Ann Cleeves in Shetland
Photo © Malcom Younger, Milgaet Media
Return to Fair Isle
In Blue Lightning, the Shetland Quartet reaches its fourth and last book of. Fran braves the autumn storms to visit Fair Isle with Jimmy Perez, to meet his parents, but in the fierce weather, the little island is cut off - and then, within this enclosed community, a murderer strikes!
Blue Lightning was published by Pan Macmillan on 5th February 2010; you can order it now direct from the publisher, from Amazon UK or from your local book shop (it may help them to oder it is you quote the ISBN: 978-0230014473).
Andrew Taylor, writing in the Spectator, said: "As usual, the plotting is strong and the background fascinating. Cleeves is particularly good at assembling domestic detail that adds a cumulative poignancy and depth to her characters' lives. The narrative builds to a truly shocking climax with a grimly convincing epilogue."
Award-winning crime writer Frances Fyfield said: "This is a real, page turning thriller. It is beautifully crafted, belonging to the golden age of well-fashioned detective fiction. Clues, red herrings, isolation, birds, wings, feathers, unusual passions made understood. I simply could not put it down... a terrific, atmospheric novel."
Read more about Blue Lightning.
Starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera Stanhope
Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope is coming to television in a two-hour drama starring Brenda Blethyn as Vera. ITV's dramatisation of Ann Cleeves' novel Hidden Depths, featuring her Northumberland-based detective, has now finished filming in a variety of locations around the North East.
Set in a contemporary Northumberland close-knit community this engrossing murder mystery centres around the discovery of two beautiful young corpses found floating in water, garlanded with wild flowers...
To coincide with the broadcast, in autumn next year, Ann's publisher, Pan Macmillan plans to reissue all three Vera Stanhope novels in paperback, with redesigned covers (right, we preview the new versions of The Crow Trap and Hidden Depths); and Ann is working on a brand new Vera Stanhope story.
Read more about Vera Stanhope, the books and the television drama.
In true Agatha Christie style, Cleeves once again pulls the wool over our eyes with cunning and conviction
Colin Dexter
Ann Cleeves with Colin Dexter at the London launch of White Nights.
A most satisfying mystery set in an isolated and intriguing location
Peter Robinson
Read more about the Shetland Quartet.
Praise for Ann Cleeves:
"Nobody does unsettling undercurrents better than Ann Cleeves."
"Ann Cleeves deserves a lot more attention than she gets. Her plots are beautifully crafted; her characters are intense and deeply drawn."
Toronto Globe and Mail
"Perceptive, convincing and quietly compelling."
Marcel Berlins, The Times
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Last update: 5th February 2010.