Blue Lightning (Shetland, 4) - Softcover

Cleeves, Ann

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0230746659 ISBN 13: 9780230746657

Publisher: Macmillan, 2010

Synopsis

Shetland Detective Jimmy Perez knows it will be a difficult homecoming when he returns to the Fair Isles to introduce his fiancee, Fran, to his parents. It's a community where everyone knows each other, and strangers, while welcomed, are still viewed with a degree of mistrust. Challenging to live on at the best of times, with the autumn storms raging, the island feels cut off from the rest of the world. Trapped, tension is high and tempers become frayed. Enough to drive someone to murder... When 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. With no support from the mainland and only Fran to help him - Jimmy has to investigate the old-fashioned way. He soon realizes that this is no crime of passion - but a murder of cold and calculated intention. With no way off the island until the storms abate - Jimmy knows he has to work quickly. There's a killer on the island just waiting for the opportunity to strike again...

About this title

Review:

Winning the prestigious Crime Writer’s Association Dagger for best crime novel did not necessarily glean for Cleeves the kind of kudos she clearly deserves -- although the remarkable Raven Black no doubt enjoyed a welcome sale fillip. A new TV series with Brenda Blethyn may do the trick, and it won't be a moment too soon. If you doubt this encomium to Ann Cleeves’ writing skills, do yourself a favour and pick up her latest, Blue Lightning -- a further demonstration of her considerable narrative skills and (her ace in the hole) persuasive evocation of atmosphere. Her Shetland detective Jimmy Perez is not looking forward to his journey to the Fair Isles. It is (famously) a very tight-knit community, which does not extend open arms to incomers. As Jimmy knows, the islanders are a hardy breed -- and they need to be, as winter approaches with its inevitable storms, making an already insular community close in further upon itself. It is in this pressure cooker atmosphere that murder takes place (this is an Ann Cleeves novel, after all) and the body of a woman is found with her hair laced with feathers. With the locals in a furious and fractious mood, it’s up to Jimmy to investigate the killing as quickly and efficiently as he can; not an easy task, as he has no resources to call on except his own. And as the clock ticks, the inevitability of another murder looms ever larger.

As in Ann Cleeves’ earlier Shetland mysteries, the trick here is to utilise the apparatus of the Christie-style murder mystery (most notably the cloistered, cut-off setting) and reinvigorate it with a healthy dose of plausible contemporary psychology. This Cleeves does splendidly, and even though Jimmy Perez may be a familiar kind of figure to those who read a great deal of crime fiction, there are still some canny changes that the author is able to ring on the familiar formula. Best of all, though, is the skill with which she evokes the experience of being on these dangerous islands; the author is a well-known aficionado of Scandinavian crime fiction, and she is able to transmit that Nordic feeling into her own exemplary work. --Barry Forshaw

Review:

"Stunning... Sure to enshrine the entire series in the ranks of the unforgettable."

--"The Richmond Times-Dispatch"

""

"Delivers a unique atmosphere and a shocking ending that is sure to please."

--"Booklist"

""

"Chilling...enough to freeze the blood."

--"The New York Times "on "Raven Black"

""

""Riveting.""

"--Val McDermid on ""Raven Black """

""

""Cunning... Pulls the wool over our eyes in true Christie fashion.""

"--Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse mysteries, on ""White Nights"""

Praise for Ann Cleeves

""Blue Lightning "is nothing short of riveting."

--Louise Penny

"Stunning... Sure to enshrine the entire series in the ranks of the unforgettable."

--"The Richmond Times-Dispatch"

" "

"Delivers a unique atmosphere and a shocking ending that is sure to please."

--"Booklist"

" "

"Chilling...enough to freeze the blood."

--"The New York Times "on "Raven Black"

" "

""Riveting.""

"--Val McDermid on ""Raven Black """

" "

""Cunning... Pulls the wool over our eyes in true Christie fashion.""

"--Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse mysteries, on ""White Nights"""

Praise for Ann Cleeves

""Blue Lightning "is nothing short of riveting."

--Louise Penny

"Stunning... Sure to enshrine the entire series in the ranks of the unforgettable."

--"The Richmond Times-Dispatch"

" "

"Delivers a unique atmosphere and a shocking ending that is sure to please."

--"Booklist"

" "

"Chilling...enough to freeze the blood."

--"The New York Times "on "Raven Black"

" "

""Riveting.""

"--Val McDermid on ""Raven Black """

" "

""Cunning... Pulls the wool over our eyes in true Christie fashion.""

"--Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse mysteries, on ""White Nights"""

Praise for Ann Cleeves

"Blue Lightning "is nothing short of riveting.

Stunning Sure to enshrine the entire series in the ranks of the unforgettable."

Chilling...enough to freeze the blood.

""Riveting.""

""Cunning Pulls the wool over our eyes in true Christie fashion."""

"Blue Lightning" is nothing short of riveting.--Louise Penny

About this edition

• Publisher: Macmillan
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0230746659
• ISBN 13: 9780230746657
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 368