In an unpredictable world, procedurals can be comforting. A cast of characters you know and love. the suspects’ photos on the bulletin board, all the “Where were you on the night of the murder?” inquiries, and the knowledge that caring, capable sleuths will solve the case before long helps us to sleep a little better…
North Devon is so critical to the plot that the first page of The Heron’s Cry is a map of the area. The Long Call introduced readers to Detective Inspector Matthew Venn and his two subordinates, Jen Rafferty and Ross May. Matthew’s husband is Jonathan, who manages “the Woodyard, a large and successful community arts…
Just before Christmas, Vera finds a young boy, strapped in his car seat, in an abandoned car close to Brockburn, her family’s ancestral estate. Vera’s complicated family history—her father Hector grew up at Brockburn—plays into the narrative. She well remembers strained visits to Brockburn with her father. That branch of the clan used politeness as…
Describe the first time you pictured Vera in your head? Ann Cleeves: Vera appeared suddenly, in one of those incredible moments that make writing such a joy. The Crow Trap was never intended as a traditional detective novel, which is why she doesn’t arrive until a good way in. I never plan my books in…
The Long Call by Ann Cleeves―bestselling and award-winning author of the Vera and Shetland series, both of which are hit TV shows―is the first in the gripping new Two Rivers series set in North Devon and featuring Detective Inspector Matthew Venn. It’s cause for rejoicing when British mystery writer Ann Cleeves gifts us with a new series.…
Every Wednesday, we here at Criminal Element will put together a list of Staff Picks of the books that published the day before—sharing the ones that we are looking forward to reading the most! This week, Ann Cleeves’s eighth and final Shetland Island Mystery combines with Courtney Summers’s breakout YA thriller to highlight an amazing week…
Red Bones by Ann Cleeves is the third book in the Shetland Island Mysteries series, which is the basis for the hit BBC show Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, which attracted over 12 million viewers in its first two nights on the air. In anticipation of the eighth and final book in Shetland Island Mysteries series, Wild Fire (available September…
Wild Fire is the much-anticipated eighth and final entry in Ann Cleeves’s beloved Shetland Island series. When the Flemings―designer Helena and architect Daniel―move into a remote community in the north of Shetland, they think it’s a fresh start for themselves and their children. But their arrival triggers resentment, and Helena begins to receive small drawings of…
When you think of the best of British crime drama, Ann Cleeves’s name is always near the top. From the highly successful Vera Stanhope series to the critically acclaimed Shetland Island mysteries (both of which have been adapted into fantastic television shows), Cleeves has cemented herself as a force to be reckoned with. But we…
Raven Black by Ann Cleeves is the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award-winning series debut of the Shetland Island Mysteries featuring Inspector Jimmy Perez. Get a digital copy of the first book in Ann Cleeves’s Shetland Island Mysteries—the basis for the BBC hit series Shetland—Raven Black, for only $2.99 through the month of June! It is a cold…
