Is Ann Cleeves’ Latest Book Part Of The Shetland Novels Timeline?
Struggling to place Ann Cleeves' newest mystery within the DI Perez or Shetland series chronology. Big fan of the detective series and the Shetland books!
2026-07-29 00:22:36
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MasonKing
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EasyNook
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Sometimes I miss Jimmy Perez, but then I remember Duncan. And then I don't miss Jimmy Perez that much. Kidding! (Mostly.)
2026-07-31 16:47:39
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AvaFisher
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It's not part of the main Jimmy Perez timeline, no. Her newest one that comes to mind, 'The Raging Storm', is actually the third book in her other series, the Two Rivers series featuring Detective Matthew Venn. The Shetland series concluded with 'Wild Fire' back in 2018, which was meant to be the final Perez novel. Cleeves has moved on to this new setting in Devon, which is great, but it does mean if you're craving more Shetland mysteries, you'll have to revisit the old ones or catch the TV adaptations.
That being said, the writing style and intricate community-based plotting are very much still there, just in a different, slightly less remote location. I do miss the Shetland atmosphere though.
2026-08-01 05:38:46
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BlueBrook
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The math doesn't lie. 'Wild Fire' was published in 2018. Anything with a publication year after 2018 is, by definition, not part of a series that ended in 2018. So, unless Cleeves publishes a prequel or a side-story set earlier in the timeline, any new novel is part of a different sequence.
Authors do sometimes return to finished series after a long hiatus, but it's rare. Given the success and clear new direction of the Two Rivers books, I'd say the probability of a new Shetland novel is near zero. The timeline is closed for business.
2026-08-02 08:33:40
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JadeLewis
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Wait, which book are we calling the latest? Is it 'The Raging Storm' (2023) or is there a newer one I missed? If it's 'The Raging Storm', then see all the answers above. If she's sneak-released something in the last few months, I'm out of the loop! Her publication schedule has been pretty steady with the Two Rivers books every couple of years.
My local bookstore still has the Shetland series on a 'Complete Collection' display, which says a lot. They're treated as a finished entity, while the new releases get the prominent front-table placement. That visual alone tells you which timeline is active and which is archived.
2026-08-04 15:43:44
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NoahRice
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I saw Ann Cleeves speak at a festival last year, and someone asked this very question. She was very kind but very firm: Shetland is done. She said she told all the stories she wanted to tell in that setting with those characters and felt it was time to explore something new. She seemed genuinely excited about Matthew Venn and Devon.
So, straight from the author's mouth: no, the latest book is not part of the Shetland timeline. It's the next chapter in her writing life, and she hopes readers will join her there. I found that honesty really refreshing.
2026-08-08 06:00:34
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I’ll Be Home for Christmas: A Thorntons Christmas Novella
IRIS MORLAND
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"Fall in love with THE THORNTONS, a family filled with sexy alpha males, passionate women, and lots of heart, all set in a delightful small town in the Pacific Northwest.
It’s Christmas time, and the entire Thornton clan is spending the holidays in a cabin deep in the Washington woods.
What could go wrong with twelve adults, four kids, and a dog all staying together in one big cabin?
Only the most chaotic—and memorable—Christmas ever!
Expect kisses under the mistletoe, lots of (spiked) eggnog, and even a surprise wedding as the Thornton clan celebrates the most romantic holiday of all.
Author’s Note: I’ll Be Home for Christmas is set six months after the last book, Till There Was You, ends. It’s recommended that you read the other books first, as this book is an epilogue to the entire series. Merry Christmas and happy reading!
**
This book is a part of the LOVE EVERLASTING series, which is one large series following multiple families and friends. Each book can be read as a standalone (unless otherwise noted), or they can be read in order of publication as one long series. Each book is interconnected, with many of the same characters showing up in multiple books.
LOVE EVERLASTING
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I’ll Be Home for Christmas (A Thorntons Christmas)
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Gavin’s resolve is tested when he meets his daughter’s pretty new teacher. Kat Williamson, with her sweet smile and her devotion to her students, is everything Gavin can never have.
Yet when Kat begins to receive escalating threats from a mysterious stalker, Gavin vows to protect her, even going so far as to invite her to live with him. With Kat now under his roof, Gavin can’t stop himself from kissing her. Holding her. Making her his.
As he realizes he can love again, Gavin must do everything he can to protect Kat—even at the risk of his own life.
This title was previously published as Desire Me Dearly. It’s been rereleased with a brand-new look and with expanded content."
Book One of The Sherova Chronicles
In the glittering city-state of Sherova, power is inherited, marriages are strategic, and every elite family has something to hide.
For eight years, Ava Greenmore sacrificed everything to help build her husband’s legal empire—until one devastating betrayal shattered the life she thought she knew. Determined to reclaim her future, Ava walks away from the powerful Moore dynasty, unaware that her own past holds a secret capable of changing Sherova forever.
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Power. Betrayal. Legacy. Some lies destroy lives. Others reshape history.
Welcome to Sherova.
Claire loved Aiden Hale long before money or power came between them.
He broke her heart, his father destroyed her life, and she vanished, only to return as the woman no one expected.
Now she’s wealthier than the man who ruined her, and her revenge is ready to unfold.
Until Aiden finds her again… and the truth changes everything.
Catherine has spent her life serving the royal family of Eldoria and hiding her feelings for Prince George, friend and the heir to the throne. But when a reckless night ends with him stumbling into her arms, everything changes.
Prince George doesn’t remember what happened, but Catherine does. But when the reality of what happened that night begins to grow inside her, she runs, not for herself, but to save him from the scandal that could destroy the crown.
But secrets have a way of resurfacing, especially in a kingdom full of spies, enemies in silk gowns, and a rival princess whose family is plotting to take the throne.
When a huge scandal and the truth threatens the monarchy, Prince George must decide: His duty to the crown or the woman who carries his heart, and his heir.
In VOWED (Book #7 of the Vampire Journals), Caitlin and Caleb find themselves in medieval Scotland, in 1350,of the quest for the Holy Grail said to contain the key to true vampire immortality. Landing on the shores of the ancient Isle of Skye, a remote island off the Western coast of Scotland where only the most elite warriors live and train, they are ecstatic to reunite with Sam and Polly, Scarlet and Ruth, a human king and his warriors, and with all of Aiden’s coven. <br><br>Before they can continue their mission for the fourth and final key, the time has come for Caleb and Caitlin to wed.<br><br>Simultaneously, Sam and Polly, to their own surprise, are each falling deeply in love with one another. As their relationship accelerates, Sam surprises Polly with a vow of his own. And Polly surprises him with her own shocking news. <br><br>But all is not well beneath the surface. Blake has appeared again, and his deep love for Caitlin might just threaten her union, on the day before her wedding. Sera has appeared again, too, and vows to break apart what she cannot have. <br><br>Scarlet, too, finds herself in danger, as the source of her deep powers are revealed—along with the revelation of who are her true parents.
Let me see... latest book by Ann Cleeves... 'The Dark Wives'. It came out in hardback and digital in September this year. The paperback likely won't be out for another year. If you're looking to buy it, check out independent bookshops; they often have signed copies for a while after release.
As for the book itself, it's classic Cleeves territory. A body is found, and the investigation opens a can of worms in a seemingly benevolent organization. The title refers to the three women who run the charity, each with their own shadows. It's a slow burn, but the embers glow hot by the end.
From a pure plot perspective? It doesn't. Move along. But from a thematic perspective, they're in constant dialogue about belonging. Vera, despite her roughness, belongs to Northumberland in her bones. Matthew Venn is defined by his lack of belonging, both in the Brethren he left and the wider world he can't fully enter. The latest Venn book pushes that theme further, forcing him to investigate a death in a place that echoes his own past. So while Vera's stories ask 'who do we protect?', Venn's stories ask 'where do we fit?'. Both questions are central to Cleeves's view of crime.
The new book is set in Orkney, and the weather is a relentless character. A sunny day can turn into a life-threatening storm in minutes. This isn't just atmosphere; it drives the plot. Appointments are missed, alibis are broken, clues are washed away. The unpredictability of the environment mirrors the unpredictability of the human heart at the center of the crime. Cleeves has always been good with weather, but here it's absolutely integral to the story's mechanics and mood.
Sure, but you're doing yourself a disservice. Cleeves' genius is in the slow reveal of character against these bleak, beautiful landscapes. Picking up the latest is getting the finale of that reveal without the anticipation. The mystery will be good, but the atmosphere—that thick, brooding sense of place and person—won't be as potent.
Humor, or the lack thereof, is a great indicator. The detective's dry, occasional wit has mellowed into something even drier, more often directed at themselves than others. It's a humor born of weathered endurance. The development is in the target of the joke—less about the foibles of outsiders, more about the absurdities of the job and their own role in it.
This self-deprecating shift indicates a security and perspective they didn't have before. They can laugh at the machine and their place in it, which is a sign of a character who understands the limits of their control. It's a defensive mechanism, sure, but one that shows a hard-won wisdom and a way to maintain sanity in a frequently insane profession.