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Ann Cleeves

This page lists books by Ann Cleeves.



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By Ann Cleeves:
- novels / short stories

 

Ann Cleeves: Novels and short story collections

A Bird in the Hand

Ann Cleeves

Century Hutchinson

1986

A George and Molly Palmer-Jones novel.

"Young Tom French was found dead, lying in a marsh on the Norfolk coast, with his head bashed in and his binoculars still around his neck. One of the best birders in England, Tom had put the village of Rushy on the birdwatching map. Everyone liked him. Or did they? George Palmer-Jones, an elderly birdwatcher who decided quietly to look into the brutal crime, discovered mixed feelings aplenty. Still, he remained baffled by a deed that could have been motivated by thwarted love, pure envy, or something else altogether. But as he and his fellow "twitchers" flocked from Norfolk to Scotland to the Scilly Isles, in response to rumours of rare sightings, George-with help from his lovely wife, Molly-gradually discerned the true markings of a killer. All he had to do was prove it . . . before the murderer strikes again."
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Come Death and High Water

Ann Cleeves

Century Hutchinson

1987

A George and Molly Palmer-Jones novel.

"The privately-owned island of Gillibry off the North Devon coast is the perfect site for murder. A routine weekend visit by the Gillibry Bird Observatory Trust is made memorable by the owner's announcement that he is going to sell the island. A sale would mean the end of the Observatory...and of all that, for some of them, made life worth living. A fire in Charlie Todd's cottage added to their distress. And when, next morning, after a fierce storm, they found Charlie dead in a bird hide, their pleasant September weekend assumed a dangerous new face. Charlie Todd's murder can be seen as the deed of any member of the Trust. And it falls to one of their own, George Palmer-Jones, to unravel the identity of killer within their midst."
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Murder in Paradise

Ann Cleeves

Century Hutchinson

1988

A George and Molly Palmer-Jones novel.

"The honeymoon was over . . . and Jim and his English bride, Sarah, had come home to Kinness to settle down. But first there was to be one huge celebration for the newlyweds, with the whole island present. And before the party was over, there would be a shockingly unexpected death. Somehow, in the dark of the night, Jim's young sister, Mary, slipped off Ellie's Head to the rocks below. A terrible end to a boisterously cheerful evening. But did Mary fall, or was she pushed? George Palmer-Jones, retired birdwatcher and amateur detective, suspected the latter, but proving it would be difficult: no one wanted to upset the balance of the island's ancient relationships."
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A Prey to Murder

Ann Cleeves

Century Hutchinson/ Mysterious Press

1989

A George and Molly Palmer-Jones novel.

"The huge and powerful hawk dominated the scene. Its talons pierced the woman's flesh and the beak pointed towards her eyes . . . The sight is a particularly horrible shock for George Palmer-Jones, ornithologist and amateur detective. An old friend of Eleanor Masefield, a beautiful and charming widow, he is staying with his wife, Molly, at Eleanor's family run hotel . . . On the other hand, Molly Palmer-Jones feels that Eleanor was more of a black than a merry widow - a ruthless manipulator of all those caught in her far-reaching web. Is Molly a little jealous, or is she right? And will she be in time to prevent another death?"
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A Lesson in Dying

Ann Cleeves

Century Hutchinson

1990

An Inspector Ramsay novel.

"Who hanged the headmaster in the playground on the night of the school Hallowe'en Party? Almost everyone in Heppleburn either hated or feared the viper-tongued Harold Medburn. Inspector Ramsay is convinced it was the headmaster's enigmatic wife but Jack Robson, school governor and caretaker, is determined to prove her innocence. With the help of his restless enthusiastic daughter, Patty, Jack digs into the secrets of Heppleburn, and uncovers a cesspit - of lies, adultery, blackmail and madness."
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Murder in My Backyard

Ann Cleeves

Century Hutchinson

1991

An Inspector Ramsay novel.

"No one in Heppleburn has a bad word to say about Alice Parry …. But here she is, murdered in her own backyard on a bitter St. David's Eve. And when detective Stephen Ramsay starts asking questions in the village, a more ambiguous picture begins to emerge. Yes, old Mrs. Parry was loved by everyone, but sometimes her kindness had caused trouble. Yes, her two nephews were devoted to her, but they didn't really want her interfering in their rather complicated personal lives. Even among her neighbours, Alice Parry's helpfulness had sometimes misfired; and after her death, tension tight as a clenched fist grips the uneasy village. Meanwhile, the suspects keep rolling in, and Heppleburn's friendly neighbourhood killer continues his nasty piece of work."
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Sea Fever

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

1991

A George and Molly Palmer-Jones novel.

"Even if there had been no murder, the last trip of a small band of dedicated bird-watchers aboard the Jessie Ellen would still have been news. For George Palmer-Jones and the other avid crew members achieve every bird-watcher's dream when they sight a sea bird which has never before been recorded. In the subsequent excitement, however, no one notices the sudden absence of the most fanatical birder of them all . . . Later, Greg Franks' corpse, the head bludgeoned, is found floating in the sea. Had it not been for Greg Franks, amateur detective George Palmer-Jones would not have been on the bird watching trip in Cornwall in the first place. He had been hired by Greg Franks' anxious parents to try and persuade their errant son to return home. George would have turned the case down flat but the offer of a free weekend's bird watching was too tempting to resist. Now, he must unhappily shoulder the burden of finding why the young man had been murdered."
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Another Man's Poison

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

1992

A George and Molly Palmer-Jones novel.

"Her landlord, the ambitious politician Marcus Grenville, wants his property back, as the cottage would provide a perfect holiday residence for the tourists who come up to shoot on the estate. After months of petty harassment, Ursula discovers that the illegal use of poisoned bait on Grenville's land has killed not only a rare bird of prey but her two beloved cats. And she realises that she can bear no more. Outraged by this act of cruelty, Ursula storms up to the Grenvilles' house and - to the amazement and horror of the guests gathered for dinner - she denounces Marcus Grenville and threatens revenge. It would hardly look good, after all, for a future government minister to be caught flouting the law on his own land. But when her niece, Molly Palmer-Jones, arrives at Ursula's house the next morning, it is to find her body slumped lifeless on a sofa. Shocked and saddened, Molly and her husband George decide to piece together a picture of Ursula's last days. And it soon becomes clear that, for many people on the estate, hers was a very convenient death. The Palmer-Joneses embark on a murder investigation . . . but even their professional expertise doesn't prepare them for what is to follow."
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A Day in the Death of Dorothea Cassidy

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

1992

An Inspector Ramsay novel.

"For Dorothea Cassidy Thursdays were special. Every week she would look forward to the one day she could call her own, and would plan to visit people she wanted to see as a welcome respite from the routine duties that being a vicar's wife entailed. But one Thursday in June was to be more special than any other. It was the day that Dorothea Cassidy was strangled. As the small town of Otterbridge prepares for its summer carnival, Inspector Stephen Ramsay begins a painstaking reconstruction of Dorothea's last hours. He soon discovers that she had taken on a number of deserving cases - a sick and lonely old woman, a disturbed adolescent, a compulsive gambler, a single mother with a violent boyfriend and a child in care - and even her close family have their secrets to hide. All these people are daunted, in one way or another, by Dorothea's goodness. But which of them could have possibly wanted her dead? It is not until a second body is discovered that Ramsay starts to understand how Dorothea lived - and why she died."
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Killjoy

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

1993

An Inspector Ramsay novel.

"Gus Lynch is directing the Youth Theatre through a rehearsal. The cast is in place but the female lead, Gabriella Paston, is missing. Later that evening her body is discovered in the boot of Gus's car. Detective Inspector Stephen Ramsay and Sergeant Gordon Hunter are assigned to head the murder enquiry. Meanwhile violence is escalating on the Starling Farm Estate as police battle to contain the latest outbreak of joyriding. Is the death of Gabriella connected to the events at Starling Farm? When another death occurs, investigations suggest a possible link. Ramsay realises what could have provoked someone to kill . . . and kill again."
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The Mill on the Shore

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

1994

A George and Molly Palmer-Jones novel.

"Meg Morrissey will not believe that her husband James committed suicide. A famous naturalist and founder of Green Scenes, a pioneering magazine about environmental issues, James was in high spirits because he'd finally completed his long awaited autobiography. He didn't leave a suicide note. But even more suspiciously the record of his life's achievement, his magnum opus, has gone missing. Troubled, Meg calls in amateur sleuths George and Molly Palmer-Jones to investigate. George and Molly's interviews soon reveal that the life of the Morrissey family in their beautiful converted mill is not as idyllic as people are led to believe. Nor are relations with James's ex-wife Cathy as friendly as Meg would like to make out. And, it emerges, James had fallen for another woman. Despite this, however, he appears to have had no enemies. Who could have wanted him dead?"
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The Healers

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

1995

An Inspector Ramsay novel.

"News of the murder first came to Inspector Stephen Ramsay early on Monday morning. He was in a meeting, one of the endless meetings the Chief Superintendent regularly called, and the summons from Sergeant Gordon Hunter came as a relief. They found middle-aged farmer Ernie Bowles lying on his kitchen floor. He had been strangled, and was not a pretty sight. The gruesome discovery of his body had first been made by the beautiful Lily Jackman, a new-age traveller who was living with her boyfriend in a caravan on Bowles's land. Neither of them, however, had been close to the dead farmer, who had lived alone since the death of his mother and was, by all accounts, a rather unpleasant character. Inspector Ramsay fears that this case will not be simple. In his experience, most murders are straightforward: an explosion of family pressure, the loss of control in a fight. But Bowles seems to have kept himself to himself, and Ramsay feels that to solve the mystery of his death he will need all the help he can get."
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High Island Blues

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

1996

A George and Molly Palmer-Jones novel.

"West Country Wildlife's birdwatching package to America has presented tour guide Rob Earle with the perfect opportunity for a reunion with his old college friends Mick Brownscombe, now working in Texas as an environmental consultant, and Oliver Adamson. It is the first time in twenty years the three have been together - since the fateful holiday to America during which they met the enigmatic Laurie . . . Rob's tour party is hoping for spectacular sights at High Island on the Upper Texas coast. For here - as the spring storms begin - swarms of migrating birds fall from the sky seeking shelter. But as the rain pours down and the birds descend, the party is greeted with a far more shocking sight - the dead body of Mick Brownscombe. Back in Britain PIs George and Molly Palmer-Jones are working on a minor fraud case in which the name of Brownscombe Associates has also cropped up. So when George receives a desperate transatlantic call from his friend Rob, he is on the first plane to Texas. But his investigations make little progress - until the second body is found."
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The Baby Snatcher

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

1997

An Inspector Ramsay novel.

"When fifteen-year-old Marilyn Howe turns up alone and frightened on Inspector Ramsay's doorstep he has little choice but to invite her in. Marilyn and her mother, Kathleen, are a familiar sight around Heppleburn, a strangely inseparable couple. But Kathleen has unaccountably failed to return home that evening, and Marilyn is fearful for her mother's safety. Ramsay takes the young girl home, to the isolated coastal community known as the Headland. And in the Howes' dark and cluttered kitchen they find Kathleen safe and apparently well, though acting rather mysteriously. Six months later, Ramsay has more or less forgotten the strange incident, busy as he is on the trail of a local child abductor. Until he receives news that Mrs Howe has disappeared once more. And for the second time he is drawn into the strange relationships of the families living on the lonely Headland. Then a woman's body is washed up on the beach."
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The Crow Trap

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

1999

A Vera Stanhope novel.

" Three very different women come together at isolated Baikie’s Cottage on the North Pennines, to complete an environmental survey. Three women who each know the meaning of betrayal. Rachael, the team leader, is still reeling after a double betrayal by her lover and boss, Peter Kemp. Anne, a botanist, sees the survey as a chance to indulge in a little deception of her own. And then there is Grace, a strange, uncommunicative young woman, hiding plenty of her own secrets. Rachael is the first to arrive at the cottage, where she discovers the body of her friend, Bella Furness. Bella, it appears, has committed suicide – a verdict Rachael refuses to accept. When another death occurs, a fourth woman enters the picture – the unconventional Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope."
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The Sleeping and the Dead

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

2001

"Detective Peter Porteous is called to Cranwell Lake where the body of a teenager has been discovered. After trawling through the missing persons files, he deduces that the corpse is Michael Grey, an enigmatic and secretive young man who was reported missing by his foster parents in 1972. For country prison officer Hannah Morton it is the shock of her life. Michael had been her boyfriend, and she had been with him the night he disappeared. The news report that a body has been found brings back dreaded and long buried memories from her past."
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Burial of Ghosts

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

2003

"Twenty-five-year-old Lizzie Bartholomew has had more than her fair share of struggles. Abandoned as a baby, she spent her childhood moving between foster homes. Now she is running away from her past. A holiday in Morocco seems to be the perfect escape. Especially when she meets Philip, a fellow tourist who distracts her from her troubles. After a brief affair, Lizzie returns to England, to a solicitor's letter. hilip Samson has died. In his will, he has left Lizzie a gift of £15,000. But there are conditions attached to this unexpected legacy that will soon force Lizzie to confront terrifying secrets from her past life."
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Telling Tales

Ann Cleeves

Macmillan

2005

A Vera Stanhope novel.

" Ten years after Jeanie Long was charged with the murder of fifteen-year-old Abigail Mantel, disturbing new evidence proving her innocence emerges in the East Yorkshire village of Elvet. Abigail’s killer is still at large. For Emma Bennett, the revelation brings back haunting memories of her vibrant best friend – and of the fearful winter’s day when she had discovered her body lying cold in a ditch. Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope makes fresh inquiries, and the villagers are hauled back to a time they would rather forget. Tensions begin to mount, but are people afraid of the killer, or of their own guilty pasts?"
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Raven Black

Ann Cleeves

Pan

2006

A Shetland / Jimmy Perez novel.

"It is a cold January morning and Shetland lies buried beneath a deep layer of snow. Trudging home, Fran Hunter's eye is drawn to a vivid splash of colour on the white ground, ravens circling above. It is the strangled body of her teenage neighbour Catherine Ross. As Fran opens her mouth to scream, the ravens continue their deadly dance. The locals on the quiet island stubbornly focus their gaze on one man - loner and simpleton Magnus Tait. But when police insist on opening out the investigation a veil of suspicion and fear is thrown over the entire community. For the first time in years, Catherine's neighbours nervously lock their doors, whilst a killer lives on in their midst."
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Hidden Depths

Ann Cleeves

A Vera Stanhope novel.

Pan

2007

" A hot summer on the Northumberland coast and Julie Armstrong arrives home from a night out to find her son strangled, laid out in a bath of water and covered with wild flowers. This stylized murder scene has Inspector Vera Stanhope intrigued. But then another body is discovered in a rock pool, the corpse again strewn with flowers. Vera must work quickly to find this killer who is making art out of death. As local residents are forced to share their deepest, darkest secrets, the killer watches, waits and plans to prepare another beautiful, watery grave."
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White Nights

Ann Cleeves

Pan

2008

A Shetland / Jimmy Perez novel.

"When Shetland detective Jimmy Perez finds a body in a hut used by fishermen it seems to be a straightforward case of suicide. He recognizes the victim - a stranger with amnesia who had disrupted a local party the night before his death. Yet this is no desperate act of anguish, but the work of a cold and calculating killer. As Perez investigates, he finds himself mired in the hidden secrets of the small Biddista community. Then another body is found. Perez knows he must break the cycle before another death occurs. But this is a crazy time of year when night blurs into day and nothing is quite as it seems."
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Red Bones

Ann Cleeves

Pan

2009

A Shetland / Jimmy Perez novel.

"When an elderly woman is shot in what appears to be a tragic accident, Shetland detective Jimmy Perez is called to investigate the mystery. The sparse landscape and the emptiness of the sea have bred a fierce and secretive people. As Jimmy looks to the islanders for answers, he finds instead two feuding families whose envy, greed and bitterness have lasted generations. Then there's another murder and, as the spring weather shrouds the island in claustrophobic mists, Jimmy must dig up old secrets to stop a new killer from striking again."
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Blue Lightning

Ann Cleeves

Pan

2010

A Shetland / Jimmy Perez novel.

"With the autumn storms raging, Fair Isle feels cut off from the rest of the world. Trapped, tension is high and tempers become frayed. Enough to drive someone to murder. A woman's body is discovered at the renowned Fair Isles bird observatory, with feathers threaded through her hair. The islanders react with fear and anger. Detective Jimmy Perez has no support from the mainland and must investigate the old-fashioned way. He soon realizes that this is no crime of passion - but a murder of cold and calculated intention. There's no way off the island until the storms abate - and so the killer is also trapped, just waiting for the opportunity to strike again."
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Silent Voices

Ann Cleeves

Pan

2011

A Vera Stanhope novel.

" When DI Vera Stanhope finds the body of a woman in the sauna room of her local gym, she wonders briefly if, for once in her life, she’s uncovered a simple death from natural causes. Then Vera spots ligature marks around the victim’s throat – death is never that simple. Vera revels being back in charge of an investigation again, working with Sergeant Joe Ashworth to find a motive. While Joe struggles to reconcile his home life with the demands of the case, death has never made Vera feel so alive. The duo investigates the victim’s past and discovers a shocking case, involving a young child. Probing the secretive community, they try to stop a killer in the present who can’t seem to let go of the past."
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The Glass Room

Ann Cleeves

Pan

2012

A Vera Stanhope novel.

" DI Vera Stanhope is not one to make friends easily, but her hippy neighbours keep her well-supplied in homebrew and conversation. But when one of them goes missing, her path leads her to more than a missing friend. Vera tracks the young woman down to the Writer’s House, a country retreat where aspiring authors work on their stories. Things get complicated when a body is discovered and Vera’s neighbour is found with a knife in her hand. Calling in the team, Vera knows that she should hand the case over. She’s too close to the main suspect. But the investigation is too tempting and she’s never been one to follow the rules. There seems to be no motive. When another body is found, Vera suspects that someone is playing games with her. Somewhere there is a killer who has taken murder off the page and is making it real."
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Dead Water

Ann Cleeves

Pan Macmillan

2013

A Shetland / Jimmy Perez novel.

" When the body of journalist Jerry Markham is found in a traditional Shetland boat, outside the house of the local public prosecutor, down at the Marina, young Detective Inspector Willow Reeves is drafted in to head up the investigation. Since the death of his fiancée, Inspector Jimmy Perez has been out of the loop, but his interest in this new case is stirred and he decides to help the inquiry. Markham - originally a Shetlander but who had made a name for himself in London - had left the islands years before. In his wake, he left a scandal involving a young girl, Evie Watt, who is now engaged to a seaman. He had few friends in Shetland, so why was he back? Willow and Jimmy are led to Sullum Voe, the heart of Shetland's North Sea oil and gas industry. It soon emerges from their investigation that Markham was chasing a story in his final days. One that must have been significant enough to warrant his death."
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Thin Air

Ann Cleeves

Pan Macmillan

2014

A Shetland / Jimmy Perez novel.

"A group of old university friends leave the bright lights of London and travel to Unst, Shetland's most northerly island, to celebrate the marriage of one of their friends to a Shetlander. But late on the night of the wedding party, one of them, Eleanor, disappears - apparently into thin air. It's mid-summer, a time of light nights and unexpected mists. The following day, Eleanor's friend Polly receives an email. It appears to be a suicide note, saying she'll never be found alive. And then Eleanor's body is discovered, lying in a small loch close to the cliff edge. Detectives Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves are dispatched to Unst to investigate. Before she went missing, Eleanor claimed to have seen the ghost of a local child who drowned in the 1920s. Her interest in the ghost had seemed unhealthy - obsessive, even - to her friends: an indication of a troubled mind. But Jimmy and Willow are convinced that there is more to Eleanor's death than they first thought."
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Harbour Street

Ann Cleeves

Pan Macmillan

2014

A Vera Stanhope novel.

"In Newcastle, Detective Joe Ashworth and his daughter Jessie travel home on the busy Metro. The train is stopped unexpectedly, and Jessie sees that one woman doesn't leave with the other passengers: Margaret Krukowski has been fatally stabbed. No one saw the murder take place. How can this be, when the train was packed? Searching for a lead, DI Vera Stanhope heads to the quiet Northumberland town of Mardle to investigate. She can feel in her bones that the local residents know more than they are letting on: a killer is among them. Just days later, a second woman is murdered. Retracing the victims' final steps, Vera finds herself searching deep into the hidden past of this seemingly innocent neighbourhood, led by clues that keep revolving around one street: why are the residents of Harbour Street so reluctant to speak?"
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The Moth Catcher

Ann Cleeves

Pan Macmillan

2014

A Vera Stanhope novel.

"Life seems perfect in Valley Farm, a quiet community in Northumberland. Then a shocking discovery shatters the silence. The owners of a big country house have employed a house-sitter, a young ecologist named Patrick, to look after the place while they're away. But Patrick is found dead by the side of the lane into the valley - a beautiful, lonely place to die. DI Vera Stanhope arrives on the scene, with her detectives Holly and Joe. When they look round the attic of the big house - where Patrick has a flat - she finds the body of a second man. All the two victims have in common is a fascination with moths - catching these beautiful, rare creatures. Those who live in the Valley Farm development have secrets too: Annie and Sam's daughter is due to be released from prison any day; Nigel watches, silently, every day, from his window. As Vera is drawn into the claustrophobic world of this increasingly strange community, she realizes that there may be deadly secrets trapped here."
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Too Good To Be True

Ann Cleeves

Pan

2016

A Shetland / Jimmy Perez novella.

"Too Good To Be True is a gripping Quick Read from Ann Cleeves, featuring Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez from the bestselling Shetland series. When young teacher Anna Blackwell is found dead in her home, the police think her death was suicide or a tragic accident. After all, Stonebridge is a quiet country village in the Scottish Borders, where murders just don't happen. But Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez soon arrives from far-away Shetland when his ex-wife, Sarah, asks him to look into the case. The local gossips are saying that her new husband, Tom, was having an affair with Anna. Could Tom have been involved with her death? Sarah refuses to believe it - but needs proof."
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Cold Earth

Ann Cleeves

Pan Macmillan

2016

A Shetland / Jimmy Perez novel.

"In the dark days of a Shetland winter, torrential rain triggers a landslide that crosses the main Lerwick-Sumburgh road and sweeps down to the sea. At the burial of his old friend Magnus Tait, Jimmy Perez watches the flood of mud and peaty water smash through a croft house in its path. Everyone thinks the croft is uninhabited, but in the wreckage he finds the body of a dark-haired woman wearing a red silk dress. In his mind, she shares his Mediterranean ancestry and soon he becomes obsessed with tracing her identity. Then it emerges that she was already dead before the landslide hit the house. Perez knows he must find out who she was, and how she died."
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The Seagull

Ann Cleeves

Pan Macmillan

2017

A Vera Stanhope novel.

"A visit to her local prison brings DI Vera Stanhope face to face with an old enemy: former detective superintendent, and now inmate, John Brace. Brace was convicted of corruption and involvement in the death of a gamekeeper – and Vera played a part in his downfall. Brace promises Vera information about the disappearance of Robbie Marshall, a notorious wheeler-dealer, if she will look out for his daughter and grandchildren. He tells her that Marshall is dead, his body buried close to St Mary’s Island in Whitley Bay. However, when a search team investigates, officers find not one skeleton, but two. This cold case takes Vera back in time, and very close to home, as Brace and Marshall, along with a mysterious stranger known only as ‘the Prof’, were close friends of Hector, her father. Together, they were ‘the Gang of Four’, and Hector had been one of the last people to see Marshall alive. Vera must confront her prejudices and unwanted memories to dig out the truth, as the past begins to collide dangerously with the present."
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Last updated January 2018