Cold Earth

I've known for a while that this series is coming to an end, and I've been torn between reading this book or saving it for when I need a read that I know is going to be good. That's how I've come to think of Ann Cleeves' writing-- as guaranteed excellence. Her books are so quiet and unassuming that readers may not realize just how tightly woven the plots are, how carefully delineated each character is, and how beautifully the landscape is described.

The mystery of the dark-haired woman takes time to tease out all the clues and make sense of them. Her identity alone drives the quiet and observant Jimmy Perez to distraction, and then there's the matter of what she was doing on Shetland to begin with as well as why someone would want her show more dead.

The personal lives of both Jimmy and Sandy are becoming interesting, and neither man is accustomed to thinking of a woman in his life when he's in the middle of a murder investigation. I love the omniscient point of view. By the time readers come to the end of a Cleeves novel, they've really come to know the characters because they've spent time in their heads. That points out one of the special things about this author's writing. How can readers spend so much time in the characters' heads without (1) becoming bored or (2) figuring out the identity of the killer?

Besides being on Shetland again and watching Perez solve a murder, one of the highlights of Cold Earth for me was the growth of Sandy's character. In this book, he's beginning to come into his own, and that says a lot, not only about him but of Jimmy Perez, the man who could see that this young man appeared to be slow but wasn't and took time to work with him and turn him into a first-rate police officer. It's something you don't see that often, in fiction or in real life.

If you're in the mood for tight plotting, excellent characterization, and a vivid landscape, you really need to pick up one of Ann Cleeves' Shetland Island mysteries. They are superb. show less

Rating: 3.75* of four

Ach, Jimmy, you need to pull up your socks and get with the program or Willow's gonna get something better equipped to provide babies and boom-boom in Inverness! What a pity that'll be!

I'm invested in this novel series. I liked this entry just fine. I had a problem with the resolution: When Simon Shrinky-dink is the ONE AND ONLY voice even implying the the first victim was in any way unhappy, well...five alarms and red red flags, Author Cleeves! It wasn't enough to ruin my pleasure in spending time with Jimmy and Sandy and Willow, mind you. Something else almost was, though: When Andy Hay's gone off to Have A Think, it's about the least deft thing I've read Author Cleeves do! And Janeymum does not twig to her show more boyo's hidey-hole? No. He's got quite a lot of probletunities, does Andy. He's no mastermind to be successfully invisible to his doting mama when he's a hundred meters away.

So I twigged to the murdered right quick. I was sure the Hay family was in it, particularly once the nature of the business relationships around the community were limned in acid on the backs of my eyelids. EW! What I had built in my head wasn't the connection that came to light, though: I was sure Michael's girlfriend was employed by Rogerson and the motive was outraged revenge on Simon Shrinky-dink's part.

I'm also curious about a throwaway line that Author Cleeves gives to Mavis Rogerson about her Kathryn: "She's her father's daughter all right." Nothing at all is done with it. Nothing really led up to it, although the mother/daughter relationship appeared to me to be quite businesslike; I put it down to adult-child-back-in-nest syndrome. Might be I was only partway right....

There it is, laddies and gentlewomen. There's the reason I keep going with this series in a nutshell. Author Cleeves gives the reader so much more than she writes on the page. She puts in details that don't exactly redherringize you, but do command a fraction more of your attention than ordinary backgrounding. She doesn't fill them out. She says, in effect, "and what do you imagine will be behind this little nug of goodness?" then leaves us to it.

I get the feeling that she likes her readers and enjoys making things that fun bit extra.

So why, I hear the Parity-for-All Perfectioneers grumble, do you give this a "bad" 3-star plus rating? All those nosegays of praise and then *splat*? That's just wrong! The hell it is, Gold Star Granting Gremlins. You just take yourself off and read [Red Bones] or better still [Raven Black]! Author Cleeves is capable of nigh-unto-perfection. This book just isn't that. There's the rating explained. show less

Not my favorite but a please nonetheless. There was an interesting and large cast of characters and trying to guess who the murderer was was fun. I love the blend of life on Shetland, the relationships, familial and not, and the evolution of Sandy and Jimmy as partners in crime solving.

Gathered at the cemetery for the interment of Magnus Tait, the mourners, including Jimmy Perez, barely have time to move out of the way before a landslide topples tombstones and destroys Minnie Laurenson's former home. Perez discovers a body in the home which was believed to be vacant. Who is the woman? Is it the distant American relative who inherited the home or someone else? The autopsy reveals the woman was already dead when the mudslide occurred. Jimmy calls Willow Reeves in Edinburgh, asking for her assistance on the case. This installment shows Sandy developing better investigative skills. Suspects abound. A second murder near the same location leads investigators to look at those residing nearby more closely. I pinpointed the show more murderer rather early but it still was an engaging plot. I think there are some rather unrealistic elements to the plot. The wrap-up was perhaps a bit rushed and disappointing, leaving readers with additional questions left unanswered. Still, I'll read the next installment because I love this series. show less

This review contains spoilers for details about the recurring characters’ histories.

The cold earth of the title is a landslide that sweeps away Minnie Laurenson’s old croft house. The landslide occurs during a funeral, with the mourners forced to flee the rolling earth. Jimmy Perez is in attendance and decides to check if anyone was in the house. It seems unlikely, but there is in fact a body: a glamorous woman in a red silk dress. Who was she, and what was she doing in Shetland in February with a getup like that? Jimmy is determined to find out.

Overall, this is another good installment in the series. It kept me reading, and the darker subject matter fit the dark January in which I was reading. That said, I thought the murderer came show more out of left field a bit, and I did roll my eyes at Willow hooking up with Jimmy, though. That is going to create some awkward dynamics at work, and I like her straightforward style! I guess I’ll have to see how that gets sorted out in Wild Fire. show less

A large landslide tumbles into a cemetery while Jimmy Perez is paying his respects to a longtime friend. Investigating the effects of the landslide on a nearby home (croft), he finds the body of a young woman. The croft was supposedly vacant but it is clear she had been living there. Who was she and why didn't he know about her?

The story evolves, becomes complex and intriguing, but we can count on Jimmy. It's too bad it took me so long to jot down a bit about this absorbing mystery, for I have forgotten details.

I eagerly awaited the US release of the latest Shetland Mystery by Ann Cleeves, COLD EARTH. This is the 7th Shetland Mystery featuring the Shetland Islands and Jimmy Perez. I was not disappointed.
Ms. Cleeves writes her mysteries with complex characters, twisting-turning plots and a brilliant sense of place and cultural intensity. One wants to book the next ferry to the islands! She should receive a stipend from the Shetland Islands Tourist Board!
In COLD EARTH, a sudden landslide smashes through a house and leaves a dead body in its aftermath. Our Jimmy Perez becomes a bit obsessed with tracing the beautiful dead woman’s identity and the reason she was living in this ‘thought to be uninhabited’ home.
I like the way that Sandy has show more matured and is recognized for his good police work and detecting skills. Jimmy and Willow tiptoe around each other - Jimmy is still mourning Fran and very caring of Cassie. He is melancholy and not sure if any personal involvement is a good idea. Jimmy and Willow make a great detective team, however, and work very well together in solving this case. (with Sandy’s help)
I would recommend any of Ann Cleeves’ titles, but this series really speaks to me. The BBC series is wonderful, also. show less