The third (after The Heron’s Cry) in Cleeves’s award-winning series is an atmospheric police procedural that builds on the other books while introducing fascinating suspects.
Matthew Venn, introduced in The Long Call, is the primary detective in this installment, but Cleeves uses multiple voices, including those of Matthew’s team members, to show the personal effects of this troubling case. Fans of Cleeves’s “Vera Stanhope” and “Shetland” mysteries will be eager for her latest novel, where a police team struggles to cope with professional and personal lives.
Superbly drawn characters, an absorbing plot, and a compelling narrative combine in a classic mystery that will delight both Cleeves’s fans and newcomers alike.
Throughout the "Shetland Island" series, Cleeves lovingly depicts the Scottish island life, and this volume is no exception. Fans may be saddened but certainly not disappointed by this final installment.
In her eighth outing (after The Moth Catcher), DI Vera Stanhope investigates a cold case linked to her father based on information provided by John Brace, a now incarcerated ex-detective superintendent...
Plenty of suspects on a remote Scottish island mixed with the high quality of Cleeves's prose make this a solidly plotted whodunit for procedural and traditional mystery readers. The Crime Writers' Association (CWA) recently announced that Cleeves, a longtime advocate of libraries, is to receive the CWA Diamond Dagger, the highest honor in British crime writing. [See Prepub Alert, 10/17/16.]