Fans will be sad to learn that this is the final book in the popular ‘Shetland’ series.

In this final outing, Jimmy is beginning to come to terms with the death three years earlier of his fiancée Fran, who died at the hands of a killer Perez was investigating. Mitigating his grief has been his commitment to the co-parenting of Fran’s nine-year old daughter, Cassie, with Fran’s former husband and the stumbling tentative steps he has taken towards a new relationship with Inverness-based Detective Inspector Willow Reeves. But Jimmy is not the same man he once was and he has not felt the same way about his work since Fran’s death. So, when his recently arrived neighbour, glamorous London designer Helena Fleming, knocks on his door for help, he reluctantly takes on the investigation to uncover the identity of who is leaving harassing notes at their house.

Helena and her husband and children have moved to Deltaness to progress Helena’s career as her coveted fashion garments utilise the Shetland wool and traditional designs. Their son Christopher is autistic, and has experienced bullying in London, so they are hoping a fresh start for all of the family. But shortly after they move in to their property, the previous owner of the home commits suicide and hangs himself in the barn and it seems as though the locals are determined that Helena and her family are somehow to blame.

Despite himself, Perez is intrigued and begins to unravel a complex web of circumstance and personalities.

A fitting ending for a much-loved series.

Reviewed by Maryanne Vagg