Review: Raven Black by Ann Cleeves

The good

• Interesting, fully-fleshed out characters that feel like real people.

• Interesting small-town setting that feels like a real place.

• Interesting writing style that occasionally looks at the same scene from multiple perspectives.

• Moderately interesting twist ending to the central mystery.

The not so good

• It’s a mystery story with a lead detective, but there’s no real detective work. There are no deductions; virtually no important clues; no meaningful progress until we just get the big reveal in the final 20 pages of the book.

• The lead detective is a non-entity. Other characters are interesting, but he seems to blend into the background and not do much.

• The story moves slowly.

Rating: 3.5 stars