Cover detail of Raven Black by Ann Cleeves showing black ravens in the snow

Ann Cleeves Novels by Series

At the bookshop we held a fascinating event with Ann Cleeves, who talked wonderfully about her novel writing process. Ann also suggested that her friend should also speak. This friend turned out to be Ann's advisor about crime scene management. Ann would think of the start of the novel, usually the discovery of a body and would seek advice from her advisor, who would walk Ann through the process of how the crime scene would be processed. It was a fascinating talk and Ann graciously let her friend take centre stage. Ann has been writing for years and is a genuine and friendly person.

The novels are marvellous; - atmospheric and with some strong characters. I've grouped the novels by series.

Palmer-Jones

  • A Bird in the Hand (1986)
  • Come Death and High Water (1987)
  • Murder in Paradise (1988)
  • A Prey to Murder (1989)
  • Another Man's Poison (1992)
  • Sea Fever (1993)
  • The Mill on the Shore (1994)
  • High Island Blues (1996)

Inspector Ramsay

  • A Lesson in Dying (1990)
  • Murder in My Backyard (1991)
  • A Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy (1992)
  • Killjoy (1993)
  • The Healers (1995)
  • The Baby Snatcher (1997)

Vera Stanhope

  • The Crow Trap (1999)
  • Telling Tales (2005)
  • Hidden Depths (2007)
  • Silent Voices (2011)
  • The Glass Room (2012)
  • Harbour Street (2014)
  • The Moth Catcher (2015)
  • The Seagull (2017)
  • The Darkest Evening (2020)
  • The Woman on the Island (2022)
  • The Rising Tide (2022)

Shetland Island (DI Jimmy Perez)

The Four Seasons Quartet

The Four Elements Quartet

  • Dead Water (2013)
  • Thin Air (2014)
  • Cold Earth (2016)
  • Wild Fire (2017)

Other Shetland Titles

  • Shetland (2015) - A travel tie in to the series of books
  • Too Good to be True (2016) - Novella

Two Rivers (DI Matthew Venn)

Standalone Novels

  • The Sleeping and the Dead (2001)
  • Burial of Ghosts (2003)