Shetland Series
Most of the books take place on Scotland’s Shetland Island, or one of the surrounding islands. For those who enjoy Peter May, or any of the less gruesome mysteries from Norway and Sweden, much will be found to love. As many reviewers remind us, the Shetland Islands are closer to Norway than Edinburough.
Shetland Island is always a character in the story, and Cleeves does does a remarkable job of putting you in the right time and place to feel the happenings in the story. When it’s dark and stormy, you can sense the wind howling and the rain falling “sideways.” When it’s sunny you can see the diamonds on the water. Being an island that relies considerable on ferries for transportation and economy, the water is never far away.
Our main protagonist is Inspector Jimmy Perez. Jimmy can be the strong, silent type, but never could he be called macho. He is also sensitive and prone to lonely musings. Love interests come and go, and rather than being peripheral to the story, are integrated in ways that not only tease out Jimmy’s character but also help move the story along. He is aided by his DC Sandy Wilson and other colleagues throughout; this is never a one man show.
You’d think Perez and his colleagues would run out of mysteries on this tight knit island community, but with so many newcomers to the island, vacationers, oiler crews, and fishermen, we never get the feel that Shetland is awash with it’s unfair share of murder. Nothing feels forced; all the mysteries seem to stem organically from the geography, history and economy of place. Cleeves has stated that the first of the series was meant to be a stand alone because she was worried that she’d be “stretching credibility” to kill of so many people on such a small island! Luckily for the readers, she has created characters and situations that are not only believable but tremendously enjoyable to follow. The mysteries are well written, the characters fleshed out, the dialogue sparse like many Scandinavian novels, and the settings gorgeous.
Cold Earth, the most recent, was perhaps her least well written. Still an excellent read, but not as layered or as well paced as the others. Start reading the series now as Ann Cleeves has claimed there will only be one more Shetland book after Cold Earth. http://anncleeves.com/shetland/