Blue Lightning

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What to expect

A remote island on lockdown. A killer on the loose. There is no escape for Inspector Jimmy Perez in Blue Lightning, the fourth Shetland mystery from Ann Cleeves.

Now a major BBC One drama, Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall.


Shetland detective Jimmy Perez knows it will be a difficult homecoming, as he returns to Fair Isle to introduce his fiancée to his parents. With the autumn storms raging, the island is cut off from the rest of the world.

Then a woman’s body is discovered at the renowned bird observatory, with feathers threaded through her hair. Perez has no support from the mainland and must investigate the old-fashioned way – alone. He soon realizes that this is no crime of passion, but a murder of cold and calculated intention.

There will be no way to escape the island until the storms abate. And so the killer is also trapped, just waiting for the opportunity to strike again . . .

Continue the thrilling crime series with Dead Water.

Critics Review

An excellent series
The Guardian
Cleeves is excellent not just on the mystery, but on the atmosphere of Fair Isle
The Independent
Rarely has a sense of place been so evocatively conveyed in a crime novel
Daily Express, on Raven Black
Crackles with inner heat
Peter James, author of the Roy Grace novels, on Red Bones

User Reviews

Book 5.0
Narration 5.0
5.0
5.0
Another intriguing mystery by Ann Cleeves with a birding theme familiar from her Vera stories and a dramatic sense of place. This one has a more than usually powerful emotional impact.
jackdor 07/09/2025

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