Red Bones

Starred review from July 20, 2009
In Cleeves's excellent third Shetland Island thriller (after White Nights
), Insp. Jimmy Perez investigates the shooting death of Mima Wilson, the grandmother of Perez's bumbling if well-meaning underling, Sandy Wilson. While some believe Sandy's cousin Ronald accidentally shot Mima late one night near her croft on Whalsay, a small Shetland island, Perez has his doubts. Mima's land is the site of an archeological excavation led by eager Ph.D. student Hattie James, who recently uncovered a skeleton of indeterminate origin. When another body turns up near the dig site, Perez becomes more suspicious, even though the second death is an apparent suicide. With Sandy's help, he begins to unravel a knot of tall tales and family betrayals that stretches back to a WWII resistance movement known as the Shetland Bus. As in the best traditional English village whodunits, the killer lurks among the townspeople, but his or her identity still comes as a shock.

July 15, 2009
Two deaths within a fortnight disrupt a Shetland Island archeological dig.

First Ronald Clouston, mistaking old Mima for a rabbit in the foggy Shetland night, accidentally shoots her. Then Hattie James, the emotionally fragile Ph.D. candidate in charge of the 15th-century excavation on Whalsay, slits her veins and lies down to die in one of the site trenches. Mima's grandson Sandy Wilson, who disappointed his family by disdaining crofting and fishing in favor of police work, is ready to write off the deaths as a terrible accident and a suicide. But Inspector Jimmy Perez (White Nights, 2008, etc.), a man who delves into past relationships as quietly but deeply as any psychiatrist, suspects foul play. Given a week to prove his hunches, he uncovers a toxic one-night stand between Hattie and an archeology professor; a World War II liaison between Mima and a Norwegian sailor who was later branded a traitor; the greed and jealousy coloring the relationship between Sandy and Ronald's mums; and the possibility that the bones found at the dig might belong not to a Hanseatic merchant but to someone considerably more contemporary. A denouement at Mima's house draws out the truth while spawning new gossip, innuendo and myth that islanders will pass down for generations.

Cleeves is expert at depicting hardscrabble island life, parental expectations and disappointments and emotionally charged silences. Thoughtful readers should give Perez a try.

(COPYRIGHT (2009) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

August 15, 2009
In this third Shetland Island thriller (after "White Nights" and the Dagger Award-winning "Raven Black"), Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez must investigate two murders and unravel the mystery of the human bones found in an archaeological dig. The island of Whalsay, populated by intermarried families, is a place where everyone knows everyone's business all too well. The only thing unknown is the motive for the killings and the identity of the body buried on a desolate farm. VERDICT Moody and atmospheric, this well-written tale will appeal to readers who enjoy Simon Beckett's novels. [Library marketing campaign.]

Copyright 2009 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 1, 2009
Here is the third in Cleeves series of mysteries set on the Shetland Islands and featuring Detective Jimmy Perez. There are few major crimes in the Shetlands, so its a shock to Perez when eccentric octogenarian Mima Wilson is found shot dead. Her nephew Ronald shoulders the blame. He was drinking, decided to go out shooting rabbitsa popular evening sport in the Shetlandsand assumes one of his shots went wild and hit Mima. The Procurator Fiscal is ready to absolve him of any crime, but Perez isnt so sure. His gut instinct says Mima was murdered. Then another suspicious death occurs. Perez is sure the cases are connected, and, using his familiarity with the locals to break down some of their notorious reticence, he uncovers a dark tragedy with roots deep in Shetlands past. Cleeves once again proves herself a master of mystery, with fine writing, a broodingly atmospheric setting, a twist-filled plot, and a shocker of an ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)