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Series · mystery
Shetland
The Shetland series by Ann Cleeves has 10 known books (10 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Raven Black (2006). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is The Killing Stones.
- Books
- 10 known books (9 novels + 1 short story)
- Published
- 10
- First published
- 2006
- Status
- ongoing
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime
- Last checked
Start here: Raven Black (2006) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Raven Black
Raven Black (2006) opens Ann Cleeves's Shetland series, introducing Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez to the windswept archipelago's tightly knit island community. The first entry in the Four Seasons quartet, it establishes the series' hallmark focus on landscape and light as much as plot, running 380 pages ahead of White Nights two years later.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Raven Black - Book 2:
White Nights
White Nights (2008) continues the Four Seasons quartet that opens the Shetland series, following Jimmy Perez's patient, people-first investigative style through another island murder. At 400 pages, it arrived two years after Raven Black.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of White Nights - Book 3:
Red Bones
Red Bones (2009) is the third Shetland novel, continuing the Four Seasons quartet a year after White Nights with Jimmy Perez working the remotest of Scottish postings. It runs 396 pages, deepening the series' character-driven approach to island life.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Red Bones - Book 4:
Blue Lightning
Blue Lightning (2010) closes out the Four Seasons quartet that opened Ann Cleeves's Shetland series, following Red Bones as the fourth entry. At 368 pages, it precedes a three-year gap before Dead Water launches the Four Elements quartet.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Blue Lightning - Book 5:
Dead Water
Dead Water (2013) opens the Four Elements quartet, the second half of Ann Cleeves's Shetland series, arriving after a three-year gap since Blue Lightning closed the Four Seasons books. At 400 pages, it continues following Jimmy Perez through the personal losses -- including his wife Fran's death -- that mark the series' middle stretch.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead Water - Book 6:
Thin Air
Thin Air (2014) continues the Four Elements quartet, matching Dead Water's length exactly at 400 pages as the sixth Shetland novel. It's followed in publication order by the short standalone Too Good to Be True before Cold Earth continues the main sequence.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Thin Air - Book 7:
Too Good to Be True
Too Good to Be True is a 112-page short story released on February 4, 2016, sitting outside the main numbered sequence between Thin Air and Cold Earth.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Too Good to Be True - Book 8:
Cold Earth
Cold Earth (2016) is the seventh full Shetland novel, following Thin Air and the interstitial short story Too Good to Be True. At 400 pages, it continues the Four Elements quartet as Jimmy Perez's Fair Isle-born colleague Willow Reeves increasingly shares the investigative load.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Cold Earth - Book 9:
Wild Fire
Wild Fire (2018) closes out the Four Elements quartet and the core eight-book Shetland sequence, the longest entry in the series to that point at 415 pages. It followed Cold Earth as the eighth novel, before the 2025 continuation The Killing Stones extended the world to Orkney.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Wild Fire - Book 10:
The Killing Stones
The Killing Stones, published October 7, 2025 at 382 pages, is the most recent entry, arriving seven years after Wild Fire, the longest gap in the series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Killing Stones
About the Shetland series
Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez works Scotland's remotest posting: the Shetland Islands, a windswept archipelago closer to Norway than to Edinburgh, where everyone knows everyone and a murder tears at the fabric of a community too small to absorb one. Ann Cleeves, who also writes the Vera Stanhope novels, builds the series as much around landscape and light as around plot — the eternal simmer dim of midsummer, the total darkness of winter, the birdwatchers and knitters and fishermen who make up island life — and around Perez himself, a quiet, watchful widower (his wife Fran is killed partway through the series) who investigates by patiently understanding people rather than chasing evidence.
The eight core novels split into two thematic quartets: the Four Seasons quartet (Raven Black through Blue Lightning) and the Four Elements quartet (Dead Water through Wild Fire), with Perez's Fair Isle-born colleague-turned-partner Willow Reeves increasingly sharing the investigative load as the series progresses. The Killing Stones (2025) extends the world to Orkney after the main sequence's end. Adapted into the long-running BBC series Shetland (which eventually moved beyond the novels' plots and characters), this is atmospheric, character-driven British procedural mystery at its most immersive — a series where the setting is never just scenery.
Frequently asked questions
How many Shetland books are there?
Eight core novels, from Raven Black (2006) to Wild Fire (2018), plus the short standalone Too Good to Be True (2016) and the 2025 continuation The Killing Stones, set in Orkney.
What order should I read the Shetland books in?
Publication order, starting with Raven Black. The series forms two loose quartets (Four Seasons, then Four Elements), and Jimmy Perez's personal life develops continuously across both.
Is The Killing Stones part of the main Shetland series?
It's a continuation published in 2025, several years after Wild Fire concluded the Four Elements quartet, set in Orkney rather than Shetland but still featuring Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves.
Is Shetland connected to Ann Cleeves's Vera Stanhope series?
No — they are separate series with different detectives (Jimmy Perez in Shetland, Vera Stanhope in Northumberland) and no shared characters or continuity.
Is the Shetland TV series faithful to the books?
The earlier BBC seasons closely adapt the novels, but the show has continued well past the point where the books stopped, with original storylines and, eventually, a new lead detective.
If you like the Shetland series
Reading order last verified .