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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
The description of life in the Shetland Islands alone makes this worth reading. In this particular novel in the Shetland series, there's also an archeology dig to add interest--a welcome and familiar element to me, since I'm a huge fan of Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series set in Norfolk. The Shetland series isn't quite of the same caliber for me, probably because the main character in Cleeves' series, Jimmy Perez, still at times feels like a non-character. Yes, he's supposed to be quiet and unassuming, but sometimes he recedes too far into the background. In this book, though, he shares much of the narrative spotlight with his younger co-worker, Sandy, who starts to come into sharper relief as a real part of the story.
first 80% achingly slow, last 20% great. nice to hear from sandy this time. the case was more compelling this time but i missed a lot of the process - at the end it was POOF solved. i'll read the next one when i need a breather between books...the atmosphere cleeves describes is almost worth the visit alone.
Setting your murder mysteries on an island has great advantages: you can have plots that pertain only to the close-knit community and plots that bring in people from elsewhere in the same book and make the reader wonder if, and whether, they are connected.
I like Jimmy Perez as much as before, and our peerie policeman Sandy Wilson has grown up quite a bit. Having someone in your family murdered will do that to you. I missed Fran almost as much as Jimmy did.
I like Jimmy Perez as much as before, and our peerie policeman Sandy Wilson has grown up quite a bit. Having someone in your family murdered will do that to you. I missed Fran almost as much as Jimmy did.
So this was a mess. Nothing made sense and I just wanted this book to be over. I fell asleep a few times while reading this. I think the main issue is that we follow Sandy through a lot of this book and he's not an engaging character. I read "Blue Lightning" right after this and I am going to regret that forever. I don't know if I will finish the series after that book.
I think the reason why I just didn't get into this one is that the book drags a lot. I just didn't care about the characters. It felt like the two murders had nothing to do with each other, and then when we got to the reveal and the why I was so annoyed. I wish I had went with my gut instinct to crack open an Agatha Christie book. But this book is head and shoulders above what readers will get next.
I think the reason why I just didn't get into this one is that the book drags a lot. I just didn't care about the characters. It felt like the two murders had nothing to do with each other, and then when we got to the reveal and the why I was so annoyed. I wish I had went with my gut instinct to crack open an Agatha Christie book. But this book is head and shoulders above what readers will get next.
This was such an interesting mystery. Ann Cleeves continues to amaze me with her incredible writing.
She weaves her tales in such a way that you can't be sure who the murderer is. It could be any of them or, was it really just an accident and a suicide?
Two young Archaeologists look for evidence of a merchant's house on an old woman's property on Whalsay. They thought they had found some red fragments of pottery as they dug but it turned out to be red bones. They were excited that they may have found the bones of the merchant but someone else on the Island was not as excited. The old woman was later found shot to death. It was presumed to be an accident but later there was another death. It looked like a suicide but didn't make sense. Perez realized he needed to learn more about the families that live on Whalsay and figure out what is going on before more people die.
She weaves her tales in such a way that you can't be sure who the murderer is. It could be any of them or, was it really just an accident and a suicide?
Two young Archaeologists look for evidence of a merchant's house on an old woman's property on Whalsay. They thought they had found some red fragments of pottery as they dug but it turned out to be red bones. They were excited that they may have found the bones of the merchant but someone else on the Island was not as excited. The old woman was later found shot to death. It was presumed to be an accident but later there was another death. It looked like a suicide but didn't make sense. Perez realized he needed to learn more about the families that live on Whalsay and figure out what is going on before more people die.
emotional
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Jimmy Perez and the people and landscape of Shetland are the stars of this Ann Cleeves series. Another great mystery filled with family secrets and collective lies.
I think it’s funny that the cover shown on the audio book says the thriller. This is the third in the series and it’s probably the slowest. It’s more about listening to people and getting to know the characters more than anything else. I enjoy listening to these kind of stories and love the authentic accent of the narrator. I also like the main character.