was published in The New York Times. It seemed perfect for the occasion and so I stole it in order to feature it here, just in case you didn't get a chance to read it in the Times . Hymn for the Hurting by Amanda Gorman Everything hurts, Our hearts shadowed and strange, Minds made muddied and mute. We carry tragedy, terrifying and true. And yet none of it is new; We knew it as home, As horror, As heritage. Even our children Cannot be children, Cannot be. Everything hurts. It’s a hard time to be alive, And even harder to stay that way. We’re burdened to live out these days, While at the same time, blessed to outlive them. This alarm is how we know We must be altered — That we must differ or die, That we must triumph or try. ...

The Nature of Things

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