Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

(Shetland Island #1)
 374 pages / 11 hrs, 20 mins

"Long a celebrated crime writer in Britain, Ann Cleeves' fame went international when she won the coveted Duncan Lawrie Dagger for this amazing suspense novel, Raven Black. Like Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse or Peter Robinson's Inspector Banks, Cleeves' new detective, Inspector Jimmy Perez, is a very private and perceptive man whose bailiwick is a remote hamlet in the Shetland Islands. 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." --from the publisher

It was good, but I was expecting great. I think I would have enjoyed it more if my expectations weren't so high. There are a lot of interconnected characters so it can be hard to keep them straight at times. Add that to their colorful pasts, and it gets even more complicated. And the ending felt a bit disjointed and anticlimactic. I may try another in the series sometime. I give this one three out of five stars.

An Unwilling Accomplice by Charles Todd

(Bess Crawford #6)

368 pages / 11 hrs, 1 min

"Home on leave, Bess Crawford is asked to accompany a wounded soldier confined to a wheelchair to Buckingham Palace, where he’s to be decorated by the King. The next morning when Bess goes to collect Wilkins, he has vanished. Both the Army and the nursing service hold Bess negligent for losing the war hero, and there will be an inquiry.

"Then comes disturbing word from the Shropshire police, complicating the already difficult situation: Wilkins has been spotted, and he’s killed a man. If Bess is to save her own reputation, she must find Wilkins and uncover the truth. But the elusive soldier has disappeared again and even the Shropshire police have lost him. Suddenly, the moral implications of what has happened—that a patient in her charge has committed murder—become more important to Bess than her own future. She’s going to solve this mysterious puzzle, but righting an injustice and saving her honor may just cost Bess her life."  --from the publisher

Just an "okay" addition to this series. The story didn't flow well, and many of the characters' actions were out of character. I hope this is a one-off, and the books get back to their usual quality. I give it three out of five stars, but that may be a bit generous.