A review by laurabb
Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves

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!