Dead Water: A Shetland Mystery Author: Visit Amazon's Ann Cleeves Page | Language: English | ISBN:
1250036607 | Format: PDF
Dead Water: A Shetland Mystery Description
From Booklist
*Starred Review* In the sixth of Cleeves’ Shetland Island series starring Inspector Jimmy Perez, a very controlled Scottish public prosecutor who seems passionate only about team-rowing, makes a discovery that threatens to tumble the Jenga-like structure of her life. The prosecutor, Rhona Laing, retrieves an unmoored boat and finds the body of a man seemingly placed across the seats, a briefcase next to the body. The dead man is a former local journalist who made good in London. The question facing Perez (who is inching his way back to work after the trauma of his fiancée’s death) and Willow Reeves, a detective inspector from the Inverness Serious Crime Squad sent to head the investigation, is what made the journalist a target? The answer has repercussions for the main characters, the tiny island of Aith, and for Scotland as a whole. Cleeves has an unusually deft hand with characters; not one of them seems purely plot-functional, and Perez’s character keeps deepening with each book. The rough islands cresting the Atlantic fit the bleakness of the murders depicted here. This series is one of two that Cleeves has going; the other stars Northumberland detective Vera Stanhope and is a hit BBC series. --Connie Fletcher
Review
Praise for Dead Water:
"Cleeves returns to a sea-bound land of crofters' cottages, barren rocks and fog, especially the fog surrounding the murders...the well-constructed procedural grains another dimension from Jimmy's re-engagement with his work and his life." —Kirkus Reviews
“Cleeves has an unusually deft hand with characters; not one of them seems purely plot functional, and Perez’s character keeps deepening with each book. The rough islands cresting the Atlantic fit the bleakness of the murders depicted here. This series is one of two that Cleeves has going; the other stars Northumberland detective Vera Stanhope and is a hit BBC series.” —Booklist (starred)
"Absorbing...Cleeves keeps readers guessing until the final page." —Publishers Weekly
Praise for the Shetland Island series:
“Nothing short of riveting." —Louise Penny
"Creates a dark enough mood to keep you straining to see what will come to light next." —People
"In true Christie fashion, Cleeves once more pulls the wool over our eyes with cunning and conviction." —Colin Dexter
"Gripping from start to finish."
--Booklist
"Deserves the top crime writer's prize in the United States this year. Don't miss this standout."
--Rocky Mountain News
"A riveting read."
---Val McDermid
"If you're a fan of Frances Fyfield, Minette Walters, or Val McDermid, get to know Cleeves."
---The Globe and Mail (UK)
Praise for the Vera Stanhope series
"Excellent . . . Intricate plotting makes for a compulsive read.”
—The Independent (UK)
“Detective Vera Stanhope is a remarkable creation.”
—Bookseller (UK)
See all Editorial Reviews
- Series: Shetland Island Mysteries (Book 5)
- Hardcover: 400 pages
- Publisher: Minotaur Books (February 18, 2014)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1250036607
- ISBN-13: 978-1250036605
- Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
- Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
A Shetland lad who became a journalist and went to London to work, returns and is murdered. There are murky depths with a past relationship to a girl who is now about to marry, a tidal power project under way and his expectation of not needing money from his hotel-owning parents any more.
I didn't find the reasons for the deaths believable and I wanted to see at least once that the police were researching witnesses and suspects on the net. Most of them would have a website, social page or comments on bulletin boards which would be found easily, but no, nobody ever does that - standard practice in policing now. Seems the author has never heard of Twitter or Google. The police just ask slow local man Sandy what he knows. In Ireland, the police are never allowed to be posted to their home area. They might have to arrest a relative. In such a small community it makes no sense to have a local police man, who would be related to everyone, but I cannot see Sandy surviving a week posted to Glasgow. I also wondered where a journalist would go without a netbook or tablet these days? The author just seems not to be in touch.
I enjoyed all the other Shetland books but sadly this one didn't feel as good. Firstly it was too slow and vague. I was reading it in the evenings after doing lots of other things, and never once felt inclined to pick it up during the day. Secondly I didn't take to the female police detective brought in to supervise. Jimmy Perez has been a very good character but in this book he's lost and depressed after a personal tragedy, so we don't get much from him and he's not all that interested in the work of policing.
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