‘Blue Lightning’ by Ann Cleeves

My Review (5 stars out of 5)

Visiting his family on Fair Isle, Jimmy Perez and his girlfriend Fran are treated to a party to celebrate their engagement, but the celebrations don’t last long. One of the field centre workers is found with a knife in her back and bird feathers threaded into her hair. With Fair Isle cut off by the autumn storms, Perez realises he won’t be able to call on his Shetland police colleagues for help. But with the killer also trapped on the island, the detective must move quickly before another victim falls prey to the killer’s knife.

Blue Lightning is the fourth book in the Shetland series and without the usual police backup it poses several challenges for our hero Jimmy Perez. The mystery is a clever one and with all the guests at the field centre under suspicion, tempers begin to fray. On top of that, Perez uncovers a secret about his father which points to the old man’s involvement with the victim. But whatever the truth of the matter, it seems that James senior isn’t the only man to have a history with the dead woman.

Similar to one of those classic country house murders, the mystery develops steadily and with great skill as we discover how each of the suspects might gain from the murder. As always, Ann Cleeves writes beautifully about the landscape of Fair Isle, but her ability to delve into the relationships of her characters and the claustrophobic atmosphere of island life, makes this a stonking good read.

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