Raven Black

Book One of the Shetland Island Mysteries

Basis for the hit series "Shetland" now airing on PBS.

On a bitter January morning, the island of Shetland lies silent under heavy snow. As Fran Hunter walks home, a jolt of color in the white landscape catches her eye—ravens circling over the body of her teenage neighbor, Catherine Ross, strangled and left in the cold.

Shocked and frightened, the small community quickly points to Magnus Tait, a reclusive older man long regarded with mistrust. To many locals, the case seems closed before it has even begun. But when detective Jimmy Perez arrives with colleagues from the mainland, he refuses to accept the easy answer. His wider investigation unsettles the island, uncovering long-hidden tensions and casting suspicion on people who have known each other all their lives.

As whispers spread and doors begin to lock, the residents of Shetland are forced to confront the chilling truth: the killer is one of their own, moving quietly among them. Dark, atmospheric, and tightly wound, this mystery peels back the calm surface of island life to reveal the secrets buried beneath the snow.