Red Bones

A Thriller

By: Ann Cleeves

Narrated by: Gordon Griffin

Red Bones marks the third in a stellar suspense series set on the Shetland Islands from bestselling author Ann Cleeves--the basis for the hit BBC show Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall.

When a young archaeologist discovers a set of human remains, the locals are intrigued. Is it an ancient find—or a more contemporary mystery? Then an elderly woman is fatally shot and Ann Cleeves's popular series detective Jimmy Perez is called in. As claustrophobic mists swirl around the island, Inspector Perez finds himself totally in the dark.

©2009 Ann Cleeves (P)2015 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“Excellent...As in the best traditional English village whodunits, the killer lurks among the townspeople, but his or her identity still comes as a shock.” —Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

“Cleeves is expert at depicting hardscrabble island life, parental expectations and disappointments and emotionally charged silences. Thoughtful readers should give Perez a try.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Cleeves' latest mystery is travel and entertainment rolled into one.... a suspenseful read.” —RT Book Reviews

Red Boned...a story within a story.

Twists and turns...plots and subplots. If you think you have the answer, read on and you wonder what was I thinking !

Fantastic book

I really love the atmosphere and the sense of place. Also, the dialogue and plot really move along. Listened to this AFTER watching the BBC production and still I was captivated!

This is the best of the Jimmy Perez books that I have read so far

I like this better than the first two books. It had interesting character development, and it kept me guessing right until the end. The top is part of these books are that the Jimmy Perez character in the books - which admittedly came first! - is nothing like the Doug Henshaw character in the TV show.

Good mystery, good performance

I love Anne Cleeves. This is the first time I’ve listened to any on the Shetland series and I really enjoyed it. Lots of interesting characters.

Narration

Gordon Griffin is a fine narrator if he only had to speak for older characters but he does not have a youthful enough voice for Jimmy, Sandy, and young women. Perhaps it would help to include one or two younger narrators. Otherwise I enjoyed the story and narration.

a fun story in the series

this is a good series it goes a little slow for some people but maybe that's a reflection of the area. even though the television series Shetland is different than this I think seeing the TV series really helped me understand the books better. it'll be interesting eventually to see how it all ends up but the author is a great storyteller in the performer gave a nice audio performance and I look forward to the next book in the series.

Shetland Series audiobook

Ann Cleeves Shetland series is wonderful mystery writing. She brings the characters and story’s’ locations to life, which translates well to the oral listening of those stories. I highly enjoyed both Quartets of the Shetland series as audiobooks, as well as Ann Cleeves’ other detective [DCI]/mystery novels.

outstanding as usual. Masterly enacted.

Sometimes I was impatient and eager to hurry the plot along
Great plot, acting excellent.

Like unwinding a ball of yarn

Ann Cleves unwinds the tale of the bones found at an archeological dig and the events they trigger. She deftly sets the scenes and defines the characters. I found the story at times depressing and claustrophobic but one of the truths of her story is that sometimes life can be depressing and claustrophobic. Matched against the story is the character of Shetland and how it defines the lives of the people who live there. A somber tale but fascinating as it winds down to reveal the murderer.

Very enjoyable book from cover to cover

Jimmy Perez solves two more murders and he still not married to Fran. Some day I would like to see the Shetland Islands . It was a very intriguing book that I enjoyed from beginning to end. I have to get the next book in the series. Ann Cleeves did a very good job of keeping the reader interested and Gordon Griffin is an outstanding narrator. Thank you both.