Wild Fire (Shetland, 8)

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The Flemings have moved to the Shetlands where the wife, Helena, has opened a very successful knitting business (think Beyonce wearing the pieces) and her husband is an architect who redesigns the house they bought. They have two children with the oldest son autistic who likes to set fires and is shunned by the other children. Helena hired the wife of the local doctor to be her assistant and it is her nanny, Emma, that is found hanging in their barn. In Wild Fire we see how deep a person can be damaged by his experiences and how much pain he can inflict to the people around him because of them! I'm the first to say I dislike much personal drama in crime novels but Ann Cleeves could have taken some more time to develop all that took place in a single installment of her series! Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.

Smaltzy, I know but i couldn't resist and I'm really going to miss this series, characters that felt like friends. Deft plotting, strong characters and the masterful evocation of a rugged landscape make this a splendid ending to an excellent series." In the meantime, he’s got a murder investigation (and then another) to undertake. The first is that of a young nanny found hanged in a barn where an earlier hanging has taken place. Jimmy soon learns that she was the caregiver for a family of unlikeable children, and the parents aren’t much better, pretty much giving up all pretense of parenting to Emma, the murdered girl. Pair that with another family that’s being targeted as “incomers” and that includes an autistic boy, and you have a lot of trouble on your hands.

Nominated for three Scottish BAFTA Awards: one for best scripted television show, one for scriptwriter David Kane, and one for actor Douglas Henshall (DI Jimmy Perez). Series 5 About 100 kilometres north of Scotland, the Shetland Islands are a popular tourist destination for cruise ships, not least because of the spectacular scenery. Of the 100 islands that comprise the Shetlands, fewer than 20 are inhabited by a total population of under 30,000 people. Such is the setting for Ann Cleeves’ popular Shetland novels of which Wild Fire is the eighth and last. But it's the character of Christopher who adds the special flavor to this story. Being on the autistic spectrum, Christopher's view of the world is just that.....Christopher's view. He aligns his life within his own footsteps and reacts to the excessiveness of sound, information, and the instant demands of processing. He prefers the santuary of his room where the pace can be accepted or rejected by his own pursuits. And Christopher knows when life outsteps routine. With suspicion raining down on the family, DI Jimmy Perez is called in to investigate, knowing that it will mean the return to the islands of his on-off lover and boss Willow Reeves, who will run the case.

Other returning regulars include Steven Robertson (who plays Sandy), Lewis Howden (Billy) and Anne Kidd (Cora). The series is written by Paul Logue, who also contributed to the script of series 7. 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." 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. A story of dysfunctional families and fractured relationships, Inspector Jimmy Perez’s eighth case will intrigue series fans and Shetland Island newcomers alike. I was so sad when this book was over because it is the last of the series. I don't know why the author has discontinued it because I love everything about it from traveling to the Shetland Islands, the characters, the Island traditions, and the mysteries. If you have not read the others in the series, I recommend that you do just because they are so good. This book can be read as a stand alone but, of course, quite satisfying to long time fans.

Wild Fire

The team struggles to get a coherent picture of the dead woman, who had worked for the Moncrieffs for a number of years but seems to have made barely an impression on the couple and their children. She liked to dress in 1950s style and cut quite a dash in her home-tailored garments – attracting the attention of more than one male admirer. Could the killer be on-off boyfriend Magnie Riddell? Or even Daniel Fleming, who admits to having been obsessed with Emma? Just as the evidence begins to fit together, the case is thrown into disarray by another murder. Shetland, it appears, is still a dangerous place to live. Wild Fire is the eighth and final novel in the Shetland Series, and even though it’s a little bittersweet to say goodbye to the characters we’ve come to know and love over these last eight novels, it is nevertheless a lovely way to solve one last case with the usual gang and to finally discover whether DI Perez and Chief Inspector Willow will finally get their happy-ever-after ending.

In among it all, there’s a vital plotline featuring Reeves and Perez, but it plays second fiddle as the body count rises and tension ratchets up a notch or two. For me, it unbalances a story which should by rights have Perez front and centre. It is his farewell, after all. It’s my only real quibble in a book that is vintage Cleeves, complete with red herrings and neatly negotiated twists and turns. As to the ending? I’m giving nothing away – best read it for yourself…The rough, oddly beautiful landscapes take centre stage in this book. They’re lovingly described by an author who has come to know them intimately over the years, and I hope Cleeves will return to the Scottish Isles for a book at some time in the future. These stunning settings play a huge part in a book that is as intricately drawn together as a Fair Isle sweater.