"Missing in the Snow" by Ann Cleeves

British mystery writer Ann Cleeves, she of Shetland and Vera, fame, faced the kind of disaster that strikes fear into every author’s heart. She lost her laptop, which just happened to contain the only copy of her latest manuscript. Happily for Cleeves, a young woman found it – buried in snow – and turned it in.  

Cleeves did what any writer would do – she used the story as the basis for a short story. Missing in the Snow isn’t about a missing laptop; instead, it’s not the laptop that’s missing, but the author.

 

Jimmy Perez no longer works on Shetland. He, his wife Willow, and their young son live in Orkney, but he arrives at Lerwick in Shetland to help with a case. Nicholas Manners, a writer of thrillers, had come to Shetland for research. He’d been at his usual table in the Lerwick library and had chatted with the librarian. And then he was gone. The librarian assumed he’d gone to where he was staying. 

 

When a friend who’d invited the author for drinks gets concerned when her guest is a no-show, she checks his house. The door is unlocked, the mobile phone and laptop are there, but there’s no author. The thriller writer is truly missing – and it’s been snowing.

 

Ann Cleeves

Cleeves has published eight mysteries in the Jimmy Perez / Shetland series, including Raven Black (2008), Red Bones (2009), White Nights (2010), Blue Lightning (2011), Dead Water (2014), Thin Air (2015), Cold Earth (2017), and Wild Fire (2019). She’s also published nine mystery novels in the Vera Stanhope series (also a television series), six Inspector Stephen Ramsay mysteries, and several others works and short stories. The Jimmy Perez novels are the basis for the BBC television series “Shetland.” Cleeves lives in northeastern England.

 

The best part of Missing in the Snow is to find out what Jimmy Perez, Tosh, and Sandy have been up to since the final Shetland novel. And perhaps Cleeves can be encouraged to develop a new story in the series.

 

Note: Missing in the Snow was offered by Cleeves’ publisher as an inducement to sign up for her newsletter. It’s not yet available through the regular book distribution channels. 

 

Related:

 

Shetland author’s lost laptop with draft of next novel found in snow – Lucinda Cameron at The Scotsman.

 

The Long Call by Ann Cleeves.

 

The Woman on the Island by Ann Cleeves. 

 

My review of Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves.

 

My review of Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves.

 

My review of Red Bones by Ann Cleeves.

 

My review of Raven Black by Ann Cleeves.

 

My review of White Nights by Ann Cleeves.

 

My review of Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves. 

 

My review of Dead Water by Ann Cleeves.

 

My review of Thin Air by Ann Cleeves.

Some Thursday Readings

 

Revolve – poem by Sanjeev Sethi at East Ridge Review.

 

Hunter Biden and the ‘Deep State’ – Eli Lake at The Free Press.

 

Swan Upping Season – Spitalfields Life. 

 

What’s in a Name? Solving the Mystery of an Italian Confederate – Joseph Casino at Emerging Civil War.

“Wild Fire” by Ann Cleeves

It’s the end of the road for Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez of the Shetland Police Force.

Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves is the eighth and final volume in the Shetland mystery series. Cleeves is ending the popular series because, she says, she’s told all the stories she wanted to tell and she likes Shetlanders too much to kill off any more of them.

Two more die in Wild Fire.

A young nanny is found hanging in a barn of a home owned by English transplants. The nanny works for another family, and the scene is the site of the suicide of the man who previously owned the property. Forensic examination determines that the young woman was already dead when the body was hung. Her purse and shoes are also nowhere to be found.

Perez and his officer Sandy Wilson begin the investigation, but he’s required to call the case in to Aberdeen, and Willow Reeves arrives to lead. We met Reeves in Cold Earth, when she and Perez were investigating a case and soon found themselves investigating each other. Perez has deep feelings for Reeves, but he’s still not over the death of his fiancée Fran, for which he bears a sense of guilt. 

Reeves arrives with some surprise news. She’s pregnant with Perez’s child. Perez responds with anger, believing he’s been taken advantage of or, at worst, used. He knew Reeves had wanted to have a child. The tensions of investigating the murder are overlaid with the tensions of their relationship.

They run across a woman who has a rather spiteful, gossiping tongue, and whose son was involved with the dead woman. Her gossiping tongue apparently gets her into more trouble than she expected; she’s found dead, a victim of strangling. The investigation of the two murders takes Perez and Reeves deep into the lives of the two families involved.

Ann Cleeves

Cleeves has published eight mysteries in the Jimmy Perez / Shetland series, including Raven Black (2008), Red Bones (2009), White Nights (2010), Blue Lightning (2011), Dead Water (2014), Thin Air (2015), and Cold Earth (2017), with Wild Fire published in September. She’s also published eight mystery novels in the Vera Stanhope series (also a television series), six Inspector Stephen Ramsay mysteries, and several others works and short stories. The Jimmy Perez novels are the basis for the BBC television series “Shetland.” Cleeves lives in northeastern England.

As an enthusiastic reader of the Shetland books and an enthusiastic fan of the television program, I’m of two minds about the ending of the series. On the one hand, both the books and the TV program are highly entertaining, with those stark brooding Shetland vistas matching the brooding perspective of Perez. On the other hand, when it’s time for an author to stop a series, the author knows it. And perhaps it’s best to go out on a high note.

Wild Fire is as much the story of Willow Reeves as it is of Jimmy Perez. It leaves fewer clues as to the murderer’s identity for the reader than the previous books, and the solution could have gone in any of several ways – possible motives littered the Shetland landscape. 

But the series is done, and we wish Detective Inspector Perez and his boss Willow Reeves the best in their new career undertakings.

Related:

My review of Cold Earth by Ann Cleeves.

My review of Red Bones by Ann Cleeves.

My review of Raven Black by Ann Cleeves.

My review of White Nights by Ann Cleeves.

My review of Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves. 

My review of Dead Water by Ann Cleeves.

My review of Thin Air by Ann Cleeves.

Top photograph: A view of Lerwick, the largest town in the Shetland Islands and the home base for Jimmy Perez. By Erik via Wikimedia Commons.

"Thin Air" by Ann Cleeves

Unst is the northernmost island in the Shetland Islands. To reach it by car requires two ferry rides from Aberdeen, involving more than 12 hours on the boat. And it is to Unst that two couples from London drive, to celebrate the wedding of a third London couple. The groom is form Unst, and family and friends want to celebrate.

While they’re there, they hear the story of Perrie Lizzie, or Little Lizzie, a 10-year-old girl who drowned in 1930 and whose ghost supposedly haunts the beaches and lanes. The wife of one of the couples is an independent broadcast journalist, and she says she’s seen the ghost. She’s also considering a documentary on ghosts. Then she’s found dead, the body posed almost to look like a painting. 

Inspector Jimmy Perez is called from Lerwick, Shetland’s main city. He’s assisted by Sergeant Sandy Wilson. And technically, they’re both reporting to Willow Reeves, the police woman from the mainland who’s the official crime investigation lead. But everyone, including the suspects, knows that if the murder is going to going to be solved, it’s Perez who will find the killer. And he’s still trying to get over the death of his fiancée. 

Thin Air is the fifth Inspector Jimmy Perez novel by Ann Cleeves, and it‘s a solid, well-plotted, gripping story. Cleeves deftly weaves the ghost legend, the stories of the three couples from London which grow increasingly complicated, and the involvement of the local Unst residents. Motives abound, as do the suspects. As the investigation unfolds, surprises happen, hidden facts emerge (or are dragged into the light), and the understanding of the past and present unravels.

Ann Cleeves

Cleeves has published eight mysteries in the Jimmy Perez / Shetland series, including Raven Black (2008), Red Bones (2009), White Nights (2010), Blue Lightning (2011), Dead Water (2014), Thin Air (2015), and Cold Earth(2017), with Wild Fire publishing this week – and it’s the last of the Jimmy Perez mysteries, says Cleeves.. She’s also published eight mystery novels in the Vera Stanhope series (also a television series), six Inspector Stephen Ramsay mysteries, and several others works and short stories. The Jimmy Perez novels are the basis for the BBC television series “Shetland.” Cleeves lives in northeastern England.

Cleeves is a consistently good mystery writer, and Thin Air is as consistently good as its predecessors. 

Related:

My review of Red Bones by Ann Cleeves.

My review of Raven Black by Ann Cleeves.

My review of White Nights by Ann Cleeves.

My review of Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves.

My review of Dead Water by Ann Cleeves.

Top photograph: A view of Unst in the Shetland Islands, via VisitScotland. In fact, this photo is the basis for the artwork of my paperback edition of the book.

"Dead Water" by Ann Cleeves

Jerry Markham, born and raised in Shetland, took himself off to London as soon as he could. He’s a journalist, gradually making a name for himself, although in Shetland he’s something of a celebrity already. But people generally don’t like him; he was the spoiled only child of the owners of Ravenscroft Hotel, he made something of a pest of himself when he reported for the Shetland Times, and he got a local girl, Evie Watt, pregnant when she worked at the hotel. That was another reason for hightailing it to London.

Jerry comes back to Shetland for a visit, although it may be something more than that, like a story. He’s back barely a day when he’s murdered. His body is found floating in a racing scull, and it’s found by Inspector Jimmy Perez’s boss, Rhona Laing. Because Perez is still recovering from the death of his fiancée, a detective inspector is sent from Scotland to manage the case. And what becomes clear is that Rhona knows more about Jerry Markham than she wants to say. So do a lot of other people.

Dead Water by Ann Cleeves is the fifth Jimmy Perez detective novel, and it’s as consistently high-0caliber and entertaining as its predecessors. Cleeves continues to develop the story and character of Perez, who almost against his will is drawn into the investigation. He always knows the right questions to ask, and it’s largely because he pays close attention to what few other investigating officers pay attention to – the personal details.

Ann Cleeves

Cleeves has published seven mysteries in the Jimmy Perez / Shetland series, including Raven Black (2008), Red Bones (2009), White Nights (2010), Blue Lightning (2011), Dead Water (2014), Thin Air (2015), and Cold Air (2017). She’s also published eight mystery novels in the Vera Stanhope series (also a television series), six Inspector Stephen Ramsay mysteries, and several others works and short stories. The Jimmy Perez novels are the basis for the BBC television series “Shetland.” Cleeves lives in northeastern England.

There will be a second murder, with more in the offing unless Perez and his fellow police officers can delve deeply into the past to find answers and motives. Dead Water is a fine mystery, gripping to the end, and has the reader almost cheering to see Jimmy Perez managing to recover from his own personal tragedy.

Related:

My review of Red Bones by Ann Cleeves.

My review of Raven Black by Ann Cleeves.

My review of White Nights by Ann Cleeves.

My review of Blue Lightning by Ann Cleeves.

Top photograph: A view of the Shetland coast, via Shetland.org. 

"White Nights" by Ann Cleeves

It’s an exhibition by two artists at an art gallery in the Shetland Islands, off the north coast of Scotland. It’s summer, which means sunset comes very late, if it comes at all. Attendance at the exhibition is far less than what was expected. Bella Sinclair, one of the artists exhibiting, is something of a celebrity, not only in the Shetlands but beyond. The other artist is Detective Jimmy Perez’s new love interest.

A balding older man suddenly breaks down crying, falling to his knees in front of one of the paintings. Perez escorts him to the kitchen; the man says he’s suddenly lost all memory of his identity and why he started crying. A few moments later, the man disappears.

Shortly after, he’s found dead, hanging in a storage building. The examining doctor suspects it isn’t the suicide it appears to be. And it does indeed turn out to be murder. There’s nothing in the man’s pockets which might identify him. In fact, no one recognizes him, and no one knows where he was before he came to the gallery.

That is the beginning of White Nights, the second Jimmy Perez mystery novel by writer Ann Cleeves. The story will grow to include a superior officer being sent from Inverness in Scotland to help with the investigation; connections to Huddersfield in York; Perez’s growing love interest; secrets thought buried in the past; and a second murder.

Ann Cleeves

Cleeves has published seven mysteries in the Jimmy Perez / Shetland series, including Raven Black (2008), Red Bones (2009), Blue Lightning (2010), Dead Water (2014), Thin Air (2015), and Cold Air (2017). She’s also published eight mystery novels in the Vera Stanhope series (also a television series), six Inspector Stephen Ramsay mysteries, and several others works and short stories. The Jimmy Perez novels are the basis for the BBC television series “Shetland.” Cleeves lives in northeastern England.

White Nights is a fine mystery, full of plot twists and turns but nothing that really surprises the reader. This is a story by an author who respects her readers, and it is a good one.

Related:

My review of Raven Black by Ann Cleeves.

Top photograph of the Shetland Islands via Shetland.org.