Raven Black, by Ann Cleeves

Hi All! We had a really fun meeting at Kathy Baker’s beautiful home this past Tuesday to discuss Raven Black, by Ann Cleeves.

Before we got down to the business of discussing the book, we had a conversation about all kinds of things, from who would walk Meghan Markle down the aisle at the upcoming royal wedding (spoiler), religious iconography regarding the pelican in the early Christian church, to some really good Broadway shows -  Come From Away got strong praise, as did School of Rock, Hamilton, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, and Mama Mia. This led to a discussion about how best to get tickets. A friend of mine is a Verified Fan through Ticket Master, and receives a code that makes it easier for her to get tickets – link here if you are interested. Mary and I also talked about an app called Get Your Guide that is very useful when one wants to book tours or experiences almost anywhere in the world. I’ve had very good experiences using it in Italy and Portugal, and will use it in Sweden and Iceland in June.

Then we had delicious treats (fondue, special dips, a selection of cheeses, fruit, chocolate, and oh, the desserts...!) and then we discussed the book. 

Raven Black takes place in the modern day Shetland, and tells the story of the investigation of a murder of a local teenager.  The book, the first in a series known as the ‘Shetland Island’ series, has recently been adapted for television, in the series Shetland on BBC. Most of the group enjoyed the book for it’s description of Shetland’s beauty and culture, and the accurate portrayal of the way the small communities operate, but felt that the development of the characters should have been more well rounded to make the reader have better connections to the protagonist and key characters. Some readers noticed a similarity to the structure of To Kill a Mockingbird that made the plot a bit predictable.  Sometimes the plot exposition was more ‘telling than showing’, through conversations that seemed somewhat implausible, and the action flagged in the middle. In all, the group enjoyed the book, and were rewarded by the unexpected ending, that all agreed was well worth the read.  Ann Cleves also writes the Vera Stanhope series, which has been adapted by the BBC as Vera. Apparently, Ann Cleeves and Louise Penny are good friends and often give talks together. 

Some new books we talked about are:

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Capitol Dames: Civil War and Women of Washington 1848-1868, by Cokie Roberts.

The Perfect Horse, by Elizabeth Letts

Belgravia, by Julian Fellowes 

Varina, by Charles Frazier

Sing, Unburied, Sing, by Jesmyn Ward

We decided to read Belgravia for the June 19^th meeting at 6:30pm, which will be at Fiona’s house, and Cold Mountain or Varina by Charles Frazier (pick one or both) for July at René’s house.

Thank you again to Kathy for all her wonderful hospitality, and to all for the great conversation!