by Ann Cleeves
Part of Shetland
First published 2008
Detective Jimmy Perez returns to the Shetland Islands during midsummer, when daylight stretches through midnight and birds sing in the eternal twilight. Artist Bella Sinclair hosts an elaborate party at The Herring House gallery to celebrate her new exhibition. The evening takes a bizarre turn when a mysterious English guest breaks down in tears, claiming he cannot remember his identity or origins. The next morning, this same man is discovered hanging from a rafter. Perez suspects murder rather than suicide. His suspicions deepen when Roddy, Bella's nephew who works as a musician, also turns up dead. The detective must navigate this strange season when day and night merge into one continuous experience, creating an atmosphere where reality becomes uncertain. His judgment may be compromised by his romantic involvement with Fran Hunter. Perez struggles to separate truth from illusion during these disorienting white nights, where the normal rhythms of life dissolve and nothing appears as it should.
Genres: literary-fiction, mystery, crime, contemporary, adult-fiction, thriller
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, disorienting, moody, psychological, suspenseful
Tropes: detective-protagonist, double-murder, romantic-complication, unreliable-perception
Setting: Shetland Islands, The Herring House
Period: Midsummer, White nights
402 pages · Paperback · Pan Books
Content warnings: death, murder, suicide