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White Nights (Shetland Quartet #2)

by Ann Cleeves

3.79 · rating details · 477 ratings · 96 reviews

In Dagger-winner Cleeves's uneven second installment in her Shetland Island quartet (after Raven Black), Insp. Jimmy Perez sees a stranger sobbing in front of a painting at an art exhibit featuring the work of Perez's new girlfriend, Fran Hunter, and mythic local painter Bella Sinclair. Claiming to be suffering from amnesia, the unknown man disappears before Perez can ques...more

Paperback, 392 pages

Published June 9th 2009 by Minotaur Books (first published 2005)

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Nov 16, 2011

Richard rated it

· review of another edition

Rating: 3.75* of five

This is the second Shetland Islands Quartet thriller, which marketing decision was a good one...calling these thrillers instead of mysteries sets up the expectation of a whacking good read though not necessarily the play-fair-with-the-reader puzzle-solver that modern mysteries are.

Cleeves writes wonderfully clearly and carefully about flawed, real, lovable characters in bad emotional states because of violent, evil acts disrupting their very ordinary live...moreRating: 3.75* of five

This is the second Shetland Islands Quartet thriller, which marketing decision was a good one...calling these thrillers instead of mysteries sets up the expectation of a whacking good read though not necessarily the play-fair-with-the-reader puzzle-solver that modern mysteries are.

Cleeves writes wonderfully clearly and carefully about flawed, real, lovable characters in bad emotional states because of violent, evil acts disrupting their very ordinary lives.

The stories she tells in this series, to date, are proof to me that she's looked deeply into human nature and seen what its outlines show to the astute...there but for the grace of God go I. Everyone in this book flees from their hurts. Their flight is, inevitably, unsuccessful. Jimmy Perez can't run from his flaming co-dependence. Fran Hunter can't run from her seething ambition. Bella Sinclair can't run from her self-created persona, an Iron Maiden as effective as any Inquistor's torture device. Inspector Taylor, back up from Inverness, can't escape his fear-driven energy. No one, not any one, escapes.

The white nights of the title are a phenomenon of the far north. The sun never *quite* sets enough for true, dark night to fall. It's unsettling to some, it's a biorhythm disturber of tremendous power to have the body's million-year-old clock disrupted by absence of night. It's used by vile people the world over as a form of torture to deprive a human of good rest. And yet, there are thousands whose entire lives are lived with this condition as backdrop, and they seem not to feel its downside too strongly.

But let's face it...this fact of nature is a thriller-writer's best birthday present. What better metaphor, and even a pretty subtle one, for bringing to light old wrongs, shining the pitiless lamp of the torturer on the consciences of those guilty of undiscovered crimes, than a sun that won't go down?

That's a very nice backdrop you've chosen, Mme Cleeves, and it works very, very well for your chosen story, right up to and including the resolution of the multiple crimes. It does not make up for the sense I got, throughout the book, that your focus wasn't on me, your reader.

I recommend the book, yes. I even think there are some things about it that are outstanding, including the character developments of Perez and Taylor. But as I careened from incident to incident, I didn't sense that you were laying out this tale for my delectation, but rather leading me like a museum docent from exhibit to exhibit, trying in a haphazard way to lead my somewhat dim brain to a conclusion you'd already reached and were now impatiently awaiting my "aha!" moment. I am already in possession of "Red Bones", and I am very much looking forward to seeing what you have planned for me next, but I am a little bit put out by this sense of magisterial disdain that I got from the resolution to "White Nights." I wish you'd let me get there with you, instead of running ahead and pointing and waving your arms. (less)

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Jun 03, 2011

Regan rated it

· review of another edition

The first of Ann Cleeves Shetland Island Quartet, Raven Black, was dark and moody, fitting it's mid-winter, far north setting with so few day light hours. I expected Cleeves second installment in the series to match, but there was a subtle difference in style, this time matching the off-kilter mood that overtakes everyone in the round-the-clock June daylight hours of Shetland.

I was more enamored of Detective Jimmy Perez in the first novel than the actual mystery, and I was glad to see ...more

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Jan 28, 2011

Judy rated it

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This is the second book in the Shetland Island Quartet and it is a good follow up to Raven Black--the first book. That novel took place during the winter on Shetland Island and there were few hours of daylight each day. White Nights takes place months later during the summer and the situation is reversed. There is a saying in the Shetland Islands that during the summer "everyone is a little mad" because it never really gets dark. During an art exhibition in Biddista, a remote villa...more

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Jul 02, 2011

Bettie rated it

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Shelves: radio-4, summer-2011, mystery-thriller, britain-scotland, play-dramatisation

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Apr 23, 2011

Ruthiella rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, mystery

The second book in the Shetlander Quartet, Inspector Jimmy Perez has another mystery to solve, when an “incomer” (non-Shetlander”) is found hanging in a fishing shed; was it suicide or murder? The book begins about a year after the first installation “Raven Black”. I hope Cleeves keeps this series limited to four books as planned, if only because the Shetland Islands are sparsely populated. Too many murders would verge on “Murder, She Wrote” or “Midsommer Murders” territory, where murder is almo...more

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Jul 20, 2011

Spuddie rated it

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#2 of the Shetland Island quartet featuring Inspector Jimmy Perez. At an art showing that features well-known Island matriarch Bella Sinclair as well as her nephew, famous fiddler Roddy Sinclair, and also the artwork of Perez's new girlfriend Fran Hunter, a stranger in black stops in front of a painting and begins sobbing hysterically, claiming he can't remember who he is and why he is there, or why he is so moved by the painting. He disappears into the night, but the next morning he's found han...more

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Aug 21, 2011

Jane rated it

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A few weeks ago I read Raven Black, the first of Shetland Island series. It was set in midwinter when the island is in almost total darkness. But surprisingly I didn't find the mood all that dark - there was more emphasis on the winter celebrations of New Year's Eve and Up Helly Aa.

White Nights is set in midsummer when it's never really dark. The atmosphere is edgy, people can't sleep, everyone seems to go a little bit mad. Especially the mysterious stranger who has a breakdown a...more

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Aug 29, 2011

Dot rated it

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This is a cracker of a mystery from Ann Cleeves and is the second in the Shetland Quartet. The detective is Jimmy Perez who has a seemingly laid back attitude compared to the detectives who come in from the mainland when major crime is being investigated, but his style mirrors that of the islanders who hold on to their secrets in spite of living in small isolated communities where everyone and everything is known.

The author builds tension as the bodies mount and the descriptions of th...more

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Jan 24, 2009

Diane rated it

· review of another edition

After reading White Nights, the "second book in the Shetland Island Quartet", I wonder how the next books will hold a reader's interest without becoming repetitive and trite. I liked this story of Detective Jimmy Perez as he tries to unravel the mystery of a hanged man, stranger to Shetland, carrying no identification. Raven Black introduced Shetland in the frozen grip of winter; White Nights is set in summer, with local fishing boats and ferries at the mercy of ocean storms that cre...more

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Jun 14, 2010

Greg Perciak rated it

· review of another edition

This is the second installment in the Shetland Island (off the north coast of Scotland) series by this author. It's not a scary murder mystery. The author prefers to draw the reader's attention to the characters: Inspector Perez (yes, he's Scottish), his love interest and aspiring artist and single mother Fran Hunter (who found all the bodies in book one, Raven Black), and Bella Sinclair, the self-absorbed artist whom everyone loves to hate. The island, however, is the main character and the tit...more

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Oct 29, 2010

Jessica Howard rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, mystery-british

It's official, I'm obsessed with these books by Ann Cleeves!She makes the Shetland Islands seem so real, Jimmy Perez is such a likeable detective, and for the 2nd time, I totally did not guess who the murderer was till right at the end. I love it when a book actually remains a "whodunit" for most of the book!

The title of this book comes from the White Nights or "simmer dim" of the Shetlands in the middle of summer--they're so far north that the sun never sets, and...more

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Dec 28, 2011

Paul Curd rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: first-edition, crime-and-mystery, fiction

A guest at the opening of a Shetland Isles art exhibition breaks down in tears as everyone else looks on in embarrassed horror. Jimmy Perez, on his first real date with one of the artists, Fran Hunter, helps the man to his feet, feeling it is his duty as a policeman to do so. The man, who is English, claims to have no memory of who he is or why he is there. Perez thinks that it has something to do with the light, the fact that the sun never quite slips below the horizon even at midnight. Here in...moreA guest at the opening of a Shetland Isles art exhibition breaks down in tears as everyone else looks on in embarrassed horror. Jimmy Perez, on his first real date with one of the artists, Fran Hunter, helps the man to his feet, feeling it is his duty as a policeman to do so. The man, who is English, claims to have no memory of who he is or why he is there. Perez thinks that it has something to do with the light, the fact that the sun never quite slips below the horizon even at midnight. Here in the Shetlands they call it the 'simmer dim'. Everyone in the Shetlands goes a little crazy at this time of year. In the morning, though, the Englishman is found dead, hanging from the rafters of a fisherman's hut.

Who is the mysterious southerner? Why was he found with a clown's mask over his face? Why had he tried to ruin the art exhibition opening? More importantly, who strangled him and then tried to make the death look like a suicide? There are so many questions, but one thing is certain: there is a killer at large in the small island community of Biddista, and unless they are tracked down soon they will surely strike again.

At this point, the second of Ann Cleeves' quartet of Shetland crime novels follows a similar pattern of the first, with a team of detectives being flown in from Inverness to lead the investigation and local man Jimmy Perez having to play second fiddle to bluff Yorkshireman Roy Taylor. In the first book, Raven Black, the two very different detectives struck up an odd-couple kind of friendship. This time, though, the relationship between the two men is more strained.

In Raven Black I much admired the way Cleeves captured the physical 'feel' of the treeless Shetlands. In White Nights she seems to me to spend less time describing the physical terrain and is more involved in exploring the psychological landscape of Biddista, especially the complex relationships that develop in a small, remote community. The inchoate relationship between Jimmy Perez and Fran Hunter, neither of them entirely sure of themselves, is cleverly done, especially when Fran catches the eye of the intense English writer Peter Wilding. The interaction between quiet, thoughtful Perez and his brash and forthright colleague Taylor is similarly perfect in its evocation. But for me, the highlights of the book are the beautifully written chapters that tenderly capture the late-blooming marriage of Biddista residents Kenny and Edith Thomson.

This is the kind of crime writing I really enjoy: there's mystery and suspense, and a clever plot, but the strength of the book is in the characterisation and the quality of the prose. Like Ruth Rendell or P.D. James at their best, Cleeves gives you so much more than your average crime writer. Highly recommended.
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Oct 15, 2009

Bernadette rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: audio-book, read-2009, scotland

It’s summer in Shetland and well-known artist Bella Sinclair is hosting an exhibition of her work alongside that of new artist Fran Hunter. Although there are not as many guests at the opening as Bella expected, one unknown Englishman does make an impression when he breaks down in tears at the sight of one of the paintings. Local Detective Jimmy Perez, attending the exhibition on a date with Fran Hunter, takes the man aside and discovers he has amnesia. When the man disappears from the gallery J...moreIt’s summer in Shetland and well-known artist Bella Sinclair is hosting an exhibition of her work alongside that of new artist Fran Hunter. Although there are not as many guests at the opening as Bella expected, one unknown Englishman does make an impression when he breaks down in tears at the sight of one of the paintings. Local Detective Jimmy Perez, attending the exhibition on a date with Fran Hunter, takes the man aside and discovers he has amnesia. When the man disappears from the gallery Jimmy doesn’t make much effort to find him but wishes he had done when the man is discovered dead the next morning. This presumed suicide and subsequent events all seem to be affected by the endless daylight of the far northern summer and the isolation of the islands.

I’m a sucker for books set in remote locations. They are as different from my inner-city life as it gets (and not somewhere I’d willingly spend more than about 5 days) but I love reading about them. Cleeves does a superb job of immersing readers in the isolated world populated by familiar faces who, although they share much, all seem to work incredibly hard at keeping a little piece of themselves private. I quickly developed an image of Biddista, the village of half a dozen houses where most of the action takes place, and its inhabitants thanks to Cleeves’ imagery and her depictions of how the locals interact with the various ‘incomers’ in the story.

Cleeves takes time too to develop a range of characters. Jimmy Perez is engaging as he pursues both personal and professional interests despite the fact he is unsure of himself in both spheres. I thought his mixture of introspection and decisiveness quite realistic although I was a bit bored by his somewhat laboured relationship with Fran. Several of the island ‘old-timers’ were utterly absorbing including Kenny who has the misfortune to discover more than one body and who seemed to represent the Islands’ struggle to have its traditions coexist with modern ways. The Inverness Inspector in charge of the case, Roy Taylor, was a different type of character all together but equally well depicted and a good source of conflict for the novel.

For me the book fell down a bit in its story. The establishment portion was quite good but after that I found the plot fairly predictable and I actually thought the ending a bit too melodramatic (and not terribly credible) which was out of keeping with the earlier events. As all the suspects were highlighted then rejected during the final scenes I got the sense that the culprit had been chosen for shock value more than continuity.

I haven’t read the first book in this quartet but I didn’t feel that I was at any disadvantage. There were mentions of earlier events but I wasn’t troubled by not knowing the details which scores bonus points from me as books which can be read independently seem to be a rare commodity in crime fiction these days. Although the story wasn’t the most gripping I’ve read there is much else to recommend this book, especially when narrated by the delightful Gordon Griffin who managed to portray an entire range of people without really changing his voice at all.(less)

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Oct 14, 2008

Caitemaire rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: early, reviewers, arc, shetland, islands, random

“White Nights” is the second in what the author calls her “Shetland Island Quartet” and that is a grand thing. Grand because now I know I can go back and read the first in the series, Raven Black, and still have two more to book forward to in the future. Excellent! [return]And while I understand that some of the same characters that were in the first reappear in the book, it is certainly not necessary to have read the first to totally enjoy this one.[return]It is lovely to discover an 'new' auth...more“White Nights” is the second in what the author calls her “Shetland Island Quartet” and that is a grand thing. Grand because now I know I can go back and read the first in the series, Raven Black, and still have two more to book forward to in the future. Excellent! [return]And while I understand that some of the same characters that were in the first reappear in the book, it is certainly not necessary to have read the first to totally enjoy this one.[return]It is lovely to discover an 'new' author whose books you have not read and have a nice little bunch of books now to look forward to reading and enjoying as much as I enjoyed this book. [return][return]The story opens with a cruise ship arriving in the Shetland town of Lerwick.[return]“The sun was bouncing off the still water and the great white hull was so bright that you had to squint to look at it. In the car park, a fleet of buses waited: the tourists would be taken to the archaeological sites in the south, to see the seabird cliffs to photograph the puffins, and for a guided tour of the silverworks. At some point there would be a stop for a Shetland high tea.”[return]Now I don't know about you, but any books that has puffins in the first page...well, that portents great things ahead for me. [return][return]Police Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez and his friend, Fran Hunter are about to go to an art showing at a local gallery in the town of Biddista. For Perez, he hopes this will be the chance to find out if their relationship will move beyond friendship in the future, for Fran, the first gallery showing of her art. But things are not to go smoothly. Few people show up for the show, a bizarre stranger causes a scene, and the next morning, the same man is found dead, hanging in a storage building on the beach. Although there was an attempt to make it look otherwise, the death was certainly murder and all the people connected with the small seaside community are suspect in the investigation, carried on by Perez and later, the Inverness police team brought in, headed by Inspector Roy Taylor.[return][return]The atmosphere of the book is engaging. Summer in the islands, because of the latitude, has only a few hours of dusty night each day and the constant light is said to have a crazy effect on people. Combine that with the constant presence of the sea, the treeless windswept hills, dotted with sheep, the fog off shore, always threatening to roll in once again, and the Shetlands themselves are almost like another character in the story. [return][return]Not to say that the characters themselves are not very good, because they are. Yes, it is a small community where many people are related and, if not, have often known each others all their lives. They think that they know everything about their neighbors but it turns out everyone, the locals and the outsiders alike, have their secrets. And those secrets are yet to take another great toll on the townsfolk. [return][return]If I have any negative point about the book, it might be the ending. The conclusion seemed just a wee bit off. Yes, the clues were there, but when we find out the villain, instead of saying[return]“Of Course! Why didn't I see that?”, I found myself say “OK, yes, I guess that makes sense”. Not a perfectly fair ending from the information we were given perhaps. [return][return]But that is a small point overall. This was a fine book, an excellent setting, very good characters, large and small, a engaging story and a very good read. I would certainly recommend it to mystery fans and I know I will be searching out more of Ann Cleeves books.(less)

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Oct 06, 2008

Sunnie rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Everyone

Reading Ann Cleeves is a little like being an addict. You very quickly become hooked as Cleeves
drip-feeds background information of her characters in very measured doses. And you have to pay attention. Miss one piece of this information and you might miss a vital clue.

The protagonist, Jimmy Perez is a quiet thoughtful man, familiar with the Islands and the people. His boss D.I. Taylor, who flies in from Aberdeen for major cases is the opposite. He is unable to sit still an...more

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Aug 19, 2008

Terri rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Mystery lovers and those who like atmospheric reads

Shelves: 2008, early-reviewers

White Nights follows Raven Black in the Shetland Islands Quartet, but it is not necessary to have read these books in order. I didn't feel that I was missing anything by skipping straight to book two.

I'm always curious about the titles of books and how they fit into the story. The phrase "white nights" refers to the constant daylight during the summer months in the extreme Northern hemisphere. Several characters mention the somewhat maddening and sleep disturbing effect tha...more

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Aug 21, 2011

Chris rated it

· review of another edition

I found this second book in Cleeves' Shetland Island series a bit slower of a read than its predecessor, but I still enjoyed it just as much. Jimmy Perez makes for a different sort of detective...quiet and introspective, soft-spoken and patient. The setting, in the islands of Scotland, also makes for a refreshing change of pace from the usual urban mystery locales. The cast of characters, many recurring from the first book, are appropriately eccentric and entertaining, and the plot intriguing.

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Aug 02, 2011

Tanja Seppä rated it

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An uknown actor is found hanged in a small Shetland town. It turns out to be murder rather than suicide and dective Jimmy Perez investigates. Before too long another person is murdered, this time a young, local celebrity. We're in it for another "whodunnit". I desperately wish this would have been a good book. It's well-written, the murderer, when revealed, is a surprise and the atmosphere is bleak and wind-blown. The story completely fails to engage. There is nothing to engage me in ...more

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Feb 08, 2011

Kristine added it

A murder mystery that takes place in the Scottish Shetland Islands. This is a well paced, suspense filled story. Anne Cleeves characters are well developed. You will love detective Jimmy Perez who is the outsider character who never left his home in the Shetland Island. Ms. Cleeves has a true gift for creating a rich sense of place. This is the second novel in her Shetland Island quartet. The first in the series Raven Black won the Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award.

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Mar 26, 2011

Susan Johnson rated it

· review of another edition

The Internet and cruise ships bring the outside to the formerly isolated Islands and with them come problems. An ousider, dressed as a clown, tries to stop people from attending a local art show. Why would he do that? Jimmy Perez has to discover why and as he does he unwinds the secrets in an old Island mystery that reveals more than one skeleton.
A wonderful read and the setting makes the story really come alive. I really like this series.

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Jun 04, 2011

Sherry rated it

· review of another edition

This is the 2nd Ann Cleeves book I've read. I really enjoyed them both. I enjoyed the3 continuation of the characters in this story. I also thoroughly liked the story which twisted along the way. Once again she surprises us at the end. Again, her characters are well developed and the reader can understand why the crime was committed, at least, in a mystery story. I kind of felt sad for the villain. But, I won't give asnything away.

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Jan 06, 2012

Sandi rated it

Shelves: crime-mystery-thriller-suspense, read-2012

An enjoyable read but not quite as good as the previous book in the series Raven Black. The highlights of this book for me were the Shetland Island setting and the author's insight into how insular communities work and are affected by crime. I found the ending to be a bit abrupt though and perhaps not in keeping with the pace of the rest of the book.

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May 05, 2011

Linda rated it

· review of another edition

Every bit as good as the first book of this Shetland Island series, "Raven Black". Ann Cleeves writes intelligent, well plotted mysteries with excellent descriptions of the people and places involved. I'm looking forward to reading "Red Bones", the next in the series. I would recommend these books to anyone who enjoys the books of Louise Penny....a similar style.

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Mar 06, 2011

David rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries

This is really a 4.5 book. It is a darn good read. Set in the Shetland Islands which is sub-arctic and very very isolated. The villagers are very close with little secrets from each other. So everyone maintains a few secrets for sanity. In this book a whole lot of the secrets come out and the story ends in a way that I completely missed.

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Mar 03, 2011

Ange rated it

· review of another edition

A good mystery. Very evocative of Shetland Islands and what it must be like to live in such a close knit community. Nearly at the end and I think I know `whodun it`. Bet I am in for a surprise. If I have guessed correctly then I am not sure I will read another. If there is a twist then I will search out more of her books in the library.

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Sep 14, 2009

Bee rated it

· review of another edition

Shelves: british-mysteries

Decent mystery.
By the end I was semi-hooked, but I felt mildly disinterested throughout the entire story. I felt detached from the characters and just generally cold about them all -- I can't think of another word to describe it. For some reason I kept subconsciously comparing it to the Deborah Crombie novels, which I love, and this just didn't grab me like they do.

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Sep 04, 2011

Lauri rated it

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Shelves: own_it, fiction_modern, loaned_out

Meh. This wasn't nearly as good as the first one. The murders/characters weren't as interesting, but I still enjoyed reading it up until the last couple of chapters. I did not find the ending congruent with the rest of the novel, I didn't like how the murders were supposedly resolved - it seemed forced and hurried and disconnected from the rest of the book. Bummed that the ending wasn't better and more believable.

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Dec 20, 2008

Nan rated it

· review of another edition

Recommends it for: Readers wanting to get a glimpse of life in the Shetlands.

Almost done in cozy fashion yet the deaths are bloody enough to be on "Law and Order." This is a Shetland Isle thriller that offers a taste of life in this very removed section of the globe. How anyone is able to sleep with so much sunlight is a real test ...for sanity!

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Nov 20, 2008

Lisa rated it

· review of another edition

This book had a better story line than Raven Black, but the characters are so flat and the dialogue so monotonous. Plus, the characters don't have a distinct voices. I'm giving this 3 stars only because the plot was interesting enough to keep me reading the book.

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Feb 09, 2011

Lee rated it

· review of another edition

Dark psychological mystery set on the Shetland Islands. Once again this author surprised me with the ending, though all the clues were there. I didn't feel misled. This is the second book of the Shetland Quartet and the third is sitting on my nightstand waiting for me. I'm really enjoying this series.

As a side note I checked google maps to see the location of these islands and you can look at actual street views of most of the major roads. How cool is that?

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About Ann Cleeves

Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.

While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory ...moreAnn grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs - child care officer, women's refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard - before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.

While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person's not heavily into birds - and Ann isn't - there's not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.

In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.

For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival's first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
Ann Cleeves on stage at the Duncan Lawrie Dagger awards ceremony

Ann's short film for Border TV, Catching Birds, won a Royal Television Society Award. She has twice been short listed for a CWA Dagger Award - once for her short story The Plater, and the following year for the Dagger in the Library award.

In 2006 Ann Cleeves was the first winner of the prestigious Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award of the Crime Writers' Association for Raven Black, the first volume of her Shetland Quartet. The Duncan Lawrie Dagger replaces the CWA's Gold Dagger award, and the winner receives £20,000, making it the world's largest award for crime fiction.

Ann's success was announced at the 2006 Dagger Awards ceremony at the Waldorf Hilton, in London's Aldwych, on Thursday 29 June 2006. She said: "I have never won anything before in my life, so it was a complete shock - but lovely of course.. The evening was relatively relaxing because I'd lost my voice and knew that even if the unexpected happened there was physically no way I could utter a word. So I wouldn't have to give a speech. My editor was deputed to do it!"

The judging panel consisted of Geoff Bradley (non-voting Chair), Lyn Brown MP (a committee member on the London Libraries service), Frances Gray (an academic who writes about and teaches courses on modern crime fiction), Heather O'Donoghue (academic, linguist, crime fiction reviewer for The Times Literary Supplement, and keen reader of all crime fiction) and Barry Forshaw (reviewer and editor of Crime Time magazine).

Ann's books have been translated into sixteen languages. She's a bestseller in Scandinavia and Germany. Her novels sell widely and to critical acclaim in the United States. Raven Black was shortlisted for the Martin Beck award for best translated crime novel in Sweden in 2007.
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6548062-white-nights?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1311981311m/6548062.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6548062-white-nights?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]White Nights by Ann Cleeves[/url]

White Nights (Shetland Quartet #2)

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