The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves
9/30/25; 384 pages
St. Martin's Press
The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves is a highly recommended procedural set in Orkney, a group of islands off the northern coast of Scotland. This one sees the return of Detective Jimmy Perez after he left Shetland. He and his partner and boss, Willow Reeves along with their four-year-old son have settled in Orkney.
On the island of Westray, Detective Jimmy Perez finds his friend Archie Stout murdered at an archeological dig site. He was beaten on the head by an ancient Westray story stone, one of the two from the local museum. As the investigation into Archie's death proceeds several lines of inquiry develop along with several suspects. Willow, who was on maternity leave, assists in the investigation as they need to uncover buried secrets before another murder takes place.
The setting plays a very important role in the plot and influences how the investigation takes place. The pace is rather slow and even until the very end of the well written narrative. The suspense is found in the investigation and the tension does gradually increase along the way. There are several different paths of inquiry that are logically and carefully followed up on. The ending was completely unpredictable.
The characters are all portrayed as fully realized individuals with strengths and weaknesses. Perez and Willow have appeared in past novels but this marks the start of a new series featuring them in Orkney. This can easily be read as a stand alone novel.
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