I’m a fan of Ann Cleeves’ Vera, and I like her Two Rivers series, but Jimmy Perez and her Shetland series are the books that draw me. Now, after several years, he’s back in a Detective Jimmy Perez novel. The compassionate, empathetic police officer is as soft-hearted as ever in the new book, The Killing Stones.
Jimmy and his partner, Chief Inspector Willow Reeve, have moved to Orkney, along with Jimmy’s adopted daughter, and their four-year-old son. Willow is pregnant, so she’s on maternity leave. When Jimmy’s best friend, Archie Stout, goes missing during a storm, Jimmy joins the residents of Westray in a search.When Jimmy finds Archie’s body, Willow is only supposed to be a back-up for the investigation. But, weather and the Christmas holidays mean the team from Glasgow can’t get to the islands, so the small local team is on their own.
Jimmy found Archie’s body at an old archaeological site, and the murder weapon was an ancient artifact, one of a pair of stones called the Westray story stones. With only five hundred residents of the island, and just a few visitors during the winter, it’s a difficult case for Perez, who knows almost everyone involved. When a second body is found killed by the second Westry story stone, hidden at another archaeological site, Perez begins to doubt his own ability to deal with the case.
The Killing Stones is a gripping police procedural, a story that combines a secretive community with the story of home lives in an isolated society. It’s atmospheric, with the wintery setting at Christmastime on the islands. But, it’s Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeve who are the heart of this riveting story. It’s good to welcome the tenderhearted Jimmy Perez back to the crime fiction world.
Ann Cleeves’ website is https://anncleeves.com/
The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves. Minotaur Books, 2025, 384p.
FTC Full Disclosure – The publicist sent me an ARC, with no promise of a review.
Lesa, I’m glad to hear what you thought about this book. I’ve read all the Vera books and a few of Ann’s other series, but I’ve not read any of the Jimmy Perez/Shetland books. Why? Who knows? I have watched all the Shetland TV series. Anyway, I picked this new one up this morning for my Kindle and I intend to read it before long. And maybe I’ll go back and read the Shetland books. Honestly, there are just so many series that I want to get to or catch up on. It’s a little daunting…ha! Hope you have a good week!
I agree, Kay. I have about six different older series that I want to read, plus, of course, the newer ones. I liked this new Jimmy Perez. It wasn’t as dark as the Shetland books, although I loved them. Jimmy’s partner, Willow, isn’t as melancholy as he is, and he’s not as dark-natured in this book, thanks to his family.