Red Bones

I have read and loved all of Ann Cleeves’ books about Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, set on the Scottish Shetland Islands. Red Bones is about two feuding families with generations of secrets between them, who are somehow involved in at least two murders. Islands, particularly those that are small and/or remote, foster communities that are incredibly tight-knit by necessity – often your survival entirely depends on one another. That has always made me wonder what lengths such communities might go to in order to survive; what secrets they might have to keep, what lies they might have to tell if… show more.

I’d like to recommend the whole Shetland series by Ann Cleves, which has been made into a gripping TV series. But if I had to pick one book, it’s Red Bones, about an archaeological find of human remains on one of the Shetland Islands. What I most like about this series is the atmospheric vibes given off by the Shetland Islands, so remote and unfamiliar to most readers that it’s like traveling to a foreign planet. And Cleeves’ detective hero, Jimmy Perez, whose Spanish name immediately marks him as an exception to any rules on the islands, pursues his… show more.