Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves Narrator: Kenny Blyth
Series: Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves #1, Shetland #9
Published by MacMillan Audio on October 2, 2025
Genres: Mystery
Length: 10 hours, 56 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: NetGalley
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When a violent storm descends upon Orkney, the body of Archie Stout is left in its wake. An unusual murder weapon, a Neolithic stone bearing ancient inscriptions, is found discarded nearby. Archie was a popular, larger-than-life character, and his death is a shocking blow to the community.
Detective Jimmy Perez, no stranger to the complexity of human nature and the darkness it can harbour, is soon on the scene. He counted Archie as a childhood friend, so this case is more personal than most. Now living in Orkney with his partner, Willow, and their son, Perez is soon drawn into the lives of the islanders, many of whom hold secrets. Dark secrets, which could have led to the man’s murder.
I’m a big fan of Ann Cleeves. But my view of her work is unusual. I started with the Two Rivers series featuring Matthew Venn. Those were all ebooks except for an audio listen of a novella. I started Shetland on audio but only read one book. Then we watched both Vera and Shetland on Britbox and loved them.  So my Shetland experience is nearly all tv not books. I can tell already that the plot lines have some differences. Now I want to go back and read all the earlier books.
The Killing Stones starts a spin-off series after Shetland featuring Jimmy Perez and his partner in life and work, Willow Reeves. The scene is set oddly from the start. It is right before Christmas. Willow is 8+ months pregnant, actually on leave. But Perez’s cousin and best friend, Archie, is missing and then he finds him dead.
The following investigation is handled well by Perez and Willow. The holidays mean that backup support from larger forces are not available or not given willingly. Yet the superiors want quick results. There’s some talk of Perez being too close to the case but he knows the island and the people so that would be true of any case after all.
More deaths follow and they struggle to find the commonality and meaning behind the murders.  I enjoyed the smart deductions, the careful considerations and collection of evidence.  The backdrop of Perez’s family was also so enjoyable. The blend of home and work gives it the depth I prefer and I can’t wait for more!
Narration:
Kenny Blyth is a experienced narrator and has voiced the last half of the Shetland series. His performance well fits the regional accents without being overwhelming. It was easy to listen and clear to understand the characters. I enjoyed it very well at my usual 1.5x speed.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Ann Cleeves
Ann grew up in the country, first in Herefordshire, then in North Devon. Her father was a village school teacher. After dropping out of university she took a number of temporary jobs – child care officer, women’s refuge leader, bird observatory cook, auxiliary coastguard – before going back to college and training to be a probation officer.
While she was cooking in the Bird Observatory on Fair Isle, she met her husband Tim, a visiting ornithologist. She was attracted less by the ornithology than the bottle of malt whisky she saw in his rucksack when she showed him his room. Soon after they married, Tim was appointed as warden of Hilbre, a tiny tidal island nature reserve in the Dee Estuary. They were the only residents, there was no mains electricity or water and access to the mainland was at low tide across the shore. If a person’s not heavily into birds – and Ann isn’t – there’s not much to do on Hilbre and that was when she started writing. Her first series of crime novels features the elderly naturalist, George Palmer-Jones. A couple of these books are seriously dreadful.
In 1987 Tim, Ann and their two daughters moved to Northumberland and the north east provides the inspiration for many of her subsequent titles. The girls have both taken up with Geordie lads. In the autumn of 2006, Ann and Tim finally achieved their ambition of moving back to the North East.
For the National Year of Reading, Ann was made reader-in-residence for three library authorities. It came as a revelation that it was possible to get paid for talking to readers about books! She went on to set up reading groups in prisons as part of the Inside Books project, became Cheltenham Literature Festival’s first reader-in-residence and still enjoys working with libraries.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 25-Audio
- 25-COYER
I didn’t realize Shetland was also based on Cleeves’ books. I have watched a few of the Vera episodes but never got really into them. I probably have to watch more to truly like it.
Well I liked the first episode, the first book. It’s in my favorite sort of thing.
I’m reading the first book in the Vera series this year and am looking forward to it and am trying to hold off before I watch the show. We watched Shetland and I really liked it for the first 3 or 4 seasons until they got away from the books a bit. I need to try this series as well. I think I read the first book and enjoyed it. I need to check.
yes I want to go read all her books. I’ve watched the two shows Vera and Shetland when we had a Britbox trial earlier this year.
Nice kick off to October.
Thank you!