All voracious readers have authors whose writing they love, and they wait impatiently for each new book. Ann Cleeves is one of those authors for me. I think she's gone beneath the radar here in the U.S. for quite some time, and it's only now that streaming services like Acorn, Netflix, and Britbox are showing the television series based on her Vera Stanhope and Shetland Island books that she's becoming better known. It also doesn't hurt that she's winning some very well-deserved awards.
Anyone who's been following this blog for very long knows that I'm an Ann Cleeves fangirl. When I was wandering around Amazon and the website very obligingly told me that the latest (and, regretfully, last) Shetland Island mystery would be out in its American edition on September 4, you know I marked the date down in my calendar.
Then, of course, I had to share it with you. Here's more about the book:
"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 a gallows and a hanged man. Gossip spreads like wildfire.
A story of dysfunctional families and fractured relationships, Inspector Jimmy Perez's eighth case will intrigue series fans and Shetland Island newcomers alike."
Cleeves has a marvelous way with her characters and the landscapes her stories take place in. Somehow she manages to write quietly, unassumingly, lulling me into a false sense of security, then... POW! She is entirely capable of delivering a nail through my heart.
If you haven't read either her Vera Stanhope or her Shetland Island mysteries, all I can do is sadly shake my head and hope that you get your hands on the books and start reading. They are marvelous.
And for once I don't find myself in a dilemma. The UK edition of Wild Fire is scheduled to be released two days after the US edition. Strange, but I won't complain!
How many of you have fallen under Ann Cleeves' spell? Inquiring minds would love to know!
I actually like the BBC TV episodes for both series very much and would stop anything to watch them.
ReplyDeleteThey are excellent.
DeleteI like Ann Cleeves' work quite a lot, Cathy. And I give her credit for writing a variety of different series. I look forward to reading this one.
ReplyDeleteShe is such a talented writer.
DeleteOkay, okay, added Anne Cleeves series to my TBR pile. You've convinced me.
ReplyDeleteI hope you like her, Yvette!
DeleteAs you know, I'm on a quest to read both the Vera and Shetland series this year. I think I'm going to wait until later in the summer to begin Raven Black. I still have that one Vera book (the one that has no audio) to read - The Glass Room. Looking forward to seeing this author in a couple of weeks. :-)
ReplyDeleteLucky you!
DeleteOne good thing about the Shetland TV series is that you can see the sea and the gray skies and the land.
ReplyDeleteYes, we can, but we can also see quite a bit of Northumberland when we watch Vera. Both are filmed beautifully.
DeleteAgreed. I love the fields and skies in Vera Stanhope's world.
ReplyDeleteNorthumberland also has a wonderful bookshop in Alnwick. Durness and the Isle of Skye in Scotland and Northumberland would be my choices of places to live in the UK.
DeleteAfter reading the Lewis trilogy by Peter May, I wanted to live on the isle of Lewis and Harris.
ReplyDeleteThen on the other hand with my urban-centered self, liking city life around me, I'd love to live in Glasgow for awhile. It seems like a quirky, alive city with lots of eccentricities and fun and politics.
Yes, I think Glasgow would be a good choice.
Delete