Shetland (Series six); BBC Based on: The Shetland Island books by Ann Cleeves

Shetland (Series six); BBC
Based on: The Shetland Island books by Ann Cleeves

I have never read an Ann Cleeves book, so I can’t compare the show to the original text. (Immediately after I wrote that sentence I ordered the first book in the series. Why keep myself from something that I will undoubtedly love?) But the fact of Shetland is that I don’t need anything to accompany it: it is so superb as a stand-alone series, I almost don’t want to know more than what it already reveals. The basics: Shetland is a murder-mystery series based in the Shetland islands off Scotland. The islands are tiny, remote, stunningly picturesque, and absolutely rife with murderers. The accents are transporting, the sweaters woolen and enviable, and the stories are beautifully crafted, revolving around small-town life, its rumors, its myths, its complicated relationships. During these last Covid years, I have watched most every murder mystery show that was available to stream: any and all Agatha Christies, the impeccable Broadchurch, Mare of Easttown and The Undoing (to name a few), and Shetland is the cream of the crop. There’s humor, grief, love, and most importantly: the delicious and gratifying mystery of a finely honed whodunnit.  –Julia Hass, Contributing Editor