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.