For this month’s Mondays are Murder, I want to talk about mysteries set in other countries. When I travel, I read mystery authors from the places I’m going to visit. So when I went to Scotland and the Shetland Isles, I looked for authors who’s books would give me a sense of place. If you’re a fan of the Shetland TV series, you’ve probably heard of Ann Cleeves because it’s her books that the series comes from. Her first book in the series is Raven Black, the first time we meet one of my favorite detectives of all time – Jimmy Perez. The best part of Cleeves’ books is that, in a way, she makes Shetland itself a character. You’ll see what I mean if you read the series. Start with RAVEN BLACK.
Ann Cleeves – RAVEN BLACK – Shetland Island Mysteries
It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a splash of color on the frozen ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbor, Catherine Ross.
The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man--loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when detective Jimmy Perez and his colleagues from the mainland insist on opening out the investigation, a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbors nervously lock their doors, while a killer lives on in their midst.
Since I was on a Shetland kick, I discovered the Shetland Longship Series by Shetlander Marsali Taylor. I loved these books – Cass Lynch is a sailor and amateur sleuth who finds herself dealing with mysteries in Shetland at land and sea. The first book in the series, Death on a Shetland Longship, sets Cass up as she explores a murder that takes place on an authentic Norse vessel.
Marsali Taylor – DEATH N A SHETLAND LONGSHIP – Shetland Sailing Mysteries
When she wangles the job of skippering a Viking longship for a film, Cass Lynch thinks her big break has finally arrived - even though it means returning home to the Shetland Islands, which she ran away from as a teenager. Then the “accidents” begin - and when a dead woman turns up on the boat’s deck, Cass realizes that she, her family and her past are under suspicion from the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector Macrae. Cass must call on all her local knowledge, the wisdom she didn’t realize she’d gained from sailing and her glamorous, French opera singer mother
On this trip, we really explored Edinburgh on the mainland. Edinburgh has an interesting history of medical students “misappropriating” bodies from graveyards, and so while in a bookstore there, I stumbled upon Ambrose Perry’s historical mystery series. The first book, The Way of All Flesh, deals with medical student Will Raven, in 1847 Edinburgh, as he and housemaid Sarah try to solve a number of murders. I really enjoyed these books because I’m a total history geek at heart.
Ambrose Parry – THE WAY OF ALL FLESH – A Raven & Fisher Mystery
Edinburgh, 1847. Will Raven is a medical student, apprenticing for the brilliant and renowned Dr Simpson. Sarah Fisher is Simpson’s housemaid and has all of Raven’s intelligence but none of his privileges.
As bodies begin to appear across the Old Town, Raven and Sarah find themselves propelled headlong into the darkest shadows of Edinburgh’s underworld. And if either of them is to make it out alive, they will have to work together to find out who’s responsible for the gruesome deaths, clear them all of suspicion - and to catch the killer before Cass becomes the next victim.
Why the hell not?
Leslie Langtry does not like to write bios. Seriously, she’s just not good at it. You’d think that after fifty books, she’d be able to pull off a few sentences, but no, she can’t. It’s very disappointing. At least her books are good, which counts, in her mind, as a win.
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