Dead Water

When Fran died, Jimmy Perez was left with the custody of her six year old daughter, Cassie. After several months leave from the police force Jimmy gradually returned to work. When the Procurator Fiscal, Rhona Laing, discovered a body in a boat Willow Reeves arrived from the mainland to lead the investigation. Inspector Perez was asked for advice and eventually became involved in the case.

Jerry Markham was a journalist from Shetland who had moved to England to work. Unexpectedly he returned to the islands and a few days later was murdered. Before leaving Shetland he had had a relationship with Evie Watts who was now engaged to someone else.

In Dead Water by Ann Cleeves (the fifth book in the Sheland series) we learn of the the oil and gas industry operating out of Sullom Voe. Alternative energy sources for the islands are also proposed and not everyone is in agreement as to what projects should proceed in the future. Did Markham return to Shetland in search of a scoop or did his return visit relate to events from the past? The islanders have many secrets and discovering the truth is no easy task, especially when it becomes clear that the Fiscal may also have secrets relevant to the case.

Some episodes in the second series of the TV show, Shetland, were based on the plot of Dead Water.