Shetland Island Books in Order
Ann Cleeves has written 11 Shetland Island books, published between 2006 and 2023: 10 in the Shetland Island series and 1 related title. The first book is Raven Black (2006) and the newest main-line book is Missing in the Snow (2023). Publication order is the reading order below.
- Books
- 11
- Published
- 2006–2023
- Confirmed
- 11 of 11 titles
- Pages on record
- 2,504 in 7 of 11 books
- Reading time
- 42–63 hours
Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 2,504 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 7 of 11 titles with a page count on record.
Shetland Island is Ann Cleeves's crime series, set in the Shetland Islands of Scotland. Raven Black (2006) opens the run, and the early books take their titles from colours: White Nights (2008), Red Bones (2009), Blue Lightning (2010). Eleven books are catalogued through Missing in the Snow (2023), police investigations into murder, at a median length of 386 pages.
How many Shetland Island books are there?
Shetland Island has 11 books, released between 2006 and 2023. 10 of them belong to the Shetland Island series, and 1 related title sit outside it: non-fiction.
Shetland Island Books in Publication Order
The table lists all 11 Shetland Island books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.
- 12006–3/4
- 22008–4/4
- 320093404/4
- 420103684/4
- 520134004/4
- 620143884/4
- 720152243/4
- 82016–4/4
- 920163864/4
- 1020183984/4
- 112023–3/4
Do you have to read Shetland Island books in order?
You should read the Shetland Island series in publication order, the order of the numbered table above; the 1 related title (non-fiction) sit outside that sequence. The catalogue does not record whether each Shetland Island book also stands alone.
Where to start with Shetland Island
Start with Raven Black (2006), the earliest published book in the Shetland Island series.
What is the newest Shetland Island book?
Missing in the Snow (2023) is the newest book in the Shetland Island series.
Is there a new Shetland Island book coming?
No next Shetland Island book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.
Awards Shetland Island has won
Wikidata records 1 award for Shetland Island. Each row states whether the title won or was shortlisted, and the year the award was given.
- Gold Dagger2006Wonfor Raven Black
Shetland Island at a glance
- Paused
- No new main-line Shetland Island title has appeared for 3 years. The last was Missing in the Snow (2023).
- Release pace
- Shetland Island books have appeared about one every 2 years on average.
- Length
- 2,504 pages across the 7 of 11 books with a recorded length, a median of 386 pages each.
- Busiest decade
- Most Shetland Island books, 7 of 11, were published in the 2010s.
- Corroboration
- 8 of the 11 titles appear in all four independent book listings, and every one of them in at least three.
What the Shetland Island books are about
10 of the 11 Shetland Island books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: scotland is tagged on 9 of 10. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.
- Scotland 9 of 10 books
- Murder 7 of 10 books
- Mystery & detective, police procedural 7 of 10 books
- Investigation 5 of 10 books
- Mystery & detective 4 of 10 books
- Police 4 of 10 books
- Thrillers 3 of 10 books
- Crime 2 of 10 books
- English literature 2 of 10 books
- Shetland (scotland) 2 of 10 books
More books by Ann Cleeves
The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.
- Ann Cleeves books in order 52 books