Author behind Shetland series says more books to come - in Orkney

Ann Cleeves said she wrote The Killing Stones as a one off, but now thinks there could more more book to follow

The best-selling author behind TV series Shetland has said there could be more books featuring the exploits of DI Jimmy Perez following the launch of her latest novel.

Ann Cleeves' new book The Killing Stones picks up with Perez seven years after he moved from Shetland to Orkney.

Speaking to the BBC at a launch event in Kirkwall, the author said she had intended the novel to be a "one off" - but now thinks there will be more to follow.

"I've had such fun writing it and there's been such a great reaction to Jimmy coming back that I think there probably will be more," she said.

"And anyway, I can't wait to explore more of the islands, because I can kill people anywhere."

The new book picks follows on from 2018's Wild Fire, which ended with the detective moving to Orkney with his partner and fellow police officer, Willow Reeves.

Cleeves said she had written the book because she wanted to find out what had happened to Perez.

"At the end of the series in book eight, he'd found a new partner and he was happy and I just had him sailing off in the sunset from Shetland to Orkney, and I thought that was it — I was never going to write any more Jimmy Perez books.

"But then, I get kind of home sick for the Northern Isles. Because I love the bleak beauty that you get up here and that light and I wanted to find out what had happened to Jimmy in those intervening years and see if he was happy, and see if I could bring him back to life."

The Killing Stones, which is the ninth book featuring Perez, sees him called in to investigate the disappearance of his childhood friend on the island of Westray.

Cleeves said: "We find his body and it's hard for Jimmy because it is his friend and he should step back because he shouldn't be involved in the investigation, so his partner Willow takes over but Jimmy is still there fighting in the background and finding out all sorts of secrets he maybe wished he hadn't known."

'Shetlanders think I'm a traitor'

The novelist said she was already familiar with Orkney, but wanted to spend more time there to get to know the island - and to "listen to other people's conversations".

She said: "I first came to Orkney 50 years ago, so it's not that I didn't know it at all and I have been back and forth staying with friends, visiting, doing events since, but this time it seemed important to get to know it in depth and spend some time here.

"I came in mid-winter when I knew there wouldn't be too many tourists and stayed with Stewart Bain, an old friend, and he drove me round and brought me into Westray and we met his folk.

"It's mostly just being nosey about other people's pre-occupations and listening a lot."

The author spent time on Westray to get to know the Island in depth

She said while most had welcomed the return of Perez, there was disappointment from some about the change of location.

"Shetlanders think I'm a traitor... that I've moved him to Orkney, but Orkney is very different — it's a different set of islands," she said.

"It's so much greener and more fertile and everywhere is farmed.

"I love places, and to come and just explore somewhere completely new is a great adventure for me."

Could there be an Orkney TV series?

The TV series based on Cleeves' novels is currently in its ninth series.

Douglas Henshall, who played Perez, quit after seven series.

He was replaced by Ashley Jensen, who stars as DI Ruth Calder.

Shetland averaged 7.2m viewers in the UK and is popular around the world.

Douglas Henshall played the Shetland detective on TV

Since it first aired in 2013, thousands of tourists - many from cruise ships - have been to Shetland on the trail of the murders and to see Jimmy Perez's fictional home at the Lodberries in Lerwick.

In 2021, a Hollywood-style star was installed outside a house in Lerwick as a tribute to the programme and its lead star.

However, it was removed three months later following a disagreement with the owner of the home, which features in the show.

The author said there were no plans for a TV adaptation of The Killing Stones, but it wasn't something she would rule out.

She added: "I have nothing to do with the television so I very much doubt it but if there's any production company out there that would like to do it I'd be very happy to co-operate with them."