The body of Archie Stout, an old friend of Jimmy's is found dead after a heavy storm. A Neolithic stone bearing ancient inscriptions, is found nearby, and it is discovered that this is the weapon used to kill Archie. Jimmy & his partner Willow set out to find the person who commited this terrible crime. Things are made a little difficult because Christmas is only a few days away so there are many visitors to the islands, and the police are wanting to be with their families.
Jimmy feels that he is out of his depth, and when a second murder occurs he realises that he is no closer to find the person who did this.
Another fantastic Jimmy Perez story by Ann Cleeves.

In her latest Jimmy Perez novel by Ann Cleeves, Jimmy discovers the murdered body of an old friend and he and Willow set out to find his killer. More bodies follow, as Christmas approaches and the couple race to solve the crimes before Christmas day. I have read virtually every novel by Cleeves and eagerly awaited this new story. However, I found the plot far too slow - not typical of her usual skill in building suspense. I felt as though I was staggering to the end, rather than being swept along by the desire to solve the crime. When the answer was revealed, I as deeply disappointed as there had been no clues to lead me to the correct conclusion and I felt rather cheated. The whole book feels like a hastily constructed Christmas outing for Perez and is clearly aimed at the buying for Xmas market. Definitely not my favourite by this author.

A Jimmy Perez story set with neolithic stones and sights that link the crime neatly together. A fab read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book.

Jimmy Perez is back! Back on Orkney and back in action, working with new wife and police Scotland partner Willow t0 solve the mystery of the murder of an old friend. He's been killed by an ancient artefact at an ancient site, and as the story progresses you may start to wonder if it is safe to visit any of Orkney's ancient sites!
But was it a local or an outsider who committed the ghastly deed? Jimmy is hoping for the latter - but at Christmas time there are not that many visitors to the islands.
Meticulously plotted, with a host of interesting characters - some familiar, some new - this is Ann Cleeves at her best. She is skilled at portraying the best and worst in people, never forgetting that no-one is wholly evil or good, and that nothing is black and white.
And her descriptions of Orkney in all its wild beauty are spot on, as always, with the added air of mystery that comes from standing at the ancient sites, and recalling Orkney's neolithic past. She brings it all to life, just as she has brought Jimmy Perez back to life. He's still quiet, still a little troubled, but still one of my favourite detectives,

Comment: This is the first book by Anne Cleeves that I have read. Neither have I ever watched the TV series Vera, so she’s a completely new author to me. A murder mystery set in Orkney. The story develops with lots of references to the history of Orkney and how the islanders view it, while focussing on relationships between the islanders themselves and with outsiders, be they newcomers to the island or regular visitors. If you are a fan of Anne Cleeves, I’m sure this is exactly what you are looking for in her books. I’m not so sure, from my point of view a few too many references to the wind, rain and fog to try to conjure up an eerie setting for the story to progress.. And if you want to know the time of a ferry between the islands this is the book for you.
My thanks to Net Galley and the author for an ARC.

Full disclosure, I’m a huge fan of Ann Cleeves & of her Shetland books in particular. This story is a personal one for Jimmy Perez, the much loved protagonist of the series as it involves the murder of one of his oldest friends. Set on Orkney predominately, I confess to getting a bit muddled with the to-ing and fro-ing of the characters between the islands, however, things eventually settled down with a couple more murders before the reveal of who did it. I confess to not seeing that one coming, as there were so many suspects & a huge number of red herrings. Fans of the books & tv series will love the continuation of Jimmy’s story. With huge thanks to NetGalley for an early copy.

As a fan of Detective Jimmy Perez in both the novels and the wonderful tv adaptations I was looking forward to this latest installment and it didn't disappoint. Gripping, exciting and enjoyable, a must read for any Ann Cleeves and Jimmy Perez fan!

Another fabulous read in the Shetland series. Murders aplenty. Kept me guessing. Very well written and kept me gripped throughout. I felt it was a tragic ending. Highly recommended. I was lucky enough to receive an advanced copy and leave this review willingly.

I thought that Ann Cleeves had said she was no longer going to write any more in the “Shetland” series ….so was delighted to see her new book featured the much loved Detective Jimmy Perez. However, The Killing Stones is set in the Orkney Islands, rather than Shetland so perhaps this is the start of a new series? Let’s hope so! What the reader does learn is that Orkney Islands are very different from the Shetland Isles, or so the Orcadians think. Orkney is less rugged, more fertile and with more trees. Farming is more prevelant leading to a wonderful saying that Orcadians were farmers with a boat and Shetlanders are Fishermen with a Croft.
This is the backdrop to an investigation of the murder of one of Perez’s oldest friends occurring on Westray Island where even fellow Orcadians from Kirkwall (mainland) are viewed as outsiders. Perez is based in Kirkwall and living with the mother of his child, pregnant with another one and also happens to be a Police detective with a wider brief so technically outranks Perez. This is a different dynamic but has the same introspective Perez struggling with his past history and traditions of the islands. Ann Cleeves masterfully weaves together an intriguing murder mystery with the local colour and introducing fascinating characters. As with her past books, the Islands geographic beauty is wonderfully described and I am sure it will help boost tourism to the Orkneys much as she has done to the Shetland Islands. As with all of Ann Cleeves books, including Vera, the plot is cunning and the suspects numerous. The books is very enjoyable, packed with excitement and , as ever, the Murderer turns out to be the one you least suspected!
Many thanks to Pan Macmillan and Netgalley for pre publication access to this book.

Never disappointed with an Ann Cleeves novel. I’ve read most series by her and was really happy to find that she was returning to Perez. Looking forward to many more novels based in Orkney.

Another excellent book from Ann Cleeves. The island setting is perfect for this book. Archie Stout is an Islander and old friend of Jimmy Perez. When he is found dead just before Christmas the weather is too bad for the Glasgow police to fly in so it’s down to Perez to solve the crime. Friendship and family drive the story: people want to blame the outsiders, but even islanders can become outsiders.
This is a complex and fast moving plot as more deaths take place and there pressure is on to resolve everything before Christmas Day and the Ba’, a Freeform rugby match through the town of Kirkwall.
Well worth reading.

As a fan of the TV series Shetland I was keen to read this novel continuing the adventures of Jimmy Perez, the rather dour detective from Fair Isle. I hadn’t read any of Ann Cleeves’s Shetland series and they’re obviously quite different from the TV version but the central character is much the same and here he is investigating the murder of a friend of his who lives on Westray, an island in the Orcadian archipelago. Along with his partner Willow, a DCI, they untangle a web of relationships centred on the murder victim.
It’s very atmospheric, making good use of the archeology of Orkney, somewhere I’ve visited and used as a location in my own crime novel, Deception. It’s a fabulous place to set a detective novel and I guess this marks the start of a new Orkney series by the author. I enjoyed the story which kept me guessing right to the end and the characters and setting held my interest. I look forward to reading more about Jimmy Perez on Orkney.
Thanks to the publisher MacMillan and Netgalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

What can you say about an Ann Cleeves novel that hasn’t been said before? Another fabulous story, thrilling, heart rendering, unputdownable and simply totally engrossing all the way through. You know exactly what you’re getting and this didn’t disappoint - amazing!

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

There is something about finding a new novel that adds a coda to a much loved series like the reliable DI Perez in the Shetland novels. At the risk of resorting to cliché, at its best it’s a bit like putting on an old comfortable pullover on a winter’s evening. So, yes, I was very much looking forward to the Killing Stones and, in many ways, it didn’t disappoint. It made a perfectly satisfying police procedural with some well known characters and enough potential suspects to keep a latter day Sherlock Holmes well satisfied. So why not a five star review seems a fair question; in part this may be that it takes Perez away from the Shetland context where we have grown used to find him and his team and, somehow, we find at times a rather diminished Perez, with a substantial part of the action involving (somewhat implausibly?) his pregnant partner Willow.

In fairness, some rebalancing of the overall judgment implied here may be needed; Perez is the same old solid Perez who steers the investigation to a successful conclusion, and the weaving together of the evidence that the reader sees at the same time as the investigators is, as you would expect from Ms Cleves sound and feels right.

Overall, then, a solid effort from this reliable author; it may not reach the heights of the best from the ‘Shetland’ series, but it’s unlikely to disappoint.

So happy to have Jimmy Perez back. Hopefully this will lead to further adventures in Orkney. As always atmospheric and full of historical anecdotes, the book is hard to put down. Richly described characters, some irritating and others easy to like, made the read enjoyable. I was quite shocked by the ending, did not see that coming.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy. I highly recommend this book. Thanks again.

Just what you come to expect from Ann Cleeve and this book does not disappoint. A really good detective story with Perez looking into the death of a friend.

Willow heavily pregnant is still working the case with Perez.

The book leads you on a journey with lots of twists and turns

A good page turner

The book is the latest in the Shetland series and features DI Jimmy Perez who is now on Orkney with his partner Willow, and their son. Willow is Jimmy’s boss and pregnant with their second child, due any day. It’s shortly before Christmas when Jimmy is alerted that one of his oldest friends, Archie Stout has gone missing on Westray. Although on maternity leave and heavily pregnant Willow decides to help out Jimmy with the complex case after Archie is discovered dead. A Neolithic stone next to the body. It’s so close to,Christmas that no Police want to come over from the mainland to help out. Jimmy and Willow are left with their small team to conduct interviews and whittle who out of the suspects is the murderer. Without wanting to give any spoilers it’s a great read and it’s not until right at the end of the book that it becomes clear who has committed murder and why.

7 years after the “final” Shetland novel, The Killing Stones features the return of Detective Jimmy Perez, now living on Orkney (so I suppose technically this isn’t a Shetland novel after all).

The plotting is as tight as always with Ann Cleeves (although I personally really dislike the trope of ‘’so and so wants to talk to the police but before they can share what they know, they’re also murdered’). But for me, one of the most appealing things about the Perez books was the multiple viewpoints: the reader often got to follow along with key characters, sometimes even victims or murderers, along with the police characters. Narrowing the narrative perspective to just Jimmy and his partner/boss Willow made for a less engaging reading experience, not least because Jimmy can be quite a dour person to spend time with in POV chapters.

The solution and ending were really well done though, with the motive feeling unfortunately relevant and relatable in the modern world.

I love Anne Cleeves' books, and a new Jimmy Perez story is always a joy. This book definitely doesn't disappoint. An excellent story, with unexpected twists. As always the writing is superb, and I was completely absorbed. I can't wait for the writer's next book.

Wonderful to have another Ann Cleeves book. This novel features the return of Jimmy Perez, happy in a relationship and with children. The murder of his friend Archie starts a new personal investigation by Perez, supported by his partner Willow who is officially on maternity leave. With only a few days until Christmas and fog making flying impossible, the pressure is on Perez' small team to catch the killer.
This book is not only a great read, but is so interesting. Cleeves includes details about Neolithic sites and rituals which I had not known of. Also, some Orkney Christmas traditions which was really interesting.
And as always, the ending was a total surprise and quite shocking.
Great to have Cleeves back.