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Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves -- a review

 

Wild Fire   Shetland Series Book 8 by Ann Cleeves


Wild Fire is Ann Cleeves’ final instalment of the Shetland series. The team of Willow Reeves, Jimmy Perez, and Sandy Wilson collaborate one last time to solve murders closely connected to two families in Deltaness.


Emma grew up in an abusive family in Orkney. She came to Shetland to work as a nanny for the four children of Robert and Bella Montcrief who appear emotionally distant from their children. Each of the children play a role in the mystery. Martha is a 17-year old rebellious teen and Charles, dad’s favourite, is 16. The younger two have occasional appearances in the narrative.


Helena and Daniel Fleming are friends of the Montcriefs. Bella Montcrief handles public relations for Helena’s designs. Daniel, is an architect who struggles with depression. Their older son, Christopher has an autistic disorder. He has an interest in CSI and plays a prominent role in identifying the murderer of Emma. Emma’s startling death is linked to another murder. Ellie, the little sister, appears as a happy and highly active youngster.


In the background, Cleeves takes us through the ups and downs of Willow and Jimmy’s growing relationship. Meanwhile, Sandy gains confidence as he pursues Louisa. These relationships are resolved when the team discusses the clues that led them to discovering how the two women were murdered. Cassie Hunter is away with her biological father so she doesn’t add to the complications of life-work balance for her primary caregiver, Jimmy Perez who was charged with her care when her mother and Jimmy’s fiancé, died in an earlier story.

I recommend Wild Fire and the whole of the Shetland series, which I have reviewed. I like Ann Cleeves’s style of slowly building a story against an inviting backdrop textured by contrasting landscapes and richly developed characters.

This map of Shetland may help you locate the stories and characters.











I have a paperback version as part of a box set and recommend this volume to those who enjoy slow and thoughtful styles of British crime mysteries and appreciate learning new words that add to the texture of Shetland culture. I usually prefer digital books but found the paperback set less expensive.

Read about the rest of the Shetland series


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