Red Bones

I purchased the Kindle edition of Red Bones, a mystery by Ann Cleeves, for two reasons: it was on sale for $2.99, and it was set in the Shetland Islands, of which I knew nothing about. I love islands and the remoter the better. Is there a mystery series set in Tristan de Cunha?

The Shetland Islands, though part of the U.K., are closer to Norway than they are to Scotland. Each island has its own community, and everybody knows everybody Therefore, when a gossipy old woman is accidentally shot by a man hunting rabbits, it affects everyone. But Inspector Jimmy Perez has haunting doubts that it was not an accident.

This is the third in Cleeves' Jimmy Perez series, so I don't know what I'm missing from the first two. Perez is assisted by Sandy Wilson, who grew up on the island of Whalsay, where the death occurred. Nearby the old woman's house an archaeological dig is taking place, and an old skull, discolored red, is found. Is it very old, or somewhat more recent?

I have mixed feelings about the book. It is too long, for one. When a character calls Perez and says she must talk to him in person (I've never experienced someone saying that to me--it seems to happen only in books and movies) and then he can't find her, we all know she's dead but Cleeves takes forever getting to it. I'll admit her solution to the whodunit was clever, but the motive seemed weak.

The best part of the book is the description and the people of Shetland. There is a TV series of these books, which might be worth watching. She does not write the dialogue like it must sound, so not hearing there accents is a bit disappointing, but you get the feel of the place in passages like this one: "Beyond the dyke there was one fat old ewe with rheumy eyes, chewing on the long grass, and two tiny lambs, still unsteady on their feet."

After this book I'm not compelled to read any more of the series. It was just okay.