Red Bones by Ann Cleeves

My rating: 2.5 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Content: Strong language



When a young archaeologist studying on a site at Whalsay discovers a set of human remains, the island settlers are intrigued. Is it an ancient find - or a more contemporary mystery?

Then an elderly woman is shot in a tragic accident in the middle of the night. Shetland detective Jimmy Perez is called in by her grandson - his own colleague, Sandy Wilson.

The sparse landscape and the emptiness of the sea have bred a fierce and secretive people. Mima Wilson was a recluse. She had her land, her pride and her family. As Jimmy looks to the islanders for answers, he finds instead two feuding families whose envy, greed and bitterness have lasted generations.




Red Bones is the third book in the Shetland Island series, and unfortunately I didn't like it as much as the two previous books. I felt immediately drawn into those two books, but this one was rather dull in comparison. The gloomy island atmosphere worked well in the the other two books, because it was paired with characters I could care about, and mysteries that kept me on my toes. Paired with unlikable characters, it just felt lackluster.

I find the detectives to be pretty incompetent at times in this series. I know they don't have big city resources, but I think they are a little too dumbed down. They should be able to tell certain things about a crime scene, even if there is no CSI unit on hand. Overall the mystery was ok, but I honestly just didn't care. By the time I got to the end I was glad to be done with it. I'm hoping the next book is better, if not I will have to reevaluate whether or not I want to continue on with this series.