by Ann Cleeves
First published 2025
Jimmy Perez has built a new life on Orkney with his partner Willow Reeve and their children. Years have passed since he left his detective work on Shetland behind. On a winter night thick with storms, his oldest friend Archie Stout disappears from the island of Westray. Perez takes a boat through rough seas to find him. He discovers Archie's body at an archaeological site. An ancient story stone lies beside the corpse, its spirals carved with precision. The artifact came from a local museum and appears to be the murder weapon. Perez cannot step back from this case the way a detective should. He knows Archie's wife too well to question her properly. Whispers spread about Archie's connection to a young artist who recently arrived on the island. Each clue Perez follows leads him deeper into a web of secrets. He begins to doubt he will ever learn what happened to his friend in those final days.
Genres: mystery, crime, thriller, detective
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: amateur-detective, personal-stakes, small-town-secrets
Setting: Orkney, Shetland, Westray
Period: Winter
384 pages · Kindle Edition · Minotaur Books