Red Bones

This is the first book by Ann Cleeves that I have read - it won't be the last. Although I am not a huge fan of crime fiction I enjoyed the almost claustrophobic atmosphere created by the setting: a tiny, damp, foggy island where a tiny community of haves and have-nots try to do the best they can to make a living whilst maintaining a certain status in the eyes of their all-seeing neighbours. When something happens to upset the delicate balance of the community (in this case two deaths) the fa??ade slips and the secrets trickle out.

This was such an interesting mystery. Ann Cleeves continues to amaze me with her incredible writing.
She weaves her tales in such a way that you can't be sure who the murderer is. It could be any of them or, was it really just an accident and a suicide?

Two young Archaeologists look for evidence of a merchant's house on an old woman's property on Whalsay. They thought they had found some red fragments of pottery as they dug but it turned out to be red bones. They were excited that they may have found the bones of the merchant but someone else on the Island was not as excited. The old woman was later found shot to death. It was presumed to be an accident but later there was another death. It looked like a suicide but didn't make sense. Perez realized he needed to learn more about the families that live on Whalsay and figure out what is going on before more people die.