Inside Ann Cleeves’ The Killing Stones: Murder in the Orkney Islands
By: Maria Antokas
Ohhh, Ann Cleeves knew exactly what she was doing with The Killing Stones. Drop us in the Orkney Islands- windswept, remote, prehistoric, casually littered with 5,000-year-old monuments- and then start killing people with ancient rocks. Honestly? Bold. The Ring of Brodgar, Maeshowe, the Links of Noltland… if those names ring a bell, congratulations, you’ve watched a BBC documentary at some point. But here, they’re not just postcard backdrops. They’re murder scenes. Between Jimmy Perez (steady, broody, quietly brilliant as ever) and his boss-slash-wife Willow, we get a proper tour of northern Scotland – with a side of homicide. And yes, the islands sound breathtaking. In July. December. I enjoy beauty, but I prefer it without horizontal rain.
The body count escalates quickly for a place where a parking violation probably causes community-wide panic. First, loudmouth Archie Stout gets himself murdered at Noltland with an ancient stone – because apparently we’re committing thematically consistent crimes now. Then we’re off to the Orkney mainland for murder number two at Maeshowe, courtesy of the stone’s prehistoric twin. By the time a third victim turns up in Stromness – this time dispatched with a plain old knife because, what, we ran out of artifacts?—you start to wonder if the tourism board is quietly hyperventilating. Naturally, the islands are crawling with suspicious characters, all brooding, secretive, and harboring motives thicker than the sea fog.
Now. The reveal. I genuinely said, “Whaaaat?” out loud. The culprit felt so minor I briefly wondered if I’d skipped a chapter. It had a whiff of “Oh right, we need to end this.” And yet… I didn’t even care that much. Because Cleeves does what she does best: she builds atmosphere you can practically taste, layers in history without sounding like a textbook, and keeps the tension simmering until the final pages. I came for the mystery; I stayed for the moody cliffs, Neolithic drama, and the deeply unsettling realization that ancient stones are apparently multi-purpose. Also, someone please explain the sport of the “Ba’.” It seems to involve the entire population gathering for chaotic spectacle and possible redemption. I’m intrigued. Slightly alarmed. But intrigued.
Perfect!
Naturally. You give me windswept Scottish islands and prehistoric murder weapons, I’m going to show up properly.
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