Wild Fire (Shetland Island Series #8)

by Ann Cleeves

Overview

Wild Fire is the much-anticipated final entry in Ann Cleeves's beloved Shetland series, which is now a hit television show starring Douglas Henshall.

"Nothing short of riveting."—Louise Penny on Blue Lightning

"Gripping from start to finish."—Booklist

The betrayal of those closest burns most of all . . .

Hoping for a fresh start, an English family moves to the remote Shetland islands, eager to give their autistic son a better life.

But when a young nanny's body is found hanging in the barn beside their home, rumors of her affair with the husband spread like wildfire. As suspicion and resentment of the family blazes in the community, Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez is called in to investigate. He knows it will mean his boss, Willow Reeves, returning to run the investigation, and confronting their complex relationship.

With families fracturing and long-hidden lies emerging, Jimmy faces the most disturbing case of his career.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250226235
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	08/06/2019
Series:	Shetland Island Series , #8
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	61,593
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

ANN CLEEVES is the multi-million copy bestselling author behind three hit television series—Shetland, starring Douglas Henshall, Vera, starring Academy Award Nominee Brenda Blethyn, and The Long Call, starring Ben Aldridge—all of which are watched and loved in the United States. All three are available on BritBox.

The first Shetland novel, Raven Black, won the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger for best crime novel, and Ann was awarded the CWA Diamond Dagger in 2017. She was awarded the OBE in 2022 for services to reading and libraries. Ann lives in the United Kingdom.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Wild Fire:

"A fantastic end to one of the key detective series of the past decade."—Ragnar Jonasson, author of The Darkness

"Intricately plotted and elegantly written, this installment is billed as Perez's final case. Series fans will be sorry to see the last of him."—Publishers Weekly (starred)

“Compelling…Throughout the “Shetland Island” series, Cleeves lovingly depicts the Scottish island life, and this volume is no exception. Fans may be saddened but certainly not disappointed by this final installment.”—Library Journal (starred)

"The final case in this complex, character-driven series is a tour de force."—Kirkus Reviews

"Wild Fire is one of the best books in her long series. It's the perfect end for this complex character wedded to this past and this place."—Globe and Mail

Praise for the Shetland Island series:

“Nothing short of riveting.” —Louise Penny

“In true Christie fashion, Cleeves once more pulls the wool over our eyes with cunning and conviction.” —Colin Dexter, author of the Inspector Morse series

“Intricate and engrossing...offers readers the pleasures of the traditional locked room/isolated island mystery.” —The Washington Post Book World

“Every bit as good as we have come to expect from Cleeves.” —Reviewing The Evidence

“Thin Air is perhaps the best and most compelling in the series so far.” —Curled Up With a Good Book

"Cleeves has an unusually deft hand with characters; not one of them seems purely plot functional, and Perez's characters keeps deepening with each book."—Booklist (starred)

"Absorbing...Cleeves keeps readers guessing until the final page."—Publishers Weekly on Dead Water

"Cleeves is in her element in this extraordinary landscape, with its old croft houses and modern oil fields—and water, water everywhere."—New York Times Book Review on Dead Water

"Cleeves has an unusually deft hand with characters; not one of them seems purely plot functional, and Perez's characters keeps deepening with each book."—Booklist (starred) on Dead Water

"Absorbing...Cleeves keeps readers guessing until the final page."—Publishers Weekly on Dead Water

"...Enough to freeze the blood."—New York Times Book Review on Raven Black

From the Publisher

★ 07/09/2018
In CWA Diamond Dagger–winner Cleeves’s excellent eighth Shetland Island mystery (after 2017’s Cold Earth), designer Helena Fleming and her family have settled in a remote community on Shetland, where she has become a local celebrity by using “Shetland wool to create garments that were shown at London Fashion Week.” One day, Helena is dismayed to find a crude drawing tucked inside a copy of the Shetland Times depicting a gallows. Soon afterward, her 11-year-old son discovers the body of their neighbor’s young nanny, Emma Shearer, hanging from a beam in their byre. Det. Insp. Jimmy Perez, who initially takes charge of what could be a murder case, calls in a crime team from Inverness, which includes his occasional lover, Willow Reeves, who brings emotional complications to the investigation. A number of local residents appear to have had some sort of an ax to grind with Emma, and several suspects emerge. Intricately plotted and elegantly written, this installment is billed as Perez’s final case. Series fans will be sorry to see the last of him. Agent: Sarah Menguc, Sarah Menguc Literary Agent (U.K.). (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Narrator Kenny Blyth draws the listener into the mystery and beauty of the Shetland Islands as DI Jimmy Perez and his senior colleague and love interest, Willow Reeves, investigate the murder of a young nanny, Emma Shearer. Blyth’s Scottish and English accents bring to life the interesting and troubled inhabitants of the insular, gossipy village of Deltaness. There, incomers Helena; Daniel; their autistic son, Christopher; and daughter, Ellie, face serious obstacles in adjusting to village life. In this final book in the Shetland series, Cleeves has woven a compelling story that Blyth delivers masterfully. Those new to the series will quickly pick up on the backstories and may be inspired to listen to the full series. E.Q. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award, 2019 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2018 - AudioFile

2018-06-18
A long look into the dynamics of a troubled family is needed to solve several murders.Inspector Jimmy Perez is intrigued when he gets a visit from Helena Fleming, a newcomer to the Shetland Isles who's well-known as a designer of garments featuring Shetland wool. The local man from whom Helena and her husband had purchased their house hanged himself in the barn after he landed in dire financial straits, causing not only consternation but a certain resentment among the locals. Now Helena has received little images of gallows and hanged men written on bits of graph paper and is concerned about the effect they might have on her autistic son, Christopher, who's already being taunted by some other children. Because his dead lover, Fran, was an artist and he helps care for her daughter, Jimmy is sympathetic to Helena's plight. But it takes the discovery of Emma Shearer, a friend's nanny who's found dead in the Flemings' barn, to kick the investigation into high gear. When Jimmy's boss, Willow Reeves, arrives from the mainland and reveals that she's pregnant by Jimmy, their fragile, complex relationship is shattered by his inability to come to terms with her news. Instead, he and his team focus on unearthing motives for Emma's strangling. Emma had to deal with a boyfriend whose protective mother hated her, the not-totally-unwelcome attentions of Helena's infatuated husband, and her problems with at least the two older Moncrieff children, whose welfare had been left almost entirely in her hands while their parents pursued their own interests. The deeper the detectives dig into Emma's unfortunate past and those of their suspects, the more convoluted and difficult the case becomes.Fans disappointed to see the last of Cleeves' hero will be happy to know that the final case in this complex, character-driven series (Cold Earth, 2017, etc.) is a tour de force.

Kirkus Reviews