Reviews

Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves

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laurabb's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Enjoyable as all of this series is, I'm sad that this is the penultimate one. The mystery this time, who is the unknown dead woman in a supposedly-abandoned croft, and does she have anything to do with the dead local man whose body washes up on shore a few days later, is a good one. Totally immersive, pages fly by, and I'm so happy to be spending time with Perez, Sandy, and Willow once again. I'm glad some movement regarding Jimmy and Willow was made this time around, and as usual I had to reread the reveal of whodunit a few times. I'm reading so fast near the end that I have to make myself slow down and reread pages at a time so I can catch who the killer was. For what it's worth, I didn't see this one coming, though I probably should have done. Oh well, on to the last in the series!

katdid's review against another edition

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3.0

3.5 stars. I have no idea of the time frame for these books but I gather a few years have passed since the surprising events in #4. From the way this started I didn't expect Willow to be in it but (sigh of relief) she was! And then from the writing I thought

Spoiler

both Willow and Jimmy would just put away their feelings for each other and I reconciled myself to that, but instead they totally hooked up! except it seems messy and not promising, although Cleeves has a whole book to sort that out so I'm not giving up hope. This installment was satisfying actually because in rescuing Willow Jimmy got to maybe put some of his demons to bed around not saving Fran (or maybe not). I can NEVER pick where Cleeves' books are going or who the murderer is and this was no exception, except it wasn't exactly a surprise either. I liked the whole prostitution ring plot, wasn't expecting it.

margaret21's review against another edition

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4.0

Not my first Ann Cleves, but the first time I've read one of the Shetland series. As I've come to expect, there are well-drawn characters, a believable community and a satisfyingly realised story, and while murder is never anything but dreadful, this isn't a book that dwells on violence and society's underbelly. A good read for a winter evening.

beth_books_123's review against another edition

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3.0

Strangely comforting - 3*

haz_bookshelf's review against another edition

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3.0

I would probably give this a 3.5 overall !!! As with her other Shetland books, I love the atmospheric feeling Cleeves’s creates. It’s so moody but incredibly inviting and despite the amount of murders that happen on this isle makes me want to visit the place desperately.

The murder of a young woman who isn’t native to Shetland was an enticing plot point and the murder of a second victim I felt really helped move the story along and keep you guessing. Despite this, it felt slightly rushed by the end and although I was surprised at who the killer was, I didn’t feel satisfied by the explanation as to why. I know Cleeves’s chooses, most of the time, for the explanation of the murder and how the detectives figured it out to be between the police rather than an interview format where the killer confesses. This works the majority of the time but I’m not sure it worked for this book. I would’ve liked to have had an explanation from the killer themselves as to why, and I felt like in the end it was a rushed conversation between Perez and Willow before the final chapter.