The heavy and seemingly perpetual rains continue to pour and the
harsh landscape of the northern Shetland Islands is well sodden with
water. Despite the ongoing rain, Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez felt
drawn to be at the funeral and graveside service for old Magnus Tait.
They had become friends of a sort after Fran, Jimmy's beloved fiancée,
had been killed a few years earlier. Time and caring for Cassie's, Fran
young daughter, has helped to heal the horrible depression Perez has
suffered after her untimely death.
Suddenly, Perez's attention is drawn to the rumbling noise of a
landslide as it spews mud, floodwaters, and boulders and creates
chaos to everything in its path, including a small and seemingly
uninhabited croft house. As Perez investigates, he sees a flash of red.
An unknown woman's body is revealed. Just who is she and why is she
there?
Written by the award-winning and multimillion-copy bestselling author,
Ann Cleeves, COLD EARTH is the
seventh book in her high regarded Shetland crime series that is also produced as the hit TV
(and DVD) Shetland series starring Douglas Henshall. While COLD EARTH is a terrific police
procedural story on its own, Cleeves' many fans are sure to want to
grab their copy of COLD EARTH to
follow the ongoing saga of Perez and Chief Inspector Willow Reeves
while he pours his heart and soul into solving the victim's identity.
After having read many of the Vera
Standhope series, I am a long-standing fan of Cleeves and I
am still in awe of Cleeves' outstanding skill as a writer and storyteller to
quickly immerse the reader in a scene with few words, but very vivid
imagery, so you feel the cold wet rain, the slipperiness of the mud and
the stark beauty of the Shetland Islands. The Islanders are a unique
and close-knit community of people in the north of Scotland and
Cleeves lets us come to know them in a respectful and authentic way
with her strong attention to detail and understanding. I especially
appreciate how she seamlessly brings into the complex plot an
understanding of their way of life and the changes that have been
made to their way of life resulting from the development of the oil and
gas industry, such as the impact of extra money and a focus on
updating kitchens.
COLD EARTH deals with many
unknowns and secrets and another strength of this book is the
wonderful characters. Jimmy Perez, Willow Reeves, and Sandy Wilson
make a great team in trying to solve not only who is the mystery woman
found in the muddy and almost destroyed home previously owned by
Minnie Laurenson as well as why she died. CSI Vickie Hewitt has a
delightful attitude and skill as she works with Sandy in finding small
clues. So, if you are looking for an intriguing "who done it" or love a
great police procedural, dig deep into COLD EARTH and see if you can figure out the clues!
From Ann Cleeves, winner of the CWA Diamond Dagger Award,
comes Cold Earth.
In the dark days of a Shetland winter, torrential rain
triggers a landslide that crosses the main road and sweeps
down to the sea.
At the burial of his old friend Magnus Tait, Jimmy Perez
watches the flood of mud and water smash through a house in
its path. Everyone thinks the home is uninhabited, but in
the wreckage he finds the body of a dark-haired woman
wearing a red silk dress. Perez soon becomes obsessed with
tracing her identity and realizes he must find out who she
was and how she died.
Cold Earth is the seventh book in the beloved
Shetland series, which is now a major success for the BBC.
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