A review by jeanniusreads
Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves

3.0

I loved this book up until the last fifth or so. Cleeves was in her element with the birdwatching centre including the cook at the centre of the action on Fair Isle, where detective Jimmy Perez comes from. I loved the evolving relationship between Jimmy and Fran (now engaged) and the realistic meet-the-parents side plot. Of course murder at the lighthouse/birdwatcher's headquarters interupts their plans. Though very late to the party, having watched the series, but intrigued by travelling to Lerwick this summer, I've been enjoying the books even more than the series as I liked reading Jimmy and Fran's relationship from the start. In the series of course, Fran has already died from cancer and we know him as a single dad to Fran's daughter, co-parenting with his frenemy Duncan. There must be reasons why Fran was murdered at the end of this book. Was Cleeves running out of ideas to make the couple interesting? I guess it is (was) still new to have men who cared about fatherhood to a non-biological child as Jimmy does with Cassie so Cleeves wanted to explore that more. In any case, I'll be sad about Fran as if she was a real person, and sad for Jimmy whose job cost him this particular future. I will finish the series but I'm less enthusiastic now.