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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
The tragedy hits close to home on this one as Jimmy with his pause-filled interrogation tries to find the truth on his own on his own childhood home, Fair Isle. Isolated with a pool of suspects going stir-crazy at a bird observatory, this one is a challenge and all doesn't end well.
Still bawling. Never saw that coming. The slow build then the breaking mystery that can’t be put down always hooks me. Didn’t see the twist coming. Shocked is an understatement. And the ending...think I’ll just go cry myself to sleep. 4.5 stars
The setting and story were 90% great, but the more I think about Fran’s death and the ending, the less I like it.
Unfortunately, this is the last in the Shetland Islands quartet. And, as such, it's the best of the series. Or maybe I've just gotten to know the major characters better and more clearly understand and appreciate the ways in which they interact. Detective Jimmy Perez is engaged to Fran, who is new to the Shetlands--having moved north from London--and he has brought her to tiny Fair Isle to meet his parents and the people with whom he grew up. His parents, who want Jimmy to move back to Fair Isle, welcome Fran into their family and throw an engagement party for the couple at the North Light Field Center Lighthouse which is a bird study center and has the "best chef ever" as part of its staff. The next morning Jimmy gets the news that the director of the center, Angela Moore, has been murdered. Did I mention that an autumn storm has cut the island off from the rest of civilization? No plane or boats can get in or out until the storm passes. Did I also mention that Angela is famous as a BBC ornithologist and as a sideline is hateful to or uses almost everyone she knows? Jimmy is, therefore, all alone in trying to unravel what happened and who was involved. As much as this a a satisfying mystery, the book is much more. The effects of growing up in a small community where everyone knows everything about everyone else, the continuing pull of family with its positive and negative ramifications, and an individual's inability to control events are all themes that are explored. I wish that Goodreads had a more flexible rating system because I would actually give this book a 4.5.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Infidelity, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Violence, Abandonment
Book 4 in the series. This time detective Jimmy Perez brings his fiance back to the Fair Isles to meet his family before their wedding. It's a very remote island and of course there's a murder he must solve! As the story unfolds you discover the murder victim was not a nice or good person, cheating on her husband with everyone...so who killed her? Then there's another murder and Perez needs to figure out if they are connected. I don't want to give away a spoiler but the ending is SHOCKING.
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I enjoyed the plot, but Cleeves always includes grains of misogyny in her novels. The end is a little jarring and not in keeping with the mood of the rest of the novel. It feels a bit tacked on.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Jimmy and his fiancé Fran go home to visit his parents on Fair Isle. I love the personal stories as much as the murder mystery. I was shocked at the end of this one as I have been in Cleeves' earlier mysteries. This place, these people, these stories - Cleeves has pulled me into this world and don't want to leave.
This was not my favorite Perez mystery. While it was fun hearing about Fair Isle - it just wasn’t as fun as the last one. Without spoiling anything that I can’t say anything more. But I will not be on the lookout for new birds.