The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves
In The Killing Stones, bestselling crime novelist Ann Cleeves heralds in the return of a fan favorite, Detective Jimmy Perez of the Shetland Series. Jimmy and his partner, Willow, have relocated from the Shetland Islands to Orkney, near where he grew up in Fair Isle, Scotland. Surrounded by his friends and the police work he loves, he and Willow have established a new life with their toddler son and a baby on the way.
The Christmas holidays are approaching, and Willow is on maternity leave, preparing for the new arrival. However, a tragic death drastically alters their plans. Jimmy’s best friend and distant cousin, Archie Stout, is discovered bludgeoned to death at the Golf Links of Noltland, close to a famous Scottish archeological dig on the island of Westray.
Jimmy’s intimate connection to the victim disqualifies him from leading the investigation. Instead, Willow, Jimmy’s superior and the district’s chief supervisor, is enlisted to take charge as the Glaswegian CSI teams are weatherbound. As a result, Jimmy and Willow must manage the crime scene with their skeleton crew so close to the Christmas holidays and local celebrations.
The investigation stirs haunting memories for Jimmy of his close friendship with Archie, and the death of Fran, his lover before Willow. While he’s disqualified from managing the case, he can’t keep away, either. He’s tortured by the tension between his own personal grief and his compulsion to be a good cop and solve the crime.
It is gut-wrenching for him to interview Archie’s widow, Vaila, her parents and children, especially when he learns Archie may not have been the dedicated family man Jimmy believed him to be. In a small community, where gossip runs rampant, there are rumors about Archie’s affair with a local artist, newcomer Rosalie Greeman, making Jimmy wonder whether he knew Archie at all.
When the medical examiner discovers that the murder weapon was one of an ancient pair of Viking Stones missing from a local Westray museum, the team is confused by the possible motive for the murder. Archie was a farmer, so is there any significance to the manner of his death? What was Archie doing near the dig, and was the murder premeditated? He was a well-loved member of the community, so who would have wanted him dead?
The suspects are as varied as the Orkney islands, and no one, not even Archie’s wife or lover, or an elderly birdwatcher, or a sightseeing couple, can avoid close scrutiny. Other bodies begin to pile up, and with the holidays closing in, the pressure mounts on Jimmy and Willow. They must solve the crimes before everyone disperses for the holidays … and the killer or killers escape.
Once again, Cleeves paints a hauntingly beautiful yet desolate portrait of Scotland, using the northern islands as a major character in her novel. She invites the readers to explore the Viking history of the archeological digs at Notland and Maeshowe, two of the oldest and most isolated historical sites on earth, making them the perfect scenes of the crimes. She also weaves them into Jimmy’s backstory — his unhappy childhood, his school days with Archie, and his pride in his Scottish heritage — giving the reader previously unknown insights into his life.
While at first, Jimmy appears to be truly at peace with his new life in Orkney, such serenity is short-lived. Archie’s unexpected and brutal death exacerbates his past losses of love and family, which threaten the refuge he’s created with Willow and their son.
It has taken almost 8 years for Jimmy Perez to return to the page, as he was last seen in Wildfire in 2018. For fans of Cleeves’s Shetland series, his return is an unexpected treat. Yet, will Jimmy Perez ever find the peace he so justly deserves? Only the master, Ann Cleeves, can answer that burning question, but she remains mysterious on that point in the following interview.
A Quintet of Interview Questions for the Queen of Crime, Ann Cleeves
It’s been 8 years since we’ve seen fan favorite Jimmy Perez in Wildfire. What made you want to explore Jimmy’s new life in The Killing Stones?
In Wildfire, he’s heading off to Orkney with his partner, Willow, and they’re starting a new life, and I thought that would be the end of the story. But I missed islands. I really love the Northern Isles. So, Orkney is not quite as far north as Shetland, but it’s a lovely place, and I thought, Oh, well, why not? Why don’t I just bring him back? Go north again? I felt a bit homesick for the Northern Isles. It’s been 50 years.
What challenges do Jimmy and Willow face professionally and personally in their relationship?
Well, Willow is Jimmy’s boss, because she’s in charge of all the Scottish islands, the Western Isles. That’s great, because it gives me freedom to move them about to other places if I want to. Also, she’s pregnant when the book starts, but I think they have a very equal partnership.
Actually, I think she’s very supportive of Jimmy and understands that the dynamic might be a bit difficult for a strong island man who’s having to do some of the childcare and be a part of a team. Really, he’s been a loner for so long that it’s quite tricky. So that was quite interesting to write about.
It’s not a spoiler that Jimmy is greatly affected by Archie Stout’s death. They were childhood friends and distant kin, but Jimmy realizes he may not have known Archie as well as he thought. Isn’t that correct?
That’s right. And I think that’s what happens quite often with friendships. You make a friend with somebody when you’re young, and you don’t have very much contact as you’re growing up. Then you come back together and find that maybe you don’t have quite as much in common as you thought you did. But sometimes it’s great. You know. I meet my old school friends, and we get on like a house on fire, but not everybody does. People can grow apart. I think.
Setting, especially the scene of the crime, is so important to your stories. Can you tell me about your connection to the Neolithic tombs in Orkney and your recent visit there?
I went to Maeshowe, which is one I describe in The Killing Stones, where the light comes in. And I was so lucky because I was there staying with a good friend in midwinter, just before the solstice, not quite midwinter, and it was freezing.
We went, and the local archaeologist was very kind and took us into Maeshowe, our party being the only people there. It’s almost shaped like an igloo, round with a little entrance. Then, as the sun is about to dip behind the hill, the light comes in through this small entrance. Oh, and it starts off like light, and then it looks liquid. It’s very unusual.
I’ve never seen anything quite like it, like a bit of liquid gold running along the floor of the chamber. And then it gets wider and wider, until it lights up the back of the chamber. I was so lucky, because it’s very rarely clear near midwinter. Usually, it’s cloudy and windy and wet, but it was very icy, but very clear and lovely.
What’s next for you and your characters?
The book that I’ve just finished, which is just about to go to copy editing, is a new Matthew Venn book, and I loved doing that one. And I’ve got one more Vera Stanhope to do. However, there’s a new character that appears in The Dark Wives named Rosie Bell, and I think if I want to come back and write about Northumberland, I would feature her. Also, I really look forward to writing more about Jimmy and Willow.
About Ann Cleeves:
Ann Cleeves is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind three hit television series ― Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn, and The Long Call, starring Ben Aldridge ― all of which are watched and loved in the United States. All three are available on BritBox.
The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the Crime Writers’ Association Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She was awarded the OBE in 2022 for services to reading and libraries. Ann lives in the United Kingdom.
