The Killing Stones: A Detective Jimmy Perez Novel
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“Kenny Blyth’s warm Scottish accent and facility with creating characters make him the ideal narrator for Ann Cleeves’ new series featuring Detective Jimmy Perez and his partner, Willow Reeves.” — AudioFile
The Killing Stones marks the eagerly awaited return of Ann Cleeves’ beloved detectives from the Shetland series, and a gripping new investigation with a stunning new setting, from the New York Times bestselling author and creator of three iconic detectives beloved in TV and print: DI Jimmy Perez (the Shetland series), DI Vera Stanhope, and DI Matthew Venn (The Long Call).
It’s been several years since Detective Jimmy Perez left Shetland. He has settled into his new home in Orkney, the group of islands, off the northern coast of Scotland, with his partner Willow Reeve and their growing family. One stormy winter night, his oldest and closest friend, Archie Stout, goes missing. Ever the detective, Perez catches a boat to the island of Westray, where Archie worked as a farmer and lived with his wife and children.
But when he arrives he finds a shocking scene: Archie’s body, on an archaeological dig site and an ancient Westray story stone with precise spirals carved into it beside him, the clear murder weapon. The artifact, taken from a nearby museum, seems to suggest a premediated murder.
But Perez is so close to the case that he struggles to maintain an objective distance from the potential suspects. He finds it difficult to question Archie’s wife, whom he’s known for years. Rumors swirl about the dead man’s relationship with a young woman new to the island, an artist. With each new lead, the case becomes more twisted and Perez wonders if he will ever find out what happened in his friend’s final days.
A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books
J F A –
An Ann Cleeves thriller never disappoints! Unputdownable!
Book Review: The Killing Stones, Shetland #9 by Ann CleevesPublished by St. Martin’s Press /Minotaur Books, September 30, 2025â â â â â (5/5 Stars, Rave!)// “Uncle Jimmy, will I be able to see Mum?” Now he was a boy again, waking up from a nightmare and crying out for his mother in the dark…” //Haunting.—–SHETLAND.Big reader of Ann Cleeves’ “Vera Stanhope” books, but a Shetland Island series newcomer. To do this review, I read Shetland #8 “Wild Fire” (2018), and this advance reading copy (ARC) of Shetland #9 “The Killing Stones” (2025), written 7 years later. Also published as “Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves”, Book 1, a new series by Ann Cleeves.THE NORTHERN ISLES.”…On the Links of Noltland, just inland from Grobust Beach.”Hard at first to get into the story with the Northern Isles’ geography, names, terminology, Viking ghosts and the Nordic historical influence. Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez, protagonist, who inherited the dark looks of his Spanish ancestors has the “j” in his name pronounced “ch” in the Orcadian way, i.e. of those living in Orkney.Willow Reeves, co-protagonist, Perez’s live-in companion, Mum to 4-year-old James, pregnant with their second, is described by Jimmy as “…a hippy with her long tangle of hair and charity shop clothes, but she was the best detective he knew.” Not quite Perez’ boss, she has a wider area of responsibility covering all of the Scottish islands.THE WESTRAY STORY STONES.”The Killing Stones” incident takes place in Westray, 20 miles due north of Kirkwall, 24 miles due north of Orkney, 235 miles due north of Edinburgh, and 280 miles due west of the Norwegian coast, hence the Viking and Nordic cultural influences.Archie Stour lives in Westray with his wife, Vaila, and his son, Laurie, the local Kirkwall Ba’ Game champ. Ba’, the premier sport in Orkney is a medieval form of football.Archie is the closest friend that Jimmy Perez has in Orkney, most probably a distant relative too. It was Archie who’d given Jimmy the courage to join the police service, and who’d pulled him back to the Northern Isles when his first marriage had failed.Someone had bashed Archie’s head with a spiral-designed ancient stone.And DI Jimmy Perez pulls all the stops to bring his killer to justice….!—–In the “Shetland” TV series by BBC One, Detective Inspector (DI) Jimmy Perez (played by Douglas Henshall) supervises the stars of the show Detective Sergeant (DS) Alison ‘Tosh’ McIntosh (Alison O’Donnell) and Detective Constable (DC) Sandy Wilson (Steven Robertson). Willow Reeves (Nina Sosanya) appears in only two episodes.An unputdownable read!Review based on an advance review copy courtesy of St. Martin’s Press /Minotaur Books and NetGalley.
Monnie Ryan –
Interesting Plot, Likeable Characters
I’m a little confused about the status, if you will, of this book. Is it the first in a series? Or is it a continuation of an old series with a couple of different characters? Well, since I’m not familiar with Scotland detectives Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves and the book works on its own, I guess it doesn’t matter much. The only thing that still confuses (and annoys) me is that all the characters are referred to by their first names except Perez. Huh?Anyway, apparently Jimmy used to live in Shetland but now lives in Orkney off Scotland’s northern coast with his partner, Willow. Jimmy has a 14-year-old adopted daughter, Cassie, who lives most of the time with her biological father. Together, Jimmy and Willow have a four-year-old son, and it won’t be long till she gives birth to another. Adding to all that is that Willow, too, is a police detective – in fact, she’s Jimmy’s boss (well, sort of). For the moment, though, she’s officially on maternity leave and, for all intents and purposes, supposed to keep her nose out of police business.That becomes a bit difficult, though, when Jimmy calls to tell Willow that his good friend and distant relative Archie Stout is dead – an apparent murder. It seems his head was bashed in by one of a pair of Westray story stones that have gone missing from the local heritage center. Archie, of course, is upset on many levels; he’s lost a good friend, must now question other people close to Archie, including the wife Jimmy knows well. The investigation takes on a new dimension when Jimmy learns that Archie may have been having a tryst with a beautiful artist – a newcomer to the island. Understandably, she denies any such relationship.As the investigation progresses, several potential suspects are identified, but the evidence is lacking. Then, one of the suspects turns up dead as well – conked with the second of those missing stones. That, in turn, opens still more possibilities and forces Jimmy and Willow to take a different approach. Those details, of course, I can’t provide without spoiling things for others, but I can say for sure that it all works out in the end. Now, I’ll be eagerly awaiting their next appearance. Meantime, I thank the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to “meet” Jimmy and Willow by way of a pre-release copy of this story.
V. Rock –
Excellent characters and a complex plot.
âThe Killing Stones,â by Ann Cleeves, Minotaur Books, 384 pages, Sept. 30, 2025.It’s been several years since Detective Jimmy Perez left Shetland. He has settled into his new home in Orkney, the group of islands off the northern coast of Scotland, with his partner, Willow Reeve. They have a four-year-old son, James, and are expecting their second child. Willow is a chief inspector which makes her Jimmyâs boss.One stormy winter night, Jimmyâs oldest friend, Archie Stout, disappears. Ever the detective, Jimmy catches a boat to the island of Westray, where Archie worked as a farmer and lived with his wife, Vaila, and two sons.â¨â¨But when he arrives he finds Archie’s body on an archaeological dig site and an ancient Westray story stone with precise spirals carved into it beside him, the apparent murder weapon. The artifact, taken from a nearby museum, seems to suggest a premeditated murder.Senior officers from Glasgow are to arrive and take over the case. But meanwhile, Jimmy starts talking to people. He hears rumors that Archie may have been interested in Rosalie Greeman, a younger English woman. Although Willow is on maternity leave, she helps Jimmy investigate Georgeâs murder before the other officers arrive. Then there are two more murders.Ann Cleeves is very good at writing descriptions of places and setting the mood. The characters are excellent and the plot is complex. Readers will be distracted by the red herrings and totally shocked by the motive and ending. After the last Jimmy Perez novel, âWild Fire,â was said to be the final one in the series, I was pleased to learn that it wasnât the last.