A Bolt From The Blue

How unexpected was that? I was happily reading the fourth of Anne Cleves Shetland Series featuring DI Jimmy Perez, played in the TV series by Douglas Henshall, when Bang! Like a punch in the face, the kind of shock ending you used to get in an episode of 24! it came right out of nowhere and literally shocked me – I switched of my Kindle and strode into the house, shouting and swearing, quite unlike my normally composed and reticent self and several of my friends came running, only to stomp off when I assured them that I was ok and told them what had provoked my distress - “it's only a story!” was the unified response, and I was abandoned to deal with my grief. I won't say any more in case I accidentally drop a spoiler, but I really don't know why authors build up certain characters in a story only to chop their heads off in almost the last chapter; I had already grieved over another interesting charactyer earlier on and thought that I had worked out who was the murderer, kind of, a bit, but “oh no!” Good read though. It's called Blue Lightning and is set almost entirely on Fair Isle – ir actually opens with Jimmy and Fran, his fiancée, arriving by plane, which Fran believes is going to crash into the cliffs. That's a piece of neurosis that I share – I've never been a good passenger and clenche everything at the seriously scary bits: take off, obviously; cruising, oh yes, obviously; and landing, mucho obviously. Apart from that, I'm okay. Absolutely no problem boarding and disembarking, I actually enjoy those bits a lot, and even the taxiing, I could do that for hours. In fact. If there was a long runway from my airport to the destination and we could taxi all the way, now why hasn't anyone else thought of that – it's my solution to the problems people like me experience with air travel and I bet millions would go for it. Sorted.

The story is told through the eyes not only of Perez and Fran, but residents and visitors to the Field Centre, based in the Fictional North Light, a lighthouse, now automatic, with the rest of the buildings converted to the offices and sleeping quarters needed to accommodate the staff and visitors, twitchy crowd that they were. And you become drawn to some of them and assume that they are there for the duration, but not so. It's not quite Ten little Indians but certainly feels like that as, after the first murder you begin wondering who will be next, and then next.

Well crafted, as all Anne Cleves stories are and worth the ride. Apart from that shock! And then the other! And then it all comes out in the wash, as any good detective yarn does. I will be reading more of them, and am already looking forward to the next season on BBC 1.