I have read all of the Shetland series partly because the actor who plays Perez on tv is a family friend! I thought this book wasn’t as gripping as previous ones. Some of the characters were a bit mediocre. The expose at the end almost comes out of the blue.
Always nice to visit the Scottish islands.

First my Ann Cleeves, my first Jimmy Perez, but it won’t be my last!! For the full review go to https://www.tumblr.com/joebloggshere/793860116173701120/the-killing-stones-by-ann-cleeves-so-i-was

I really wanted to enjoy The Killing Stones, but I found it quite slow to get into. The setting in Orkney is atmospheric, the premise of the murder of Jimmy Perez’s friend and a mysterious Neolithic stone is intriguing, but the pacing dragged for me.
It’s part of the Jimmy Perez (Shetland) series, and while you can read it as a standalone, I think knowing the previous books helps with understanding the characters. If you enjoy slow-burn mysteries with rich settings, you might love this but I prefer a story that grabs me from the start.

Stunning location and descriptions of Scottish islands with breathtaking scenery and atmosphere. The murder is equally evocative and mysterious involving ancient stones as a murder weapon on an archaeological site.
The detective is close to the case in many ways including the family involved which makes for interesting dynamics.
There were sections of this that I found intensely interesting and the pages turned fast and furious but also sections I slept walked a little as I couldn’t quite get into the narrative. Overall a decent murder story with some surprises.

I am a great fan of the Jimmy Perez Shetland stories on television, However, i have only read on of the books in the series of Shetland stories.
The Orkney adventure was good and I enjoyed it. I did have a bit of a problem with the fact that Cassie was 14 in it and Jimmy was married to Willow, with a son called James.
However a nice read.

Welcome back Jimmy Perez! How we have missed you. The Shetland series is undoubtedly Ann Cleeves' best work and here our hero returns but this time in Orkney, with a new wife and son.. As usual, the writing is excellent, the setting beautifully portrayed and local customs add to the richness of the experience. When a series of killings happen on Westray, Perez and Willow are forced to put friendships to one side. This is an absolute delight!

An enjoyable book. It is the first one I have read in the Shetland series but have watched the TV version. It did take a little while to stop imagining the book in terms of the TV version unlike Vera, which is very close to the books.
The book is a slow burn with lots of description of Orkney and it's history. Willow, his wife makes a good contrast to Perez. I was a little disappointed with the end as the reader had very few clues, if any, as to the murderer. I look forward to more of the Perez Willow duo.

An absorbing, character-driven tale of brutal killings in the Shetlands with plenty of red herrings and theories. Perez wants to have a family Christmas with his wife and son but the savage murder of one of his oldest friends puts a spanner in the works.

The killing stones by Ann Cleves’s is book 9 in the Shetland series. You can read this as a standalone and I have not read the previous books in this series.
Jimmy has moved from Shetland and now lives on the island Orkney with his now partner Willow Rose who is pregnant with their second child.
He discovers that his close friend Archie Stout has gone missing on the island of Westray. So, he heads of to the island only discovered the murdered body of his friend, found dead on an old historical dig site and the murder weapon is Neolithic stone, one of a pair that has been stolen from the local heritage centre. Archie was well liked but who would want to kill him?
Then two more bodies turn up in a similar pattern Jimmy and Willow have their work cut out not only to find the killer. But Jimmy finds it difficult jugging his work life with his personal one.
This is another good read from the author but a slow burn. The author is good setting the scene and the description of the places on the islands and its history. The storyline is of the case is intriguing and tried to guess who the killer is. But I got it all wrong. And when I found out at the end who was the killer was. I felt a bit disappointed as I was expecting a bit more than it delivered. 3.5 stars

First Anne Cleeves book I have read.
Although there is history with the characters but didn't feel as if I had missed much.
Book is well written and makes me want to visit the Islands.
I found this hard work at first and had to plod through the first quarter.
Will try and pick up a few more book by Anne Cleeves as obviously missed some good reads.

It was a “dark and stormy night” when somebody bashed Archie Stout on the head with a neolithic artifact at an old archaeological dig in Westray, the 4th largest of the Orkney Islands (It’s a bit smaller than Manhattan Island). DI Jimmy Perez, who has moved from Shetland to Orkney in the last few years, is the first officer on the scene. He is an old friend of the deceased so shouldn’t really get involved, but it is nearly Christmas, the Scottish mainland is snowbound and fogged in, and his team are not very experienced. Reluctantly his superior, Chief Inspector Willow Reeves (who is also his wife and the pregnant mother of their four-year-old son) assumes the SIO róle and the junior officers have to be more prominent. However, you can’t keep Jimmy away and it is he who will eventually arrest the perpetrator, but not before more deaths occur.
This is, I think, the start of a new series with Orkney rather than Shetland as the location, still with Jimmy in a leading position but now in a double act with Willow. Their domesticity plays a significant part in the characterisation. It doesn’t require much in the way of backstory so new readers will not be confused by history (old readers might wonder at what happened during the last few years). The author has put a lot of time and effort into researching the history, geography, and culture of the Orkney Islands and has, perhaps, been too generous in exposing this to the readers. The writing is, as usual, very good and the plotting is complex, seeming to turn on an unusual motive. The identification of the perpetrator is very difficult to spot in advance, so it is a good challenge for analytical readers. It’s a 4.5 so 5 on the round up.
I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

First Ann Cleeves I've read and I enjoyed it Easy to read and interesting. Ann has a vast knowledge of the islands.

Welcome back Jimmy Perez!!! I was perfectly happy when he sailed off into the sunset with Willow at the end of the final book in the Shetland series but it is so good to have him back.
Jimmy is now DI for the Orkney Isles and is a settled family man with a 4 year old son and another baby on the way as well as being stepfather to Cassie. It comes as a bolt out of the blue to hear that his oldest friend is at first missing and then found murdered. Strictly speaking, Jimmy shouldn’t be investigating the murder as he is too close to the victim but it’s nearly Christmas, the weather has grounded all of the planes from the mainland and so there is no one else.
I really loved this latest mystery from Ann Cleeves. I love mysteries with a distinct setting and as always, she uses the location of her mysteries to brilliant effect. We get a real feel for life on Orkney, both in the town of Kirkwall as well as in the more isolated Westray where the crime takes place. The weather plays an important part in the story too, beginning with a violent storm and then fog which means that no planes can fly in or out of the islands. I really enjoyed how the neolithic history of Orkney was used as a background to the murder as well as current events such as the Orkney Ba.
The mystery itself was an intriguing one. Archie Stout is a larger than life character, generally popular but with a quick temper and it’s hard to see why he was murdered. As the story develops, we begin to learn more about his character and motives for his murder begin to appear. Having to investigate the murder of his best friend really hits Perez hard. He should be able to grieve and support Archie’s family but instead he has to carry out his investigation which for a whlle, seems to be going absolutely nowhere. The relationship between him and Willow works brilliantly as she keeps him from descending into despair and the happiness of their home life together is a nice contrast to the sadness surrounding the murder.
There are lots of twists and turns in the investigation as well as another murder. Random leads pop up that go nowhere and then seemingly unrelated things prove to be linked. I don’t spend too long ever trying to work out who the murderer is, preferring to just enjoy the mystery but I have to say that I didn ‘t see this one coming. Once it was revealed though, it did make sense and was definitely a very believable scenario.
This was a brilliantly plotted although quite slow paced crime novel with a great setting and I really hope that there is more to come about Orkney.
Anyone who comes to this after only seeing the TV series Shetland needs to be beware though. The Jimmy Perez portrayed in the books is not the same as the one on the screen. The TV series took on a life of its own whereas the books are very much Ann Cleeves creations and the chronology is very different.
Tnank you as always to Net Galley and the publishers, St Martin’s Press, for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

The return of a Jimmy Perez story is always welcome. Set on Orkney, Jimmy has to navigate local customs and traditions to solve a murder. A good story and well written. Only thing I wasn’t sure about was who the main character was. I’d assumed it would be Jimmy but his partner, Willow, is also a significant character throughout so maybe having 2 main characters will be the norm if this story is part of a series.

I was new to Ann Cleeves and Jimmy Perez and must admit to not having seen Shetland either (yet). I was therefore eager to get a taste of this author after being admittedly late to the game.

I read this book in a very bit and sunny Mediterranean island on Summer holiday, which was a bit of a contrast to the Christmas/New Year setting of this book and the Scottish Winter weather. A downside of reading an advance review copy perhaps pre-publication a season before most will read it.

Overall I enjoyed the book. The scene setting was very good and some clever dialogue and character insight by the detectives involved meant you kept thinking about potential suspects often in different lights. Ultimately nothing was given away and the murderer(s) was not/were not guessable for me until everything climaxed in the final few pages, perhaps inevitably at the 'Ba (a traditional contest played out on Christmas Day). This was a good climax but it did feel a little anticlimactic overall and lacked a little bit of tension with everything kind of wrapped up beforehand.

Overall I enjoyed it and would be keen to read more (and watch Shetland) but there were one or two too many characters for a first timer to keep track of (despite me reading this over a short space of time).

Four stars from me.

A series of murders unfold just before Christmas in sites of historical significance across Orkney.

I enjoyed this thriller and did not guess the murderer, but I think for me it didn't really work as a standalone novel. Having never read any of the Jimmy Perez novels, there was just too much backstory that I wasn't familiar with.

Having said that, the plot is pacy, settings are fabulous and the whodunnit remained a mystery until close to the end.

I enjoyed the book but there were parts very different from the tv series. It wasn't as good as the other books in the shetland series. It took longer for me to warm up to it. But enjoyed it all the same.

Ann Cleeves does a great job bringing Orkney to life in The Killing Stones. The story starts strong with Jimmy Perez investigating his friend’s murder, and the whole island setting really adds to the atmosphere. There are some nice twists along the way, but I found the pace dragged a bit in the middle and a few characters felt a little flat. Still, it kept me guessing, and I enjoyed the mix of history and mystery. If you like crime novels with a good sense of place, this one’s definitely worth picking up.

The Killing Stones sees the return of Ann Cleeves’ Jimmy Perez who is now living in Orkney and has to investigate the death of one of his closest friends.

The book moves along at a relatively slow pace until the finale which I found slightly disappointing being a fan of the over books in this series.

The murder investigation and subsequent revelations are well described and contributed to the overall enjoyment of the book.

Overall a good read.

Set in Orkney, Scotland, where detective Jimmy Perez is now living with his partner, Willow, and son James. The plot starts the death of his close friend, Archie, a few days before Christmas. As Jimmy investigates and more victims fall prey to the murderer, the island’s history and secrets unravel to reach a surprising conclusion.

An enjoyable read, albeit the plot pace was a little slower than I would have liked in places. Great description of island life with an excellent twist which wrapped the story line up well.

Thank to Net Galley and Pan MacMillan for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.