Red Bones

 Red Bones (2009) by Ann Cleeves

Hattie James is an intense, sometimes troubled young graduate student working on an archaeological dig on a croft in the Shetland Island. She hopes to prove a theory that a large merchant house was once on the land. When human bones are discovered and sent to be dated, she's hoping it will at least prove that the place was occupied during the period she's interested in. Mima, the owner of the land, is very enthusiastic about the dig, until she turns white at the sight of the skull. Hattie can't figure out why Mima should be so affected. 

Then Mima is found shot to death the next foggy night. It looks like a horrible accident. Ronald Clouston, with a few drinks under his belt, went out to "lamp" rabbits (shine lights on them to make them easy pickings for shooting) and it seems that he must have hit Mima in the dark. But DI Jimmy Perez isn't so sure. What was Mima doing out in that weather at that time of night? Then when Hattie's body is found--an apparent suicide--just after she had made a second, more significant discovery at the dig site, Perez is certain that the two deaths are really murder. But do the murders tie to the archeological discoveries or to some secrets buried in the past lives of current inhabitants. That's what Perez must find out before anyone else is killed.

I've read a couple of Ann Cleeves novels in the past (one Inspector Ramsay and one George & Molly Palmer Jones)--both before I began blogging and keeping detailed notes/reviews. Both were marked as pleasant, middle-of-the-road mysteries (three stars each) and I seemed to think they were "cozy." This particular Jimmy Perez story seems to be at about the same level, though I wouldn't call it cozy. Nor would I really label it a thriller (though I am totally claiming it as such for one of my challenges, since they stuck it right there on the cover). In my book, thrillers should be more tense, suspenseful, and action-driven. The murders are definitely more brutal than a cozy mystery should allow and there's a bit of psychological drama going on, but nothing too heavy. 

The location is as much a character as any of the people in the book. The croft and the surrounding area becomes very real with Cleeves's descriptions and use of locale in the polit. She also did a good job of keeping the killer's identity from me. I absolutely did not see the ending coming. I really like DI Perez--I like his humanity, his way of listening more than talking in his interviews, and the way he deals with Sandy Wilson, the island's constable. Sandy is seen as a dim-witted policeman, but Perez sticks up for him and even gives him some pretty important assignments to assist the investigation. 

A very good introduction to the series (for me--this is actually the third of the Perez books). ★★★ and 1/2

First line: Anna opened her eyes and saw a pair of hands, streaked and shiny with blood.

Last line: "I was thinking," she said, "that we could ask them to the wedding."
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Deaths = 4 (one drowned; two shot; one stabbed)