The Killing Stones: A Detective Jimmy Perez Novel

By Ann Cleeves

Book Overview

"Everything Ann Cleeves writes is incredible."--Richard Osman

"This novel is more than worth every minute you spend with it."--David Baldacci

A Washington Post Best Mystery of 2025

The Killing Stones marks the eagerly awaited return of Ann Cleeves' beloved detective Jimmy Perez from the Shetland series, and a gripping new investigation with a stunning new setting.

It's been several years since Detective Jimmy Perez left Shetland. He has settled into his new home in Orkney, the group of islands, off the northern coast of Scotland, with his partner Willow Reeve and their growing family. One stormy winter night, his oldest and closest friend, Archie Stout, goes missing. Ever the detective, Perez catches a boat to the island of Westray, where Archie worked as a farmer and lived with his wife and children.

But when he arrives he finds a shocking scene: Archie's body, on an archaeological dig site and an ancient Westray story stone with precise spirals carved into it beside him, the clear murder weapon. The artifact, taken from a nearby museum, seems to suggest a premediated murder.

But Perez is so close to the case that he struggles to maintain an objective distance from the potential suspects. He finds it difficult to question Archie's wife, whom he's known for years. Rumors swirl about the dead man's relationship with a young woman new to the island, an artist. With each new lead, the case becomes more twisted and Perez wonders if he will ever find out what happened in his friend's final days.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1250357284
• ISBN13: 9781250357281
• Release Date: September 2025
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 384 Pages
• Weight: 1.33 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.3" x 6.6" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

Riveting

The blunt object that killed DI Jimmy Perez's old friend was a Neolithic stone carved with ancient symbols and was one of a pair of ancient story stones stolen from the local museum. There's no one else to head up the local team because Perez's superior officer is also his very pregnant partner at home as well as at work. If things weren't sticky enough, the next murder makes investigating both murders even more difficult because of the winter weather and the grieving by Perez and so many others. Excellent read that begins rather slowly and escalates in speed and intensity working around the plot twists until the dramatic ending. Fascinating! I requested and received a free temporary uncorrected digital galley from St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books via NetGalley. Pub Date Sep 30, 2025 #TheKillingStones by Ann Cleeves #DIJimmyPerezBk9 #JimmyPerezandWillowReevesBk1 @stmartinspress @minotaur_books #NetGalley #OrkneyIslanders #suspensethriller #procedural #friends #secrets #grudges #winter #isolated #murder #artifact #depression #grieving