I generally “read” most of Ann Cleeve’s work by watching the excellent BBC adaptations. This — the most recent of the “Shetland” series, and the first I’ve actually read — is so far from where the TV series has ended up that it was a bit of a shock for me!

The story takes place some time after Perez has left Shetland and is now living in Orkney with his partner and their child (with another on the way). It all starts when an old friend goes missing on Westray and found bludgeoned to death with one of the old Story Stones found in an archeological dig.

It’s a solid murder mystery full of island characters and relatable description of the incredible scenery (and weather) there. Not usually a fan of scenic descriptions, I could feel these descriptions and enjoyed them a lot. My only complaint is that the reader seems to be kept in the dark about the detective’s thinking so that the apprehension of the murderer is a bit of a surprise. Nonetheless, enjoyed it a lot.

The Killing Stones is the 9th book in the Shetland series. Jimmy Perez has been brought back for this story. He is not living on Shetland but now living in Orkney with his significant other, Chief Inspector Willow Reeves who is on maternity leave. along with his son, Jimmy gets a call from Vaila saying that her husband, Archie Stout is missing. Archie is his best childhood friend. He leaves a note for Willow saying he is going to Westray as Archie is missing. He arrives at the island during a very bad storm. After arriving he speaks with Vaila. She tells him that he was restless but was himself. Jimmy goes searching for him and finds him dead at the abandon archaologist excavation. It is part of the Neolithic settlement. He stays with the body until his team from Orkney to arrive. HIs team detectives Phil Bain and Ellie Shearer arrive along with Dr. Grieve, coroner, who is overseeing the body. He is interested in the story stone that is next to the body. The stone is part of a pair from the Westray Heritage Center. Dr. Grieve says that Archie was killed at the site. Willow decides to join Jimmy and the case.

Jimmy goes to the Inn to get a room and to speak with Annie and her husband, Bill, who own the Inn. She had grown up and lived there but her husband was a city person and an outsider. He asks Annie to check the Heritage Center to make sure the other stone is there. Annie calls Jimmy the other stone is missing. There is a rumor that Archie was having an affair with Rosalie Greeman. She is renting a cottage and plans to make the island her permanent home as her husband had died. Willow and Jimmy go to interview her. She is upfront about her relationship with Archie. Said that he loved her but they had not had sex. She realized that Archie would never leave his wife and she would never marry him as she was still in love with her dead husband. She had seen Archie that afternoon and seemed troubled.

Willow feels that Jimmy is too close to the case as Archie was his friend and sends him back to Orkney with Phil to check out things from there. Ellie stays with Willow at the Inn. Vaila goes back with to the police station with them and Phil takes her statement and she goes back to the island. She tells Jimmy that Archie owned a percentage of the Inn that he had inherited from his father. Annie and her husband wanted to buy him out but he wouldn't sell.

Willow and Ellie decide to met the other people staying at the Inn for the holidays and interview them. Godfrey Landsdown was there to be close to his wife who he had spread her ashes around Noltland. He and his wife had been friends with Archie's parents. He was writing a small history of the island. He also loved to go birdwatching. The other couple who were there were Barbara and Tony Johnston. They were at the island for their anniversary as their children had other holiday plans. In speaking to them Willow found out that Tony was a college professor and still worked in archiology. He was interested in the Vikings. She worked for a community art center in Gateshead. They had both worked at the site when they were students in college. They were there when the stones were discovered. One side is Neolisthic spirnals and the other Viking graffiti. He said one of the sayings was "I am Olaf, teller of tales and the other said====. They didn't know Archie but ran into him that afternoon coming out of a store. He seemed preoccupied and rude. They both walked in other directions. When Archie was killed they were at the Angel's house for dinner. They are Vaila's parents. They were there when Vail called to tell her parents that Archie was missing. They left and went back to the Inn.

Willow and Ellie decided to go to talk to the Angel's. They were checking where people were when Archie died. They asked if they were with the Johnston's. They told Willow that Archie and Vaila. They did not go to the Inn. She wanted to talk to the boys. Lawie said they had talked about the farm, holiday and school. The two boys said their father was quiet at dinner but himself. Vaila told Willow that they were going to stay at a hotel in Kirkwell for the holidays as she wanted to get away from the island. Lawie was planning to participate in the Ba.

Willow and Ellie decide that they would go home for the holiday and send Phil back to the island to oversee the people. Going back they sit with Bill who tells them that he was going to the city to do some shopping and spend a few days there. He missed the city so went back once a month for a visit.

This is where I will leave the story for the reader to enjoy. There is so much going on that I can't put all on paper. There will be two more deaths. The author keeps the reader guessing and wanting to find out who the murderer is to the surprising and suspenseful ending.

The ending was a complete surprise. I never expected it. So many lives were changed because of the three deaths. I hope that the author might continue with other stories of Jimmy Perez.

Thank you NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC.

THE KILLING STONES is #9 in the DI Jimmy Perez series by Ann Cleeves. I haven’t read any other books in this series but I had no problem following the backstories of the main investigators, Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves.

The narrative begins with the murder of Archie Stout, who is an old friend of Jimmy’s. It takes place on Westray, one of the many small islands in the Orkney Island group. When he hears Archie is missing, Jimmy takes the ferry to Westray, discovers his body, identifies several possible suspects, and then Willow takes over the investigation on Westray while Jimmy follows leads in Kirkwall, the largest town in Orkney.

There are several potential suspects and many leads to follow but I didn’t have any problems keeping the characters and plot details clear in my mind. Also, the identification of the murderer came as a surprise, definitely not on my “potential suspects” list. The problem I had with this novel is that it read like a travelogue, with the mystery as a sideline. The action moved too slowly.

I didn’t empathize with any of the characters. Jimmy was nice, Willow was nice, and most of the potential suspects were basically nice; only one character was somewhat obnoxious, and he wasn’t the killer. Furthermore, I couldn’t understand the killer’s motive once it was revealed. There was no build-up to suggest such a personality flaw.

I love Ann Cleeves “Vera” series, and I have always been able to empathize with characters in that series. Cleeves is a good writer, but I am obviously not a member of the target audience for her Shetland series, which appears to be aimed more towards describing a geographical region rather than portraying individuals with their psychological quirks.

For some reason, I had thought that Ann Cleeves' Jimmy Perez series had ended. This is one time I was very glad to be wrong! I am a huge fan of Cleeves' mystery and have grown attached to her lead characters, especially Jimmy. In the Killing Stones, it is Christmastime, and Jimmy is called upon to locate his missing childhood friend, Archie. Needless to say, this is followed by a slew of murders for which there are many suspects with diverse motives. Despite the many clues along the way, I was quite surprised by the culprit. However, for me, the mystery comes second to the characters and their motivations. Cleeves make them seem so real - like our own family, friends, and foe. I cannot wait for the next in this series.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

Looking my Goodreads history I see that I read the previous instalment of this series, and would echo my comment then that I have got too used to the TV series and miss Tosh. Willow, Perez' common law wife and sort-of boss, has no place at all in my memory, and nor does their rather unconvincing 4-year old son (he barely speaks! he's so well-behaved!).

Perez' oldest friend Archie is found dead, battered over the head with an archaeologically significant stone. The more we learn about Archie the less I could understand why they were friends - apart from anything else Perez seemed to know nothing at all about Archie's life, and we learn at the end that he recently groped (as in sexually assaulted) Willow at a recent party and Perez saw him do it. Two more murders follow, and Perez and Willow spend the week leading up to Christmas island-hopping and driving around to carry out interviews, many of which I would have done over the phone.

The identity of the murderer was almost completely unclued and not particularly satisfying to me. There were moments when this looked as if it was going to get exciting or mysterious, but mainly there were a lot of descriptions of the islands and island customs, which were only mildly interesting to me. I think I will stick to the TV series from now on.

The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves sees the return of Detective Jimmy Perez
If you are a fan of Shetland, like I am, you have been missing Jimmy terribly! I was thrilled to find this new book featuring Jimmy Perez. Our favorite Detective.
Jimmy and family have moved to Orkney. They are closer to Jimmy’s childhood friend, Archie.
During an awful storm, Archie has gone missing and Jimmy is off to find him.
But Jimmy finds his body. Murdered with a bloody story stone by his head. Archie is a popular fellow and this is a huge blow to Jimmy and the island.
As typical the islanders don’t share their secrets easily and Jimmy and his team have a hard job ahead. It seems this killer has a secret they will kill to keep.


Always a wonderful day to read one of Cleeves’ books.


NetGalley/ September 30, 2025 St. Martin’s Press/ Minotaur

I love the atmospheric setting as much as the characters in this book series. The mystery was compelling from the start and the resolution made sense. It was a nice treat to reconnect with a memorable character like Jimmy Perez. .

Ann Cleeves is one of my favorite authors, especially the Vera Stanhope series. This mystery starts with the death of Detective Jimmy Perez’s closest and longtime friend, Archie Stout. When called to the murder scene Perez was shocked and saddened to find that the body was that of Archie. Was Perez too personally involved with murder victim to be objective and not endangering the investigation. I felt the story was a little slower paced but I enjoyed reading it. I did not figure out the killer until it was revealed. A good read for all mystery lovers and fans of Ann Cleeves.