Readying her Norwegian sail-training ship, Sorlandet, for a fresh voyage through the Shetland Islands, Cass Lynch has the shock of her life when the new third officer is a ghost from her past - the man she thought she'd left to drown in the Atlantic eleven years before. Cass has an odd feeling about some of the new trainees: a slick city-boy, and a brother and sister. As her distrust of the newcomers deepens, two people go missing and a third is found dead. Struggling to confront the ghosts of her past, the deceased of her present, and the man of her future, Cass must out-manoeuvre the killer before she too becomes one of the victims.
The first book in Marsali Taylor's thrilling Shetland Sailing Mysteries series. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Val McDermid, Faith Martin, J.R. Ellis, LJ Ross and Ann Cleeves! '... a well written, enjoyable story with a proper murder-mystery plot... Highly recommended.' Puzzle Doctor, Classic Mysteries IT DOESN'T TAKE TOO LONG BEFORE THE 'ACCIDENTS' BEGIN... Her big break has finally arrived and Cassie Lynch believes she has struck gold after securing a job to skipper a Viking longship for a film. Even though this does mean returning to the Shetland Islands, the place where she fled far away from as a teen. When an unknown corpse appears onboard, Cass finds herself, her family, and her traumatic past all under intense scrutiny by the disturbingly shrewd Detective Inspector, Macrae. Cass must uncover all of her local knowledge, her wisdom from sailing that she didn't realise she possessed and call on her glamorous french opera singer mother to clear them of all suspicion. Will she be able to stay ahead of the murderers game, and avoid becoming the next victim? _____________________________ Praise for the chillingly addictive, nail-biting series: 'A fascinating book and a fascinating series so far. And there are more in the series! Yaaay!!' 5* Reader review 'Excellent first volume of detective stories set in Shetland... Good story line with notable twists to the conclusion. Would recommend' 5* Reader review 'Very believable characters and delightful descriptions of Shetland that really make you feel you are there' 5* Reader review 'Lovely series of crime books set in beautiful Shetland... Complex and fascinating' 5* Reader review
Marsali Taylor returns with the eighth enthralling mystery in her gritty and thrilling Shetland Sailing Mystery series. It's late August in Shetland, and indomitable sailor Cass Lynch finds herself looking after an old lady who's recovering from a broken leg. It should be peaceful in Tamar's isolated cottage, but there's been a break-in while she was in hospital - someone apparently searching for papers. Cass suspects Tamar knows more than she's saying about her family's link to the local Laird - and when her family start to gather round, secrets begin to be exposed. Then the body of a dark-clad man is found in a cove just around the corner. It looks like an accidental fall, but soon the police are involved . . . This eighth adventure brings Cass back to her home waters, where she becomes entangled in a family saga of hidden treasure, greed and inheritance.
'This series is a must-read for anyone who loves the sea, or islands, or joyous, intricate story-telling.' ANN CLEEVES '[An] atmospheric story steeped in the stunning scenery and traditions of Scotland's wildest place.' PETERBOROUGH TELEGRAPH Marsali Taylor returns with the ninth gripping mystery in her Shetland Sailing Mystery series. While onboard her last chartered sailing trip of the season, Cass Lynch is awoken in the middle of the night by a Mayday call to the Shetland coastguard. A fishing vessel has become trapped on the rocks off the coast of one of the islands. In the days that follow, there's both a shocking murder and a baffling death. On the surface there's no link, but when Cass becomes involved it is soon clear that her life is also in danger. Convinced that someone sinister is at work in these Shetland waters, Cass is determined to find and stop them. But uncovering the truth could prove to be deadly . . . Readers LOVE the Shetland Sailing Mysteries: 'Definitely the best of the Cass Lynch series yet!' 5* Reader Review 'The beautiful descriptions of Shetland life, traditions, it's landscape and even language bring everything to life.' 5* Reader Review 'This series gets better and better' 5* Reader Review 'A beautifully written story, with descriptions so vivid you can smell the sea and beautiful countryside.' 5* Reader Review 'The perfect lockdown read for anyone who longs to be back on the sea.' 5* Reader Review
In this gloriously illustrated companion to her crime novels featuring Inspector Jimmy Perez, Ann Cleeves takes readers through a year on Shetland. Discover its past, meet its people, celebrate its festivals and see how the flora and fauna of the islands change with the seasons. An archipelago of more than a hundred islands, Shetland is the one of the most remote places in the United Kingdom. Its fifteen hundred miles of shore mean that wherever one stands, there is a view of the sea. It has sheltered voes and beaches and dramatically exposed cliffs, lush meadows full of wild flowers in the summer and bleak hilltops where only the hardiest of plants will grow. It is a place where traditions are valued and celebrated, but new technologies and ways of working are also embraced. Whether it is the drama of the Viking fire festival of Up Helly Aa in winter, or the piercing blue and hot pink of spring flowers on the clifftops, the long, white nights of midsummer or the fierce gales and high tides of autumn, Shetland is vividly captured in all its bleak and special beauty. A book to treasure, full of photos and insightful notes about the stunning location of the Shetland series, now a major BBC One drama starring Douglas Henshall.
A journalist working on a story. Now his murder is a headline. Inspector Jimmy Perez is called in to investigate in Dead Water, the fifth Shetland mystery from Ann Cleeves. Now a major BBC One drama, Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall. When the body of a journalist is found in a traditional Shetland boat, Detective Inspector Willow Reeves is drafted in to head up the investigation. Jimmy Perez has been out of the loop, but his local knowledge is needed and he decides to help the inquiry. Originally a Shetlander, the journalist had left the islands years before to make a name for himself in London, leaving a scandal in his wake. He had few friends in Shetland, so why was he back? When Willow and Jimmy dig deeper, they realize that he was chasing a story that many Shetlanders didn't want to come to the surface. One that must have been significant enough to kill him for . . . Continue the captivating crime series with Thin Air.
The third book in Marsali Taylor's thrilling Shetland Sailing Mysteries series. Perfect for fans of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L. Sayers, Val McDermid, Faith Martin, J.R. Ellis, LJ Ross and Ann Cleeves! 'This series is a must-read for anyone who loves the sea, or islands, or joyous, intricate story-telling.' ANN CLEEVES Liveaboard skipper and amateur sleuth Cass Lynch is busy at marine college in Scalloway, until one night she finds an acquaintance dead in a doorway with her hand smeared with peat ash. Rumours spread of a strange ritual linked to the witches once burned in Shetland's ancient capital, and of a horned figure abroad in the night. At first Cass believes these to be mere superstition, until there's a second murder, and she begins to wonder if the devil really does walk in Scalloway ... _____________________________ PRAISE FOR THE CHILLINGLY ADDICTIVE, NAIL-BITING SERIES: 'Absolutely brilliant storyline... a great mystery novel, looking forward to reading more' 5* Reader review 'Excellent book... gripping tale just like her others. Looking forward to more of her wonderful tales of Shetland' 5* Reader review 'This has an excellent storyline and is very entertaining' 5* Reader review 'A very cleverly constructed and entertaining read' 5* Reader review
A funeral celebrant's story about how celebrating death, and creating personalised space for grief, can enrich lives and give meaning to death. After a close encounter with death, Tom Morton realised he needed a change of pace and perspective. He decided to become the only independent funeral celebrant on the remote Shetland Islands, an unusual new profession that would lead him on an extraordinary journey into the world of the dead. In a vivid narrative that reveals the fascinating realm of the unspoken - from extraordinary undertakers and death cafés, to pilgrimages and taboos - Tom quickly learns that death and speaking for the dead requires you to think on your feet and often take a magpie approach to faith and philosophy. From Humanism to hymns, Theravada Buddhism to Star Wars theology, he discovers the importance of ritual, humour, and the empowering act of trying to find words for something beyond language itself. This is an accessible and thought-provoking guide to celebrating mortality. When grief must be an inevitable part of life, Tom shows how we can mourn together in a way that feels appropriate to the life of the one who has passed on, and ultimately cultivate a healthy attitude to our own eventual demise.
Ann Cleeves is back with Thin Air, the sixth book in her beloved Shetland series, which is now a hit television show starring Douglas Henshall. A group of old university friends leave the bright lights of London and travel to Shetland to celebrate the marriage of one of their friends. But, one of them, Eleanor, disappears—apparently into thin air. It's mid-summer, a time of light nights and unexpected mists. And then Eleanor's body is discovered lying in a small loch close to the cliff edge. Detectives Jimmy Perez and Willow Reeves are dispatched to investigate. Before she went missing, Eleanor claimed to have seen the ghost of a local child who drowned in the 1920s. Her interest in the ghost had seemed unhealthy—obsessive, even—to her friends: an indication of a troubled mind. But Jimmy and Willow are convinced that there is more to Eleanor's death than they first thought. Is there a secret that lies behind the myth? One so shocking that someone would kill—many years later—to protect? Ann Cleeves' striking new novel is a quintessential whodunit with surprises at every turn.
