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Shetland Island #2
White Nights
The electrifying follow up to the award-winning Raven Black
Raven Black received crime fiction’s highest monetary honor, the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award. Now Detective Jimmy Perez is back in an electrifying sequel.
It’s midsummer in the Shetland Islands, the time of the white nights, when birds sing at midnight and the sun never sets. Artist Bella Sinclair throws an elaborate party to launch an exhibition of her work at The Herring House, a gallery on the beach.
The party ends in farce when one the guests, a mysterious Englishman, bursts into tears and claims not to know who he is or where he’s come from. The following day the Englishman is found hanging from a rafter, and Detective Jimmy Perez is convinced that the man has been murdered. He is reinforced in this belief when Roddy, Bella’s musician nephew, is murdered, too.
But the detective’s relationship with Fran Hunter may have clouded his judgment, for this is a crazy time of the year when night blurs into day and nothing is quite as it seems.
A stunning second installment in the acclaimed Shetland Island Quartet, White Nights is sure to garner American raves for international sensation Ann Cleeves.
Raven Black received crime fiction’s highest monetary honor, the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award. Now Detective Jimmy Perez is back in an electrifying sequel.
It’s midsummer in the Shetland Islands, the time of the white nights, when birds sing at midnight and the sun never sets. Artist Bella Sinclair throws an elaborate party to launch an exhibition of her work at The Herring House, a gallery on the beach.
The party ends in farce when one the guests, a mysterious Englishman, bursts into tears and claims not to know who he is or where he’s come from. The following day the Englishman is found hanging from a rafter, and Detective Jimmy Perez is convinced that the man has been murdered. He is reinforced in this belief when Roddy, Bella’s musician nephew, is murdered, too.
But the detective’s relationship with Fran Hunter may have clouded his judgment, for this is a crazy time of the year when night blurs into day and nothing is quite as it seems.
A stunning second installment in the acclaimed Shetland Island Quartet, White Nights is sure to garner American raves for international sensation Ann Cleeves.
392 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2008
About the author
Ann Cleeves
118 books7,451 followersAnn is the author of the books behind ITV's VERA, now in it's third series, and the BBC's SHETLAND, which will be aired in December 2012. Ann's DI Vera Stanhope series of books is set in Northumberland and features the well loved detective along with her partner Joe Ashworth. Ann's Shetland series bring us DI Jimmy Perez, investigating in the mysterious, dark, and beautiful Shetland Islands...
Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.
While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person's not heavily into birds - and Ann isn't - there's not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.
In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.
For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony
Ann's short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.
In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA's Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world's largest award for crime fiction.
Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: "I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock - but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I'd lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn't have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!"
The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).
Ann's books have been translated into sixteen languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200
Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.
While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person's not heavily into birds - and Ann isn't - there's not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.
In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.
For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony
Ann's short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.
In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA's Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world's largest award for crime fiction.
Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: "I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock - but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I'd lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn't have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!"
The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).
Ann's books have been translated into sixteen languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 200
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,977 reviews
May 18, 2019
Rating: 3.75* of five
This is the second Shetland Islands Quartet thriller, which marketing decision was a good one...calling these thrillers instead of mysteries sets up the expectation of a whacking good read though not necessarily the play-fair-with-the-reader puzzle-solver that modern mysteries are.
Cleeves writes wonderfully clearly and carefully about flawed, real, lovable characters in bad emotional states because of violent, evil acts disrupting their very ordinary lives.
The stories she tells in this series, to date, are proof to me that she's looked deeply into human nature and seen what its outlines show to the astute...there but for the grace of God go I. Everyone in this book flees from their hurts. Their flight is, inevitably, unsuccessful. Jimmy Perez can't run from his flaming co-dependence. Fran Hunter can't run from her seething ambition. Bella Sinclair can't run from her self-created persona, an Iron Maiden as effective as any Inquistor's torture device. Inspector Taylor, back up from Inverness, can't escape his fear-driven energy. No one, not any one, escapes.
The white nights of the title are a phenomenon of the far north. The sun never *quite* sets enough for true, dark night to fall. It's unsettling to some, it's a biorhythm disturber of tremendous power to have the body's million-year-old clock disrupted by absence of night. It's used by vile people the world over as a form of torture to deprive a human of good rest. And yet, there are thousands whose entire lives are lived with this condition as backdrop, and they seem not to feel its downside too strongly.
But let's face it...this fact of nature is a thriller-writer's best birthday present. What better metaphor, and even a pretty subtle one, for bringing to light old wrongs, shining the pitiless lamp of the torturer on the consciences of those guilty of undiscovered crimes, than a sun that won't go down?
That's a very nice backdrop you've chosen, Mme Cleeves, and it works very, very well for your chosen story, right up to and including the resolution of the multiple crimes. It does not make up for the sense I got, throughout the book, that your focus wasn't on me, your reader.
I recommend the book, yes. I even think there are some things about it that are outstanding, including the character developments of Perez and Taylor. But as I careened from incident to incident, I didn't sense that you were laying out this tale for my delectation, but rather leading me, like a museum docent, from exhibit to exhibit, trying in a haphazard way to lead my somewhat dim brain to a conclusion you'd already reached and were now impatiently awaiting my "aha!" moment. I am already in possession of Red Bones, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what you have planned for me next, but I am a little bit put out by this sense of magisterial disdain that I got from the resolution to White Nights. I wish you'd let me get there with you, instead of running ahead and pointing and waving your arms.
This is the second Shetland Islands Quartet thriller, which marketing decision was a good one...calling these thrillers instead of mysteries sets up the expectation of a whacking good read though not necessarily the play-fair-with-the-reader puzzle-solver that modern mysteries are.
Cleeves writes wonderfully clearly and carefully about flawed, real, lovable characters in bad emotional states because of violent, evil acts disrupting their very ordinary lives.
The stories she tells in this series, to date, are proof to me that she's looked deeply into human nature and seen what its outlines show to the astute...there but for the grace of God go I. Everyone in this book flees from their hurts. Their flight is, inevitably, unsuccessful. Jimmy Perez can't run from his flaming co-dependence. Fran Hunter can't run from her seething ambition. Bella Sinclair can't run from her self-created persona, an Iron Maiden as effective as any Inquistor's torture device. Inspector Taylor, back up from Inverness, can't escape his fear-driven energy. No one, not any one, escapes.
The white nights of the title are a phenomenon of the far north. The sun never *quite* sets enough for true, dark night to fall. It's unsettling to some, it's a biorhythm disturber of tremendous power to have the body's million-year-old clock disrupted by absence of night. It's used by vile people the world over as a form of torture to deprive a human of good rest. And yet, there are thousands whose entire lives are lived with this condition as backdrop, and they seem not to feel its downside too strongly.
But let's face it...this fact of nature is a thriller-writer's best birthday present. What better metaphor, and even a pretty subtle one, for bringing to light old wrongs, shining the pitiless lamp of the torturer on the consciences of those guilty of undiscovered crimes, than a sun that won't go down?
That's a very nice backdrop you've chosen, Mme Cleeves, and it works very, very well for your chosen story, right up to and including the resolution of the multiple crimes. It does not make up for the sense I got, throughout the book, that your focus wasn't on me, your reader.
I recommend the book, yes. I even think there are some things about it that are outstanding, including the character developments of Perez and Taylor. But as I careened from incident to incident, I didn't sense that you were laying out this tale for my delectation, but rather leading me, like a museum docent, from exhibit to exhibit, trying in a haphazard way to lead my somewhat dim brain to a conclusion you'd already reached and were now impatiently awaiting my "aha!" moment. I am already in possession of Red Bones, and I am very much looking forward to seeing what you have planned for me next, but I am a little bit put out by this sense of magisterial disdain that I got from the resolution to White Nights. I wish you'd let me get there with you, instead of running ahead and pointing and waving your arms.
October 24, 2019
I liked the first in the series, I enjoyed this one as well but something is missing. Both times I abandoned the book for a while to read something more interesting. I don't know why but I do not care enough for the plot or the characters. I will probably stop here with the series.
October 4, 2020
Another well done mystery/thriller from Ann Cleeves in the Shetland series. The cover calls it a thriller, but I would classify it as a mystery. There is no profanity, no graphic violence and no graphic sex--making it suitable for cozy fans.
Detective Jimmy Perez is the man in charge of the case, along with DCI(Detective Chief Inspector) Roy Taylor from Inverness, Scotland. Shetland Islands are located several hundred miles north of Scotland. Perez is at a gallery showing the works of Bella Sinclair and Perez' friend Fran Hunter. A stranger comes to the gallery and starts weeping in front of a picture. When Perez tries to help him, the man claims to not know who he is. The next day he is found hanging from the rafters in a boat shed. Unraveling this mystery leads to a long buried secret. I was not sure of who the killer was until the end.
This library book was a suspenseful read and I recommend it to fans of the mystery genre. I previously read book 1 in the series and this series is better read in order.
Two quotes: Bella Sinclair "With her grey hair cropped very short, long silver earrings and a grey silk shirt, Perez thought she looked like a large silvery fish. Something about her mouth, too, the wide pale eyes. But she was attractive still."
Bedroom of dead man "The bed was unmade, though she thought that didn't mean much. She'd never yet met a man who made a bed when he got up."
Detective Jimmy Perez is the man in charge of the case, along with DCI(Detective Chief Inspector) Roy Taylor from Inverness, Scotland. Shetland Islands are located several hundred miles north of Scotland. Perez is at a gallery showing the works of Bella Sinclair and Perez' friend Fran Hunter. A stranger comes to the gallery and starts weeping in front of a picture. When Perez tries to help him, the man claims to not know who he is. The next day he is found hanging from the rafters in a boat shed. Unraveling this mystery leads to a long buried secret. I was not sure of who the killer was until the end.
This library book was a suspenseful read and I recommend it to fans of the mystery genre. I previously read book 1 in the series and this series is better read in order.
Two quotes: Bella Sinclair "With her grey hair cropped very short, long silver earrings and a grey silk shirt, Perez thought she looked like a large silvery fish. Something about her mouth, too, the wide pale eyes. But she was attractive still."
Bedroom of dead man "The bed was unmade, though she thought that didn't mean much. She'd never yet met a man who made a bed when he got up."
June 14, 2017
Another really pleasurable read from Ann Cleeves. White Nights features many of the same characters as its prequel Raven Black, but this time is set in summer, a time when the daylight in the Shetland Isles is practically endless and the people are said to go a little crazy.
I really enjoy the main character, Inspector Jimmy Perez. He is delightfully calm and thorough and very likeable. He also knows his local people well and his understanding of them always helps him solve his cases before the city cops do.
The Shetland setting is very well written and makes me want to visit - in summer of course. I have yet to experience a night where it does not go dark at all, though I would probably not want to live there!
This was a very readable book with an intriguing mystery and a nearly unpredictable murderer, although with hindsight the clues were always there. The best kind of mystery:)
I really enjoy the main character, Inspector Jimmy Perez. He is delightfully calm and thorough and very likeable. He also knows his local people well and his understanding of them always helps him solve his cases before the city cops do.
The Shetland setting is very well written and makes me want to visit - in summer of course. I have yet to experience a night where it does not go dark at all, though I would probably not want to live there!
This was a very readable book with an intriguing mystery and a nearly unpredictable murderer, although with hindsight the clues were always there. The best kind of mystery:)
March 30, 2021
It is always pleasant to be transported to the Shetland Islands, this northernmost part of the United Kingdom. Life feels different here; it is like stepping back into the 50's. The Islanders seem to have simpler lives, slower paced, lives not concerned with accumulating "things". They appear to be unrattled by whatever may come their way, even the disproportionate number of murders committed in their sparsely populated Islands 100 miles off the coast of Scotland.
Jimmy Perez, a descendent of the first Spaniards to settle the Islands, is the detective in Cleeves' Shetland series, and he has all the characteristics of the native population. He unravels the mystery of the stranger at the art show methodically and with compassion. When deaths result, he is meticulous in finding the facts, no rushing for this finely portrayed investigator.
This book was the sorbet between gourmet courses, my palette cleanser, my brain in relax mode.
For me, the murders are secondary; the setting and characters are the main course.
White Nights takes place during the summer months when night brings little darkness to the Shetlands. I don't know if that would be compensation for the long, cold winters, but it is interesting to imagine. I highly recommend this wonderful series.
Jimmy Perez, a descendent of the first Spaniards to settle the Islands, is the detective in Cleeves' Shetland series, and he has all the characteristics of the native population. He unravels the mystery of the stranger at the art show methodically and with compassion. When deaths result, he is meticulous in finding the facts, no rushing for this finely portrayed investigator.
This book was the sorbet between gourmet courses, my palette cleanser, my brain in relax mode.
For me, the murders are secondary; the setting and characters are the main course.
White Nights takes place during the summer months when night brings little darkness to the Shetlands. I don't know if that would be compensation for the long, cold winters, but it is interesting to imagine. I highly recommend this wonderful series.
November 7, 2022
Perez nodded. He knew he wanted it to be murder. Because of the excitement, because this thrill was what he'd joined the service for, and in Shetland there weren't so many cases to provide it. And because if the man hadn't killed himself Perez wasn't responsible, couldn't have foreseen it. (PG. 49)
I am loving this series! I want to read it all before I catch the television series and compare it to the books. The thing with Ann Cleeves is that the reader doesn't know they are hooked and by the time we figure it out the novel is done. The stories have a wonderful flow. They are slow but things are always moving and happening. It's never just idle. It also reminds us that nowhere is "safe." Things can happen to anyone at anytime. People can be living double lives and keeping secrets but we have been married to them or known them for the last thirty years. Cleeves makes the characters so human it's like we have formed a bond with these people. We don't want to know Shetland is a place where there is a murderer because what does that say about our gated community in the hills?
Such a great book; such a great author. Highly recommend for the mystery and the dark ambiance. Made me feel like I was near Scotland.
I am loving this series! I want to read it all before I catch the television series and compare it to the books. The thing with Ann Cleeves is that the reader doesn't know they are hooked and by the time we figure it out the novel is done. The stories have a wonderful flow. They are slow but things are always moving and happening. It's never just idle. It also reminds us that nowhere is "safe." Things can happen to anyone at anytime. People can be living double lives and keeping secrets but we have been married to them or known them for the last thirty years. Cleeves makes the characters so human it's like we have formed a bond with these people. We don't want to know Shetland is a place where there is a murderer because what does that say about our gated community in the hills?
Such a great book; such a great author. Highly recommend for the mystery and the dark ambiance. Made me feel like I was near Scotland.
November 23, 2021
4.5 stars
Well this was another outstanding mystery by the talented Ann Cleeves it was a definite page it was an atmospheric read that took me into Inverness & Aberdeen i just loved every minute you get pulled in like a magnet & cant let go i would say this was a cosy mystery, the more i read of Jimmy Perez i like him he is a no nonsense character who will stop at nothing to get his man.
A dead unidentified man was found hanging from roof joints his toes two inches from the ground he was found by Kenny Thomson found him in a hat & a face made up like a clown his nails were like a woman's his eyes blank staring up to the sky,.
Jimmy Perez hears about it on the radio he brings a Detective in from Inverness Roy Taylor who helps with the case he is somewhat pushy but in Shetland things are run different its Perez who runs things. But when the body of a fiddle player Roddy Sinclair is found dead in the same way Perez is forced to work day & night.
How is the two connected & what would be the motive for killing Roddy?
I enjoyed the relationship with Jimmy & a single mum Fran hope they develop even more in the next book, If you haven't read Ann Cleeves yet your missing out on a good series.
Well this was another outstanding mystery by the talented Ann Cleeves it was a definite page it was an atmospheric read that took me into Inverness & Aberdeen i just loved every minute you get pulled in like a magnet & cant let go i would say this was a cosy mystery, the more i read of Jimmy Perez i like him he is a no nonsense character who will stop at nothing to get his man.
A dead unidentified man was found hanging from roof joints his toes two inches from the ground he was found by Kenny Thomson found him in a hat & a face made up like a clown his nails were like a woman's his eyes blank staring up to the sky,.
Jimmy Perez hears about it on the radio he brings a Detective in from Inverness Roy Taylor who helps with the case he is somewhat pushy but in Shetland things are run different its Perez who runs things. But when the body of a fiddle player Roddy Sinclair is found dead in the same way Perez is forced to work day & night.
How is the two connected & what would be the motive for killing Roddy?
I enjoyed the relationship with Jimmy & a single mum Fran hope they develop even more in the next book, If you haven't read Ann Cleeves yet your missing out on a good series.
April 25, 2019
Jimmy Perez is back for another murder to solve on these remote Shetland Islands, which are a subarctic archipelago of Scotland. The descriptions of the landscape were wonderful as was the character development. This is a second in the Shetland Island series but the first one for me. I will definitely be reading each one now. I could not guess the murderer and enjoyed the buildup and suspense throughout. Some felt the book moved too slow, but I thought is was perfect for the setup and the intricate way the remoteness of the landscape shaped the people and ultimately the decisions that led to the murder(s).
January 17, 2019
You can sense the intrigue the author must feel for these characters and character in general as this series unfolds. There are no stock people here.
The setting is marvelous, wild and cold and isolated, perfect for mystery, insular relationships, quirky characters.
I was hooked from the start by the gentle originality in the mystery set-up, and then carried along this fairly quiet story by the people who felt so real. I particularly liked the juxtaposition of insider/outsider investigators and the complementary, agitating differences in personality resulting from the life ghosts each carries.
The setting is marvelous, wild and cold and isolated, perfect for mystery, insular relationships, quirky characters.
I was hooked from the start by the gentle originality in the mystery set-up, and then carried along this fairly quiet story by the people who felt so real. I particularly liked the juxtaposition of insider/outsider investigators and the complementary, agitating differences in personality resulting from the life ghosts each carries.
June 2, 2024
Loving this series of books even though I can’t remember what happened in the TV series. What a page turner for this one lots of twists and turns on the mystery which takes ages to solve. A huge shock at the end trust me you won’t be disappointed
April 28, 2021
An excellent mystery that keeps you guessing
It's the White Nights in Shetland, a period when the sun never quite sets. It's a weird time, making people do strange things. Bella Sinclair and Fran Hunter hold a joint art show, but it is disrupted by a stranger who throws himself to his knees before a painting. He tells Detective Jimmy Perez he does not know his name or where he's from. But before Jimmy can investigate further, he disappears. The following day the man is found hanging from a rafter in a nearby shed. Jimmy believes it's murder rather than suicide. This is only further reinforced when someone else turns up dead. Per usual, Inspector Taylor from Inverness arrives to lead the investigation, but it's Perez, with his knowledge of Shetland, who must dig in and solve the case.
I just adore this Shetland series so far. I think I loved this book even more than the first, RAVEN BLACK, and that's saying a lot. It kept me wondering the whole time and threw in some excellent twists. Cleeves is such a superb writer; she embodies her characters and each seems so real and different. I love Jimmy, Fran, and the nuances and details of all the small town folk we meet along the way. It is, indeed, these details of small town life that usually lead to our killers.
The atmospheric setting of Shetland is wonderful, with the location serving as an additional character, per usual. It's so calm and intriguing (yet often deadly). The combination of the setting, complex characters, and intricate plot makes these books hard to beat. I also love the relationship between frenetic Taylor and careful Perez.
"Then it occurred to him that here, in this bizarre, bleak, treeless community, Perez's strange methods might actually get results."
These books are a perfect escape--such wonderfully done mysteries. I have book #3 and am saving it for when I need the perfect pick me up. 4.5 stars.
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It's the White Nights in Shetland, a period when the sun never quite sets. It's a weird time, making people do strange things. Bella Sinclair and Fran Hunter hold a joint art show, but it is disrupted by a stranger who throws himself to his knees before a painting. He tells Detective Jimmy Perez he does not know his name or where he's from. But before Jimmy can investigate further, he disappears. The following day the man is found hanging from a rafter in a nearby shed. Jimmy believes it's murder rather than suicide. This is only further reinforced when someone else turns up dead. Per usual, Inspector Taylor from Inverness arrives to lead the investigation, but it's Perez, with his knowledge of Shetland, who must dig in and solve the case.
I just adore this Shetland series so far. I think I loved this book even more than the first, RAVEN BLACK, and that's saying a lot. It kept me wondering the whole time and threw in some excellent twists. Cleeves is such a superb writer; she embodies her characters and each seems so real and different. I love Jimmy, Fran, and the nuances and details of all the small town folk we meet along the way. It is, indeed, these details of small town life that usually lead to our killers.
The atmospheric setting of Shetland is wonderful, with the location serving as an additional character, per usual. It's so calm and intriguing (yet often deadly). The combination of the setting, complex characters, and intricate plot makes these books hard to beat. I also love the relationship between frenetic Taylor and careful Perez.
"Then it occurred to him that here, in this bizarre, bleak, treeless community, Perez's strange methods might actually get results."
These books are a perfect escape--such wonderfully done mysteries. I have book #3 and am saving it for when I need the perfect pick me up. 4.5 stars.
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February 3, 2016
3 1/2 stars, rounded up to 4
I raced through the almost 400 pages of this second of Cleeves's Shetland series just like the first Raven Black. This is the kind of mystery I really enjoy - a regular cast of characters that we get to know over time, relationships that develop in each book and contribute to the dynamics of the story, a place that creates a unique atmosphere and writing that's in sync with the culture of that place. Cleeves's writing in these novels particularly strikes me as completely in tune with the characters who populate the book, especially our main police detective Jimmy Perez. In an interview with Cleeves for NPR's Crime in the City, she says:
"There are no trees in Shetland, and you can't do overgrown language here," she says. "The language has to be simple, because that's how the landscape is."
White Nights is set around the summer solstice when it never really gets dark in the latitudes of the Shetland Islands and where this round-the-clock light is said to make people a little crazy. This story takes place in a tiny coastal hamlet where everyone grew up with each other and not only know everything about each other's business, but they know everybody's back story too. A man is found hanging in a beach hut where the community fishing gear is kept. Everyone uses the hut and throughout the book I could see that almost any of the locals could have killed this unidentified victim.
When a murder occurs, investigators and crime scene inspectors come from Inverness on mainland Scotland. The way things are structured, the mainland investigator is in charge of things, with our man Jimmy Perez "assisting". (Of course our local guy gets the solve every time!) We met Roy Taylor from Inverness in the previous book. His completely opposite personality from Perez adds to the interest and tension. This time around though, Taylor seems a little like a cardboard cut-out or a stereotype of an impatient cop with a dysfunctional back story - not fully developed, which I did not feel in the first book. For this I shaved off a part of a star in my rating.
Another part of a star got shaved off because of the ending. This was a page-turning read, and I did not see "whodunit" coming. This is often a good thing, but here the ending felt rushed, tacked on and didn't really jive with the rest of the story. So while the ending was a let-down and felt a little like Cleeves didn't quite know how to wrap up in a compelling way, I still liked White Nights a lot and feel this will be a favorite series of mine.
Here's a link to the interview with Ann Cleeves - worth a listen! http://www.npr.org/2014/07/08/3295201...
I raced through the almost 400 pages of this second of Cleeves's Shetland series just like the first Raven Black. This is the kind of mystery I really enjoy - a regular cast of characters that we get to know over time, relationships that develop in each book and contribute to the dynamics of the story, a place that creates a unique atmosphere and writing that's in sync with the culture of that place. Cleeves's writing in these novels particularly strikes me as completely in tune with the characters who populate the book, especially our main police detective Jimmy Perez. In an interview with Cleeves for NPR's Crime in the City, she says:
"There are no trees in Shetland, and you can't do overgrown language here," she says. "The language has to be simple, because that's how the landscape is."
White Nights is set around the summer solstice when it never really gets dark in the latitudes of the Shetland Islands and where this round-the-clock light is said to make people a little crazy. This story takes place in a tiny coastal hamlet where everyone grew up with each other and not only know everything about each other's business, but they know everybody's back story too. A man is found hanging in a beach hut where the community fishing gear is kept. Everyone uses the hut and throughout the book I could see that almost any of the locals could have killed this unidentified victim.
When a murder occurs, investigators and crime scene inspectors come from Inverness on mainland Scotland. The way things are structured, the mainland investigator is in charge of things, with our man Jimmy Perez "assisting". (Of course our local guy gets the solve every time!) We met Roy Taylor from Inverness in the previous book. His completely opposite personality from Perez adds to the interest and tension. This time around though, Taylor seems a little like a cardboard cut-out or a stereotype of an impatient cop with a dysfunctional back story - not fully developed, which I did not feel in the first book. For this I shaved off a part of a star in my rating.
Another part of a star got shaved off because of the ending. This was a page-turning read, and I did not see "whodunit" coming. This is often a good thing, but here the ending felt rushed, tacked on and didn't really jive with the rest of the story. So while the ending was a let-down and felt a little like Cleeves didn't quite know how to wrap up in a compelling way, I still liked White Nights a lot and feel this will be a favorite series of mine.
Here's a link to the interview with Ann Cleeves - worth a listen! http://www.npr.org/2014/07/08/3295201...
December 21, 2018
A volte odio questa cosa ma stavolta non mi dispiace e cioè che i personaggi del libro siano completamente differenti dalle serie TV. Pèrez non è il capo come nella serie ma sta sotto Taylor che viene da Iverness, è trasandato, ha i capelli neri e lunghi, non ha una figlia o figlia in comune meglio dire ed esce con Fran quella che trovò i cadaveri nel primo libro. Totalmente differente dalla serie. E Fran dalla trama sarà ancora presente al quarto libro. Sandy è un mezzo cretino ma ci sa fare con i computer mentre nella serie se non ricordo male è leggermente più intelligente. Non c'è nessuna Machintosh, non so come si scrive, ma c'è Molang che era imparentata con qualcuno nel primo libro che ora non ricordo. Si, Pèrez è nato a Fair Isle ma ha avuto un infanzia (scuola) di merda e Taylor non è da meno. Il bello è che è tutto diverso. Probabilmente se avessi letto prima i libri mi sarei incavolata ma ciò che provo ora è che vorrei vedere questo libro trasposto in episodio perchè non mi pare di averlo visto. Vorrei che Giallo mandasse in onda il resto.
Il libro mi piace. Mi piace come scrive la Cleeves. Capitoli corti e veloci da leggere che ti fanno voler andare avanti.
Però non mi piace il titolo italiano. O dovrei dire i titoli. L'altro è Gli occhi della notte. Titolo che ho su Anobii visto che il sistema non fa fare due schede con lo stesso ISBN. Io avrei lasciato White Nights. Cioè il periodo dell'anno in cui in quei posti il sole non tramonta mai e c'è sempre luce. Le White Nights in questo caso sono lo sfondo di dove avviene tutta la vicenda.
Ho detto quello che volevo dire quindi sono a posto. Ci vediamo con il terzo nel nuovo anno sebbene sia già sul Kobo.
Il libro mi piace. Mi piace come scrive la Cleeves. Capitoli corti e veloci da leggere che ti fanno voler andare avanti.
Però non mi piace il titolo italiano. O dovrei dire i titoli. L'altro è Gli occhi della notte. Titolo che ho su Anobii visto che il sistema non fa fare due schede con lo stesso ISBN. Io avrei lasciato White Nights. Cioè il periodo dell'anno in cui in quei posti il sole non tramonta mai e c'è sempre luce. Le White Nights in questo caso sono lo sfondo di dove avviene tutta la vicenda.
Ho detto quello che volevo dire quindi sono a posto. Ci vediamo con il terzo nel nuovo anno sebbene sia già sul Kobo.
August 2, 2011
An uknown actor is found hanged in a small Shetland town. It turns out to be murder rather than suicide and dective Jimmy Perez investigates. Before too long another person is murdered, this time a young, local celebrity. We're in it for another "whodunnit". I desperately wish this would have been a good book. It's well-written, the murderer, when revealed, is a surprise and the atmosphere is bleak and wind-blown. The story completely fails to engage. There is nothing to engage me in the carachters or the landscape, it all falls flat. The impression should have been a good one, because I see this is solid work. It's just so incredibly boring.
April 22, 2020
I like the setting and the case was interesting enough! I like the main characters and I'm gonna miss the one that's leaving!
But as it happens in many stories we can't like it all!
So I didn't like some of the characters involved in this story! Also something that bothered me is that even though the detective has an idea I don't get a glimpse on it just to try myself to connect the dots of what might have happened!
And last I was so annoyed at some point with Fran and Jimmy because you know guys there's something called "talking things through" instead of making assumptions!
Generally a good read!
But as it happens in many stories we can't like it all!
So I didn't like some of the characters involved in this story! Also something that bothered me is that even though the detective has an idea I don't get a glimpse on it just to try myself to connect the dots of what might have happened!
And last I was so annoyed at some point with Fran and Jimmy because you know guys there's something called "talking things through" instead of making assumptions!
Generally a good read!
July 28, 2022
Has anybody else read these? I feel like I don't see these in my GR feed, but should.
Ann Cleeves has a brilliant way of writing. Every word feels like a whisper. Part of it is the Shetland Islands setting - isolated, cold, windy and sparsely populated with hearty sea folk. The other part is MC Jimmy Perez, a police investigator with a calm, slow-talking way about him. I've only finished two of these, but I look forward to absorbing each of the rest.
Ann Cleeves has a brilliant way of writing. Every word feels like a whisper. Part of it is the Shetland Islands setting - isolated, cold, windy and sparsely populated with hearty sea folk. The other part is MC Jimmy Perez, a police investigator with a calm, slow-talking way about him. I've only finished two of these, but I look forward to absorbing each of the rest.
April 20, 2017
After the atmospheric first in the series, Raven Black, Ann Cleeves follows up superbly with a brooding and equally menacing portrayal of life at the height of summer in Shetland and the curiously unsettling effect of the 'simmer dim' on life in the islands. In the long summer nights when it never seems to get dark the islands are a hive of activity with tourists flocking to the area on the cruise ships. With folk kept awake by the light an edgy and heightened sense of anxiety seems to pervade the region, with outsiders observing the way of life and the eccentricity of the inhabitants. Biddista is a small community isolated from the rest of the island by a hill on one side and a sea on the other. The opening of an art exhibition bringing the work of the noted Shetland artist, Bella Sinclair, together with outsider and new talent, Fran Hunter, turns into something of a damp squib when a poor turnout and even the presence of Bella's nephew, Roddy, serenading on his fiddle doesn't rejuvenate the atmosphere after a distraught stranger falls to his knees and starts weeping. Inspector Jimmy Perez is on hand and his first opinion in a simple case of midsummer madness and the theatrical hysteria that it routinely brings. Feeling almost duty bound to assist, when Jimmy offers him an ear he claims to have lost his memory, with no knowledge of how or why he arrived at the event. Seeming an unlikely candidate for suicide but reluctant to be left on his own, the mystery man slips away from the exhibition leaving Perez wondering and feeling a sense of responsibility.
When the morning brings a call of a man hanging from a rafter in the communal fishing hut, Perez is guilt ridden that he could have done more to help the unidentified man. Evidently an Englishman who neither Bella or Fran claim knowledge of, the manic grin of a plastic clown mask that covers his face in death recalls the performer entertaining the incoming tourists from the cruise ships earlier in the day. Later confirmed as the same street performer who distributed flyers announcing the cancelling of the evenings exhibition due to death in the family, Perez and the locals wonder just who is he and why has he come. When confirmation is given that the man's death was not suicide, chillingly showing signs of a premeditation that is a rarity in violent crimes on Shetland. More bizarrely, just what is the intended significance of the sinister clown mask? The confirmation of murder brings DCI Roy Taylor, a Liverpudlian based in Inverness to Biddista. Still smarting from Inspector Jimmy Perez being credited with solving the first case they worked on together he is a little uneasy with Perez and the lack of urgency that seems to be a trademark of life in the area. Marked out by his distinctive colouring which seems to set him apart from the more easily identifiable Shetlanders, Inspector Jimmy Perez stands out like a island in the midst of choppy waters.
Jimmy Perez's unconventional attitude and acceptance of the way things function on the islands immediately makes locals infinitely more comfortable in his presence. Never appearing awkward or rushing to fill in the gaps in conversation, his equanimity makes him an excellent judge of character. Indeed he is the focal point for the investigation. Jimmy and Fran's burgeoning relationship gives readers a more rounded take on his personality and the early days of the romance have all the headiness of teenage sweethearts. Anxious-to-please Whalsay lad, Sandy Wilson hangs eagerly onto Perez's coat tails, but never quite seems to process the actual import of a violent murder in a peaceful community. It soon becomes clear that the victim might have been an outsider, but the answer to his death lies in the history in the Shetlands.
Cleeves is a captivating chronicler of the landscape and the locals, bringing a true appreciation for the remoteness, often bleak weather and the way in which every scrap of privacy is cherished. The investigation itself revolves around the handful of families that live in Biddista and artist, Bella is first to fall under the spotlight. Cleeves fleshes out her characters so well, weaving in resentments, past acrimony and intimate affairs and uncovering a host of hidden secrets, making for a captivating novel which swiftly becomes all consuming It fascinates me how Ann Cleeves makes the lives of the inhabitants in a isolated community so fascinating, particularly when their lives and occupations are so diametrically opposed to the life that most of us know and live. Four families that go back generations and are connected by everything from the broken hearted older brother of Kenny disappearing after a failed relationship with local sophisticate Bella Sinclair, to the petty grievances and sniping surrounding a broadside on a piece of amateur art. A second murder on the shape of Roddy Sinclair however brings new angles to the case and Perez knows that the answer lies in the history of the natives. Whilst the resolution and identification of the killer was a little unsatisfactory to my mind, with a slightly implausible motive detracting from the revelations, it will not dim my enthusiasm for this series. Cleeves provides plenty of subtle clues along the way making this an ideal novel to test eagle-eyed readers.
When the morning brings a call of a man hanging from a rafter in the communal fishing hut, Perez is guilt ridden that he could have done more to help the unidentified man. Evidently an Englishman who neither Bella or Fran claim knowledge of, the manic grin of a plastic clown mask that covers his face in death recalls the performer entertaining the incoming tourists from the cruise ships earlier in the day. Later confirmed as the same street performer who distributed flyers announcing the cancelling of the evenings exhibition due to death in the family, Perez and the locals wonder just who is he and why has he come. When confirmation is given that the man's death was not suicide, chillingly showing signs of a premeditation that is a rarity in violent crimes on Shetland. More bizarrely, just what is the intended significance of the sinister clown mask? The confirmation of murder brings DCI Roy Taylor, a Liverpudlian based in Inverness to Biddista. Still smarting from Inspector Jimmy Perez being credited with solving the first case they worked on together he is a little uneasy with Perez and the lack of urgency that seems to be a trademark of life in the area. Marked out by his distinctive colouring which seems to set him apart from the more easily identifiable Shetlanders, Inspector Jimmy Perez stands out like a island in the midst of choppy waters.
Jimmy Perez's unconventional attitude and acceptance of the way things function on the islands immediately makes locals infinitely more comfortable in his presence. Never appearing awkward or rushing to fill in the gaps in conversation, his equanimity makes him an excellent judge of character. Indeed he is the focal point for the investigation. Jimmy and Fran's burgeoning relationship gives readers a more rounded take on his personality and the early days of the romance have all the headiness of teenage sweethearts. Anxious-to-please Whalsay lad, Sandy Wilson hangs eagerly onto Perez's coat tails, but never quite seems to process the actual import of a violent murder in a peaceful community. It soon becomes clear that the victim might have been an outsider, but the answer to his death lies in the history in the Shetlands.
Cleeves is a captivating chronicler of the landscape and the locals, bringing a true appreciation for the remoteness, often bleak weather and the way in which every scrap of privacy is cherished. The investigation itself revolves around the handful of families that live in Biddista and artist, Bella is first to fall under the spotlight. Cleeves fleshes out her characters so well, weaving in resentments, past acrimony and intimate affairs and uncovering a host of hidden secrets, making for a captivating novel which swiftly becomes all consuming It fascinates me how Ann Cleeves makes the lives of the inhabitants in a isolated community so fascinating, particularly when their lives and occupations are so diametrically opposed to the life that most of us know and live. Four families that go back generations and are connected by everything from the broken hearted older brother of Kenny disappearing after a failed relationship with local sophisticate Bella Sinclair, to the petty grievances and sniping surrounding a broadside on a piece of amateur art. A second murder on the shape of Roddy Sinclair however brings new angles to the case and Perez knows that the answer lies in the history of the natives. Whilst the resolution and identification of the killer was a little unsatisfactory to my mind, with a slightly implausible motive detracting from the revelations, it will not dim my enthusiasm for this series. Cleeves provides plenty of subtle clues along the way making this an ideal novel to test eagle-eyed readers.
May 21, 2024
Enjoyable Shetland visit.
September 20, 2014
4.5 stars
Second in this murder mystery series set in the Shetland Isles. Loved it just as much as the first and although a gentle and conventional read it must have had a fairly big impact as I can't get my head out of Shetland...and I've never been there!
Kudos to Cleeves for creating characters that feel so real and invoking the spirit of the islands in a compelling series of stories.
Second in this murder mystery series set in the Shetland Isles. Loved it just as much as the first and although a gentle and conventional read it must have had a fairly big impact as I can't get my head out of Shetland...and I've never been there!
Kudos to Cleeves for creating characters that feel so real and invoking the spirit of the islands in a compelling series of stories.
March 19, 2018
Another good story on Shetland. I've taken a liking to detective Jimmy Perez. He's a little different than most detectives I read about... quieter, more restrained. These stories show Perez using his ability to understand people and really listen to them in order to solve crimes, with less to emphasis on physical or forensic evidence. Good stuff! 3.5 stars.
July 3, 2020
Ann Cleeves is a master when it comes to developing the personalities of each of her characters, which makes this series fun. The backdrop of Shetland is lovely.
January 10, 2022
Well I definitely didn't see that coming. I'm really enjoying the Shetland books and I can't wait to read book #3. The main reason why I gave this four stars though is that the ending this time didn't really work for me. I think having a character give a "dump" of facts on Jimmy at the end just didn't work. I also wanted to say really that's what this was all about when we get to the why behind the murders. I don't know. It just didn't work. Though the setting of Shetland during this time of the year when the sun never really sets sounded oppressive after a while. Per usual, Cleeves can spin a scene and does a great job with this. I was surprised though with what she did with some of the characters (no spoilers).
"White Nights" takes place 6 months after the events in the last book. Jimmy Perez and Fran...are something. They spend a lot of time together and Jimmy is wondering about more with her. When he takes Fran to an exhibition of her art next to local artist Bella Sinclair, he thinks tonight may be the night where they move to a different stage of their relationship. However, the night ends up weird when a ton of people don't show and an English man no one knows shows up sobbing in front of a painting. When Jimmy tries to find out what is wrong, the man claims he has no memory. When he disappears, the man is found later, hung. It appears like a suicide until Jimmy investigates. With another murder on the island, Jimmy has to call in DI Taylor again. The two men try to track down who killed this unknown man and what it may have to do with a man who went missing decades earlier.
Jimmy was a bit out of sorts in this one. One wonders if it was because of the "white nights" or Fran at times. When he focuses on the case though he starts to put together the why behind the first murder and then a second that happens. I liked the progress of his relationship with Fran and his daughter. And I did laugh at his jealously with a local writer who just seems really off to me. I wonder if he will appear in future books.
Fran was a bit frustrating at times. I think once she decided to go all in with Jimmy though things changed. Her still not knowing what their relationship is, but still being protective of it and doing what she can to help Jimmy out as he tries to put pieces together was interesting. I don't really recall Cleeves having her DI's in relationships/married and working out cases with their significant others really. Ramsay did towards the end there, but it wasn't til the last book really. I wonder if you can count Matthew Venn? I only wonder since he did what he could to keep his husband out of the case in the first book. I haven't read book two yet. Okay, I digressed long enough, back to this book.
The other characters have a lot to hide in this one. But really what I enjoyed was Cleeves tapping into something that is pretty unique to smaller communities. People had some ideas about things, but didn't come right out and say it. And not to hide things, it is just what was and is done.
The ending was a bit lackluster though IMHO. As I said, one character doing an info dump about what happened and why had me going okay......
But the book promises something new with Jimmy and Fran. Cannot wait to read the third book.
"White Nights" takes place 6 months after the events in the last book. Jimmy Perez and Fran...are something. They spend a lot of time together and Jimmy is wondering about more with her. When he takes Fran to an exhibition of her art next to local artist Bella Sinclair, he thinks tonight may be the night where they move to a different stage of their relationship. However, the night ends up weird when a ton of people don't show and an English man no one knows shows up sobbing in front of a painting. When Jimmy tries to find out what is wrong, the man claims he has no memory. When he disappears, the man is found later, hung. It appears like a suicide until Jimmy investigates. With another murder on the island, Jimmy has to call in DI Taylor again. The two men try to track down who killed this unknown man and what it may have to do with a man who went missing decades earlier.
Jimmy was a bit out of sorts in this one. One wonders if it was because of the "white nights" or Fran at times. When he focuses on the case though he starts to put together the why behind the first murder and then a second that happens. I liked the progress of his relationship with Fran and his daughter. And I did laugh at his jealously with a local writer who just seems really off to me. I wonder if he will appear in future books.
Fran was a bit frustrating at times. I think once she decided to go all in with Jimmy though things changed. Her still not knowing what their relationship is, but still being protective of it and doing what she can to help Jimmy out as he tries to put pieces together was interesting. I don't really recall Cleeves having her DI's in relationships/married and working out cases with their significant others really. Ramsay did towards the end there, but it wasn't til the last book really. I wonder if you can count Matthew Venn? I only wonder since he did what he could to keep his husband out of the case in the first book. I haven't read book two yet. Okay, I digressed long enough, back to this book.
The other characters have a lot to hide in this one. But really what I enjoyed was Cleeves tapping into something that is pretty unique to smaller communities. People had some ideas about things, but didn't come right out and say it. And not to hide things, it is just what was and is done.
The ending was a bit lackluster though IMHO. As I said, one character doing an info dump about what happened and why had me going okay......
But the book promises something new with Jimmy and Fran. Cannot wait to read the third book.
August 29, 2023
I really enjoyed this book in both print and audio versions. It was very atmospheric, along with its predecessor, and I’m enjoying the development of the main detective character (and yes, watching his love life develop as well lol). I was genuinely surprised by the murderer in this one.
If I had to read this again, I would read it by itself, not alongside four or five others as I typically do and I would also come up with a little cast of characters for myself. Although if I read this and nothing else, maybe I wouldn’t have needed that. Still I feel it is helpful bc there are many characters to track. Many of them live in the village and are recurring characters, so having that list could be useful in any event.
I believe the same narrator reads this series, or most of it. He reminds me a little of Anthony Hopkins in ‘Silence of the Lambs’. Although his voice is not as creepy, the tone is very similar. Perfect for an atmospheric British crime series. Audio version is highly recommended for this series. Will definitely be reading more of Cleeves’s work.
If I had to read this again, I would read it by itself, not alongside four or five others as I typically do and I would also come up with a little cast of characters for myself. Although if I read this and nothing else, maybe I wouldn’t have needed that. Still I feel it is helpful bc there are many characters to track. Many of them live in the village and are recurring characters, so having that list could be useful in any event.
I believe the same narrator reads this series, or most of it. He reminds me a little of Anthony Hopkins in ‘Silence of the Lambs’. Although his voice is not as creepy, the tone is very similar. Perfect for an atmospheric British crime series. Audio version is highly recommended for this series. Will definitely be reading more of Cleeves’s work.
January 13, 2019
I do like this series by Ann Cleeves. "White Nights" is the second book, and Jimmy Perez is a good, likable detective. I have never been to the Shetland Islands, although I have had Shetland sheepdogs and I can knit a nice, warm shetland shawl. That makes me an expert, so when I say these books are worth reading, you can take it as the word of someone who knows.
October 10, 2023
“Perez thought that at this time of the year everyone absent a bit crazy. It was the light, intense during the day and still there at night…. Here in Shetland they called it the ‘simmer dim’.”
White Nights, the second book in Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series is aptly named for the relentless light of summer in Scotland’s northern most isles. Cleeves has captured something of the remoteness and ruggedness of the Shetlands as she weaves another masterful tale of mystery. This is a real cozy style of mystery… kind of like the curling up on the sofa style which suits me fine.
I read the first in this series a year ago and true to form on my reading plan to read one a year was keen to delve into this one. White Nights opens with an art show, an apparent suicide, moves to a second gruesome death and eventually to the discovery of human remains unidentified. Detective Jimmy Perez certainly has his work cut out for him and with his calm demeanour in the face of ‘white night’ madness peels back every layer in the tiny and close knit community of Biddista.
I liked the development of some of the characters introduced in book one during this second instalment. Perez is still somewhat broody, sure yet unsure about his evolving relationship while we get to see the side of Taylor from Inverness that perhaps highlights his vulnerabilities underneath the exterior.
This is a great series. Looking forward to the next one already. 4 solid Shetland stars.
White Nights, the second book in Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series is aptly named for the relentless light of summer in Scotland’s northern most isles. Cleeves has captured something of the remoteness and ruggedness of the Shetlands as she weaves another masterful tale of mystery. This is a real cozy style of mystery… kind of like the curling up on the sofa style which suits me fine.
I read the first in this series a year ago and true to form on my reading plan to read one a year was keen to delve into this one. White Nights opens with an art show, an apparent suicide, moves to a second gruesome death and eventually to the discovery of human remains unidentified. Detective Jimmy Perez certainly has his work cut out for him and with his calm demeanour in the face of ‘white night’ madness peels back every layer in the tiny and close knit community of Biddista.
I liked the development of some of the characters introduced in book one during this second instalment. Perez is still somewhat broody, sure yet unsure about his evolving relationship while we get to see the side of Taylor from Inverness that perhaps highlights his vulnerabilities underneath the exterior.
This is a great series. Looking forward to the next one already. 4 solid Shetland stars.
May 1, 2022
If I thought Raven Black was good. Which it was, this was even better (just). With a friendship blossoming into something more between Jimmy and Fran. While a mystery surrounding a theatre and actor in Yorkshire. Another great read
July 17, 2018
3,5/5 αστεράκια.
November 24, 2019
May 2019
This may well deserve a higher rating, but 7 months after I finished it without making even the slightest effort at a review, I have no idea. I recognize the start of the story from the blurb. And that's pretty much it. The identity of the first victim eludes me, as does the reason for any of it. All I seem to recall is that there was extensive back story. Well, also it got me interested in the the Hebrides and other islands, enough to look at houses for sale and jobs listings, not that I could consider moving without a lottery win because there is no way in hell that I am packing up and lugging all these books anywhere. I would love to see the white nights though.
Sad, innit, how little I remember? Still, I'd like to read more by Cleeves.
Library copy
This may well deserve a higher rating, but 7 months after I finished it without making even the slightest effort at a review, I have no idea. I recognize the start of the story from the blurb. And that's pretty much it. The identity of the first victim eludes me, as does the reason for any of it. All I seem to recall is that there was extensive back story. Well, also it got me interested in the the Hebrides and other islands, enough to look at houses for sale and jobs listings, not that I could consider moving without a lottery win because there is no way in hell that I am packing up and lugging all these books anywhere. I would love to see the white nights though.
Sad, innit, how little I remember? Still, I'd like to read more by Cleeves.
Library copy
June 19, 2016
Shetland must be one of the most desolately stunning places imaginable. A place where the sun never really sets in summer, and never really rises in winter - eternal light followed by eternal darkness, the perfect setting for an eerie crime-thriller.
Raven Black, the first in this series, balanced this setting perfectly with its plot. It was dark, nail-biting, atmospheric, gorgeous. I expected exactly that from White Nights but have to admit, was a little let down. It's hardly fair to say the author set her own bar too high, but this slightly dreamier sequel just missed something. It was still tightly plotted, with twists that the reader could possibly work out, but easily enough to be predicable. The relationships built up since the last book were intriguing and even quite sweet, at times. It just wasn't enough A gentle, enjoyable read, just not as fantastic as the first led me to expect.
Raven Black, the first in this series, balanced this setting perfectly with its plot. It was dark, nail-biting, atmospheric, gorgeous. I expected exactly that from White Nights but have to admit, was a little let down. It's hardly fair to say the author set her own bar too high, but this slightly dreamier sequel just missed something. It was still tightly plotted, with twists that the reader could possibly work out, but easily enough to be predicable. The relationships built up since the last book were intriguing and even quite sweet, at times. It just wasn't enough A gentle, enjoyable read, just not as fantastic as the first led me to expect.
December 30, 2023
The eponymous white nights refer to the lack of true nighttime in Shetland Islands during summer because they’re located so very far north (cf. Land of the Midnight Sun). Detective Jimmy Perez attends an art show where an Englishman breaks down in tears and claims not to remember his own name. Hours later, the man is found hanging from the rafters in a nearby shed. The verdict turns out to be murder rather than suicide.
White Nights is less claustrophobic and atmospheric than the debut Raven Black, but I really enjoyed this different approach, as well. As with its predecessor, the characters prove as much — if not more — of a draw as the cleverly plotted mystery. I enjoyed White Nights even more than its predecessor. I’m really looking forward to No. 3, Red Bones.
White Nights is less claustrophobic and atmospheric than the debut Raven Black, but I really enjoyed this different approach, as well. As with its predecessor, the characters prove as much — if not more — of a draw as the cleverly plotted mystery. I enjoyed White Nights even more than its predecessor. I’m really looking forward to No. 3, Red Bones.
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