The stark contrast between a group of ravens and the snowy white background caught Ann Cleeves’ eye on a day trip to Lerwick, inspiring 2006’s Raven Black and the debut of Jimmy Perez. It was intended to be a standalone novel but the close-knit community and the island’s bleak beauty proved a captivating backdrop to the brooding detective’s murder inquiry and a bestselling series was born. Since then the stories have become as popular on screen as they are on the page and although changes were made to the plots and supporting roles for the television adaptation, Jimmy continued to play an integral part. Here we explore the backstory of one of crime fiction’s most appealing characters.
Why does Jimmy have a Spanish name?
Jimmy is described in the books as having ‘wild black hair’ with one character musing that he looked to be ‘From the Mediterranean perhaps, North Africa even’, and while his accent is local his appearance suggests his ancestry differs from the Nordic roots of his fellow islanders. Cleeves was keen to create a character who was a Shetlander but had something of an outsider about him and history provided grounds for a Spanish ancestry – during the Armada a Spanish ship, El Gran Grifon, was wrecked at Fair Isle, providing plausibility to the idea that Jimmy descended from one of the survivors.
Who are Jimmy’s family?
Born and raised on Fair Isle, Jimmy spent the early part of his career in Glasgow before returning to Shetland. The books see him develop a relationship with artist Fran Hunter, who moved to the island so that her ex-husband Duncan could play a part in the life of their seven-year-old daughter Cassie; after Fran’s death Jimmy continues to care for Cassie, rebuilding his friendship with her biological father. By contrast, the television series opens with Fran having already died and Jimmy moving to Shetland to provide Cassie, aged 14, with some stability in the years before she goes to university. In both versions Jimmy finds romance once more – with detective inspector Willow Reeves in the books and palliative care nurse Meg on screen.
Where does Jimmy live?
While working as a lead inspector at the Lerwick police station, Jimmy lived at The Lodberry, situated at 20 Commercial Street in real life and now one of the island’s most-photographed locations. The cluster of late 18th-century stone buildings includes a house and a store that was built out into the sea so that goods could be more easily transferred to and from boats (the name ‘lodberry’ is derived from the Old Norse for a flat landing stone), and underneath the waterfront is a network of smugglers’ tunnels.
Personal characteristics
In an interview with her publisher Ann Cleeves pointed out that initially Jimmy is ‘pretty incompetent and very insensitive’ and that the great effort he made with colleagues, witnesses and suspects perhaps went some way to explaining why ‘he doesn’t have much kindness left for the people close to him’. Over time, however, his priorities changed, with Jimmy strengthening his personal relationships. The shift is taken a step further in the television series, with Douglas Henshall bringing a sense of warmth to the character that marks him out from the stereotypical screen detective.
What type of detective is he?
Calm and thoughtful, Jimmy rarely dominates a conversation, instead tending to allow those around him to speak freely and valuing the input of his team. The losses in his past mean he relates strongly to the families he works with and demonstrates empathy as well as compassion for them, but he is morally complex and will sometimes bend the rules in pursuit of justice. This reached its apex on TV when Perez released a prisoner accused of a historic crime rather than see him sent to America and face death row – a decision that subsequently led him to resign from the force and leave Shetland, with Henshall having reached the conclusion that it was time for Perez to move on and concentrate on family life.
What’s next for Jimmy?
Cleeves returned to Jimmy’s story in 2025 for The Killing Stones, which sees him and his partner Willow relocated to Orkney where they are raising their son. There are currently no signs to indicate his return to Shetland, or of Henshall reprising his role, but the novel does give Perez a chance to turn detective once more as he investigates the death of a childhood friend and the significance of the inscribed Neolithic stone found near his body.
