Ann Cleeves, Red Bones (Shetland Quartet 3)

I will confess to having become a fan of this series of books by author Ann Cleeve. This is the third novel, and is every bit as good as its predecessors. As with the other two novels one feels almost as if one equates with key character Jimmy Perez' worries and concerns and this results in a feeling of almost living the plot.

If you enjoy a good detective murder mystery then I highly recommend giving the series a try - you will not find it wanting.

Ann Cleeves, Red Bones (Shetland Quartet 3): Shetland Islands Inspector Jimmy Perez investigates the murder of Mima Wilson, who was shot to death. The case is somewhat personal as Mima was the grandma of the police detective's subordinate Sandy Wilson. The locals on Whalsay Island believe Mima's grandson Ronald accidentally shot and killed her, but Perez has doubts about the theory.

Instead he wonders if the homicide might be linked to an archeological dig on Mima's land. Ph.D. candidate student Hattie James recently dug up a skeleton that might date back to the fifteenth century or earlier. A second body is found at the excavation location; that person apparently committed suicide leading the detective to assume the bones are contemporary. Perez with Sandy's surprisingly somewhat competent but reluctant help begins to unravel Wilson secrets that date back to WWII and the resistance.

The third Shetland Island police procedural (see RAVEN BLACK and WHITE NIGHTS) is a super whodunit. Jimmy is terrific as he battles the islanders who know Ronald accidentally killed his grandma and thus believe an investigation is a waste of time and money. Fans will enjoy Jimmy's efforts to uncover what really happened on Whalsay Island with no one, not even Sandy who is pulled between family and work loyalties, fully cooperating.

Harriet Klausner