Publishers Weekly
12/23/2013
The murder of prying journalist Jerry Markham propels Cleeves's absorbing fourth Shetland mystery (after 2010's Blue Lightning). Shrewd Det. Insp. Willow Reeves, from the west of Scotland, deals with the tightly-wound local prosecutor, Rhona Laing, who discovered Markham's body and may know more than she's telling. Prickly Insp. Jimmy Perez, not yet returned to full-time duty after his fiancée's death, assists with interviews of the island's residents. Also in the mix are the dead man's parents and girlfriend, who have a different view of Markham than most of their neighbors; Evie Watt, Markham's former girlfriend, who works for the local community-development agency; and Evie's fiancé, John Henderson, who has secrets to hide. The tensions between those who wish to preserve their traditions and those who seek the opportunities of new technologies are subtly illustrated. Cleeves keeps readers guessing about the perpetrator's identity until the final pages. Agent: Sarah Menguc, Sarah Menguc Literary Agent (U.K.). (Feb.)
From the Publisher
Nothing short of riveting.” —Louise Penny
“Creates a dark enough mood to keep you straining to see what will come to light next.” —People
“In true Christie fashion, Cleeves once more pulls the wool over our eyes with cunning and conviction.” —Colin Dexter
“Gripping from start to finish.” —Booklist
“Deserves the top crime writer's prize in the United States this year. Don't miss this standout.” —Rocky Mountain News
“A riveting read.” —Val McDermid
“If you're a fan of Frances Fyfield, Minette Walters, or Val McDermid, get to know Cleeves.” —The Globe and Mail (UK)
Kirkus Reviews
2014-01-09
A grieving detective clashes with an incoming supervisor to solve a pair of murders on the main island of Shetland. Not long after photojournalist Jerry Markham has returned to Shetland after years in the south, someone runs his car off the foggy road from the oil terminal in Sullom Voe. Rhona Laing, the Procurator Fiscal of the district, finds his body in the boat in which she regularly rows with other women of Aith. When DI Willow Reeves arrives from the West Hebrides to supervise the subsequent investigation, she might as well be from another world. Willow grew up on a commune, wears baggy clothes that offend the obsessively tidy Laing, and is occasionally highhanded with the local force, including Detective Jimmy Perez. Still battling depression after the murder of his fiancee, Perez resents taking orders from a stranger, especially one he's attracted to in spite of himself. Interviews with Markham's family, his best friend, the young woman Markham got pregnant and abandoned, and the widower she's about to marry point to a green-energy movement as a common denominator among the involved parties. When a supposed straw effigy turns out to be a human—and a dead one at that—Perez and Reeves further question the real motive behind the murders and demand to know what Laing is hiding. Cleeves (Silent Voices, 2013, etc.) returns to a sea-bound land of crofters' cottages, barren rocks and fog, especially the fog surrounding the murders. Although some of the characters are sketchier than the setting itself, the well-constructed procedural gains another dimension from Jimmy's re-engagement with his work and his life.
