Another great mystery starring Jimmy Perez. Keeps yoy guessing til the end. Perez and his boss Willow acknowledge their mutual attraction, but with Cassie being so young, it may not get much further???Kirkus: A landslide reveals a dead body and a tricky case for Shetland Islands detective Jimmy Perez (Thin Air, 2015, etc.).The miserable winter weather has done nothing to help Jimmy get over the murder of Fran, the woman he loved. Standing at the graveside of Magnus Tait, an old friend, Jimmy and the other mourners barely escape a sudden landslide that decimates a little croft house. Although the place is supposed to be uninhabited ever since the owner died and left it to a relative in America, a quick check reveals the body of a woman. As soon as the autopsy reveals that the woman was strangled, Jimmy calls in Police Scotland in the person of Chief Inspector Willow Reeves. Their first task is to identify the body. When the neighbors at the farm next door claim to know nothing, Jimmy, with the help of slow but steady assistant Sandy Wilson, expands his questioning over the entire island. The victim was seen buying champagne at a local store, having a drink at a hotel with a middle-aged man, and visiting a local counseling center. The name she gave the center was false, but it does lead them to the destroyed house's owner and the striking victim?s true identity. Through it all, Jimmy, who's taking care of Fran's daughter and still feeling guilty about her death, isn?t sure if he?s ready for love. But he and Willow, who have a more than collegial relationship, work well together. Once they know who the mysterious stranger really is, they identify a surprising number of suspects who happen to be Jimmy?s friends.The Shetland Islands provide a stunningly atmospheric setting for the complicated hero?s latest procedural, a challenge he meets with determination and more than a little angst.

(2016) As a landslide destroys an unoccupied house, a body is found that nobody can identify. Turns out it is a former actress, but no one seems to know why she was in the Shetlands. KIRKUS:A landslide reveals a dead body and a tricky case for Shetland Islands detective Jimmy Perez (Thin Air, 2015, etc.).The miserable winter weather has done nothing to help Jimmy get over the murder of Fran, the woman he loved. Standing at the graveside of Magnus Tait, an old friend, Jimmy and the other mourners barely escape a sudden landslide that decimates a little croft house. Although the place is supposed to be uninhabited ever since the owner died and left it to a relative in America, a quick check reveals the body of a woman. As soon as the autopsy reveals that the woman was strangled, Jimmy calls in Police Scotland in the person of Chief Inspector Willow Reeves. Their first task is to identify the body. When the neighbors at the farm next door claim to know nothing, Jimmy, with the help of slow but steady assistant Sandy Wilson, expands his questioning over the entire island. The victim was seen buying champagne at a local store, having a drink at a hotel with a middle-aged man, and visiting a local counseling center. The name she gave the center was false, but it does lead them to the destroyed house's owner and the striking victim's true identity. Through it all, Jimmy, who's taking care of Fran's daughter and still feeling guilty about her death, isn't sure if he's ready for love. But he and Willow, who have a more than collegial relationship, work well together. Once they know who the mysterious stranger really is, they identify a surprising number of suspects who happen to be Jimmy's friends.The Shetland Islands provide a stunningly atmospheric setting for the complicated hero's latest procedural, a challenge he meets with determination and more than a little angst.Pub Date: April 25, 2017ISBN: 978-1-250-10738-1Page Count: 400Publisher: MinotaurReview Posted Online: Feb. 21, 2017Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2017

Number 7 in the Shetland Island series - I'm almost caught up! The mystery itself was interesting, but the twist wasn't all that surprising, and I didn't like how Cleeves introduced the sexual predator subplot then just left it dangling.

However, I'm still reading this series more for the recurring characters than for the mystery, and that's paying off well.

Audiobook, borrowed from my public library. Strong performance from Blythe. ( )

It's definitely starting to feel like the Shetland series is losing steam. I guess there's only so much you can do with the trope -- someone is murdered because they somehow threaten to reveal, either directly or indirectly, secrets someone else is desperate to keep. Which triggers additional murders, wash rinse repeat. It's also become apparent at this point that romantic relationships aren't Cleeves's strong point -- the feelings of the people involved seem complicated at first, but then they keep having the same exact should-I-or-shouldn't-I thoughts throughout the entire book. Still, the prose itself is as solid as ever, and each new iteration introduces an evocative new part of the Shetlands. ( )

Shetland Book 7