Well, Evelyn, what do you look like?' Mima said. 'On your hands and knees like some sort of beast. In this light you could be one of Joseph's pigs, grubbing around in the soil there. You be careful or he'll be slitting your throat and eating you as bacon.' She laughed so loud that she coughed and spluttered. The third story of the Shetland Island series is more personal. A murder that involves one of Perez's colleagues that we get to know a little better and has a bigger part in this investigation. After an accident Perez is called to investigate and decide what is to be done with the person responsible. As the story continues questions arise as to wether or not it was an accident and then another person dies under tragic circumstances and Perez doubts that it's a coincidence and tries to find the pieces that fit to complete the puzzle and connect the two murders. I think one of the things I most love about her work, is that I never have any idea as to who the 'bad guy' might be. We get to know the characters intimately, their hopes, dreams and desires, their disappointments and frustrations, their family history. We can picture the setting down to the last mound of dirt, surging wave. We can feel the atmosphere she creates seep into our bones. Even though I tried to guess who the murderer I was unsuccessful until the end and a bit disappointed!

Red Bones by Ann Cleeves - Euro Crime Review - Red Bones by Ann Cleeves - Euro Crime

Shetlanders should be proud of the series because they contributed so much to the show. From the archaeologist who recreated an authentic dig on set, to the officers of Shetland Islands Council who helped out with office accommodation to the 'Up Helly Aa' committee who agreed to stage the parade, everyone's been amazingly supportive.”

Police procedural? Well, you would think so. The central (sort of) characters are a couple of cops. But it’s far more a character study of these two, especially one of them, and some of the other characters, than a procedural crime-solver. 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. Another suspicious death. The uncovering of a history where during the war a Norwegian resistance fighter disappeared mysteriously. How Sandy’s family was involved and how the dig started a tragic chain of events. And the idea that a really satisfying mystery/thriller gets justice against a really bad guy? Well, not so satisfying in that regard.

Ann Cleeves: Red Bones, the third book in the Shetland Quartet

The challenge I faced for Shetland was much the same as any other adaptation - you have to show and not tell.Red Bones was adapted into a 2-part TV show that made up the first series of the of the Scottish television crime drama Shetland. It was also important to keep the sense of place that Ann created in the books. I added the idea that the story and it's conclusion would be set during the run-up to the 'Up Helly Aa' festival as I felt it showed just how different the Shetlands Isles are to the rest of the British mainland.