Killjoy is the 4th Inspector Ramsay standalone mystery by Ann Cleeves. Originally released in 1993, this reformat and re-release 6th Jan 2026 by Macmillan is 288 pages and is available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. For Kindle Unlimited subscribers, this book is currently included in the KU subscription library to borrow and read for free. The other books in the series are also currently available on KU.
The death of a young thespian found in the boot of a car owned by the local director of her upcoming play, draws Inspector Ramsay into another investigation. His quietly compassionate but equally unstoppable hunt for the truth soon puts him at cross purposes with the locals in addition to trying to solve a spate of local car theft/joy-riding episodes.
The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 6 hours 20 minutes and is capably read by series narrator Simon Mattacks. He has a beautifully modulated classically trained light baritone voice and does a great job of delineating a range of characters of both sexes and a number of regional accents, shifting quickly and flawlessly. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.
Although it's the fourth book in the series of 6, it works very well as a standalone. This book is also quite intricately plotted, but there aren't any major spoilers if they're read out of order. The denouement and resolution were satisfying, if melancholy.
This series is definitely not as polished as her later work, but there are glimpses of the style and development which later gave rise to Vera and Shetland. It has "good bones" and works very well, despite the pervasive sadness which threads throughout the entire series.
Four stars. Well worth seeking out for fans of moody atmospheric British crime.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
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