I did really love this book, but I have to say that I actually prefer the characterisation on the BBC show better than the books. I felt like Jimmy wasn’t as clever or insightful as the tv character, and we rarely got his POV - it was mostly side characters, Sandy (who drives me NUTS!) and Willow, who was also pretty irritating. I felt like the author told us more than she showed us.

The writing itself felt amateurish. I’ve never read an Ann Cleeves book before, so perhaps this is just her style, but it was so simplistic as to almost feel like it was written by a child. “Jimmy felt scared.” I mean, those were the types of sentence structures we were getting. It felt like not much effort was put into the actual writing.

Also felt the characterisations were not consistent. We were told one thing about a character, only to have it directly contradicted a few chapters later. Honestly, if I hadn’t had the characters from the show in the back of my head the whole time, I wouldn’t have felt any connection to them at all.

I feel really conflicted about this book. The mystery was good, but all the things I love about the show, like Jimmy’s relationship with Cassie and Duncan, the camaraderie between the cops...it was all missing. I’m assuming the first four books must be better for them to have been optioned as a tv show.

The audiobooks of the Shetland series are my happy place, strange as it may be for murder mysteries to make me happy. It’s the accent; hours and hours of it, the setting, and also the characters. There is only one left, and I can’t bear to think I’ll leave Shetland behind.

This has been my favorite of the series, so far. It is also the next to last, according to the author. I will read the final book now...

I am sad that the inimitable Morag has been dropped for the irritating Willow and that Jimmy isn't allowed a decent time to grieve before he is forced back into a romance (Ok, it isn't exactly 'romantic') but a quick and overall enjoyable read. I didn't find it as atmospheric as the others in the series and didn't sympathise with the suspects or the victims so, for me, it felt a bit flat/uninspired but only compared to the other Shetland novels. What on earth is Willow's sudden baby-mania about? I am a bit worried that it might heralds a surprise announcement and more angsty faffing in the next novel.

Another satisfying installment in the Shetland series!

3.5 stars

Magnus Tait, whom we met in Raven Black (book 1 of the series), has passed away, and his funeral ends abruptly when a landslide runs over a vacated croft and the cemetery where Magnus and Jimmy's Fran are buried. Jimmy hikes to the croft to ensure it is empty and scours the property. He finds a woman, dressed for a night out on the town but not for death. Jimmy is drawn to her and determined to discover her story and bring justice to her. But her story becomes more complicated when it is determined she was dead before the landslide washed over her in the croft, not because of the landslide. Joining Jimmy and Sandy on the investigation is DI Willow Reeves. As the croft is combed through for any useable evidence or clues to the unknown woman's identity and reason for her demise, a box is found with two pictures and a letter that may provide the start they need to figure out who the woman was. With the heavy rains, the threat of more landslides, and names starting to crop up during the investigation, Jimmy, Willow, and Sandy feel the tension of solving this crime and bringing the actual murderer to justice. What they don't expect is the domino effect of one woman's death.

Oh, what a tangled web we weave—and this was a very tangled web Jimmy, Sandy, and Willow needed to untangle. Outside of the murder they needed to solve, I appreciated the personal stories—Sandy and his budding romance with Louisa and Willow helping Jimmy heal from Fran's death. There's one title left in Cleeves Shetland Island series, and I'm very curious to see how she will end this series and the journey with Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez.

Another very good Shetland book. The atmosphere, characters, language and red herrings make this a winning series.