Wild Fire

The final novel in the Shetland series concerns the death of Emma Shearer, who spent the past 8 years working as a nanny for a local doctor’s family. The circumstances clearly point to murder, so Jimmy Perez calls in Willow Reaves as Senior Investigative Officer. When Willow arrives, she drops a bombshell on Jimmy and it doesn’t go well. But they’re professionals, so they focus on solving the case despite the visible tension between them. Ann Cleeves skillfully introduces a number of characters who knew Emma and a couple of seemingly obvious suspects emerge, but are quickly ruled out. So who is the not-so-obvious killer? I was kept in suspense until the very end, and meanwhile I really enjoyed developments in the lives of Jimmy, show more Willow, and constable Sandy Wilson, which brought the series to a satisfying conclusion. At the time of publication in 2018, this would have seemed like the end of Jimmy Perez’s story but a new novel is coming in September 2025, set in Orkney: The Killing Stones. I can’t wait. show less

Wild Fire – Ann Cleeves at her best

With Wild Fire being the last in her Shetland series, Ann Cleeves has once again given us a master class on how to write crime fiction. Her writing is evocative, deftly building up the characters, and every book in this series was better than the last.

With her words Ann Cleeves paints pictures that bring The Shetland Isles to life, that are atmospheric, and the fog does help that, but it helps set the Shetlands as an intriguing and isolated location. It also shows how small communities, how ever close, may know each other’s secrets, but they do not know everything.

When an English family move to the old Gear farm property, there are alsorts of whispers about them, even more so when Dennis Gear kills show more himself on the property. When a nanny is found hung is the same barn, by the autistic child, Perez kicks into full investigation mode. Hopefully in this tight knit community someone will have seen something and be able to help them.

When Willow comes across from the mainland to head up the investigation, she needs to speak to Perez. She has some news for him and how he handles it will guide the course of his future. Will this news shake Perez, or just slow him down until he has worked everything out?

As the investigation continues everybody knows everything but actually knows nothing so at times Perez feels they are going around in circles. When another murder happens not far from the old Gear property, they really need a break. Little did they know who would give them the break they needed to solve the case, and it leaves them shocked. But as they reveal the full horror, they can understand why some events happened, even though they disagree with them.

Sad to see the Shetland series go, but goes out in style, and will we ever see Perez again? Only one person can answer that. show less

In "Wild Fire," by Ann Cleeves, Chief Inspector Willow Reeves (who is based in Inverness on the Scottish mainland) and Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez team up to solve two murders in the Shetland Islands community of Deltaness. Perez and Reeves, who is the Senior Investigating Officer, have a strained relationship, but are determined to keep their personal issues from interfering with their work. First, the body of a young woman is found hanging in a barn belonging to Helena and Daniel Fleming. The Flemings are understandably distraught, since the previous owner of the their home, Dennis Gear, hanged himself in the same spot. Later, a second resident is killed, and Jimmy, Willow, and DC Sandy Wilson intensify their efforts to obtain show more information from witnesses, examine the forensic evidence, and learn who had the motive, means, and opportunity to commit these crimes.

Perez is heartbroken and guilt-ridden over the death of his fiancée, Fran Hunter, three years earlier. Now, his priority is raising Fran's nine-year-old daughter, Cassie, whose biological father has little time for her. Jimmy has feelings for Willow Reeves, but he is emotionally unprepared to make a commitment. With her lyrical descriptive writing and occasional use of Scottish dialect, Cleeves captures the atmosphere of her scenic and exotic setting. In Deltaness, everyone knows everyone else’s business, rumors spread quickly, and newcomers are sometimes treated with suspicion, if not outright disdain.

The characters are well drawn. We meet Emma Shearer, a twenty-four year old nanny with a troubled past; Margaret Riddell, a bitter and lonely gossipmonger; and Robert and Belle Moncrieff, indifferent parents who hired Emma to shoulder the burden of caring for their four children. Helena and Daniel were once a devoted couple, but they are gradually drifting apart. The author explores such themes as the poison that envy generates; the terrible consequences of physical and verbal abuse; and the risks we take when we open our hearts to others. "Wild Fire," the last entry in the Shetland series, is a grim but engrossing police procedural that is enriched by its picturesque locale, expertly crafted dialogue, and its insight into the strengths and weaknesses that make us human. show less

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: When the Flemings—designer Helena and architect Daniel—move into a remote community in the north of Shetland, they think it's a fresh start for themselves and their children.

But their arrival triggers resentment, and Helena begins to receive small drawings of a gallows and a hanged man. Gossip spreads like wildfire.

A story of dysfunctional families and fractured relationships, Inspector Jimmy Perez's eighth case will intrigue series fans and Shetland Island newcomers alike.

I CHECKED THIS BOOK OUT OF MY LOCAL LIBRARY. USE THEIR SERVICES OFTEN, THEY NEED US!

My Review: Incomers Not Wanted. Southerners, most especially, and most virulently, should not plan to stay here.

This is the message that show more greets London couple Helena and Daniel and their two children. The autistic son discovers the hanged body of their nanny in the barn. The same barn the original owner of their new home hanged himself.

Islands, unsurprisingly, breed insular social structures. It's right there in the word, one we've generalized to describe unwelcoming, exclusive social mlilieux for quite some time now...at least since 1775, per Etymonline. It is very seldom...I'm always reluctant to say "never" in these maters because alomg will come some "Gotcha!" Gang goofball to say "clearly you're an idiot for not knowing {thing they hunted out to embarrass you}" in their never-remotely charming way...used except pejoratively. We know it's unpleasant, unhelpful, and unkind, but nevertheless we persist in doing it.

Humans. Irredeemable, the lot of 'em.

The crimes and solutions don't really hit the ground running in this, the last book of the Shetland series. There is going to be more to come...you watch!...because of Jimmy and Willow's utterly upending news. I will say Jimmy's behavior is, unexpectedly, pretty caddish and selfish. It's very human, and fits with the series' willingness to show all the characters as people, not archetypes.

That said, I as a family member of several people far down the autism spectrum felt the autism representation...while perhaps appropriate for the broader community...fell very short in Helena's case. She demonstrated deeply hurtful attitudes...tantrums? really?...in front of her autistic child. It's not the best look for the only and last time we'll be here as readers.

The procedural parts are perfectly fine, as usual; I think Author Cleeves does a creditable job of getting the case solved without going into unnecessary mishegas, as has happened in some stories gone by. I will very much miss the Shetlands, the scoobygroup, and the lurid criminality rampant in these insular settings. show less

I almost hated to read this book as it would be the end of a fabulous series. Saying goodbye to these characters was a bit like saying goodbye to friends and family. Ann Cleeves certainly ended the series on a high note. As is Ann Cleeves usual habit she gave us suspects galore and a perfectly good reason for each of them to have committed the murder. She manged to keep us guessing until the very end. I'm glad to see that she has chosen to allow life to go on for the characters that we have come to love. "Slàinte mhath" Jimmy and friends.

I have invested quite a few hours to reading Ann Cleeves Shetland series of books in the right order over the last few years so it was unlikely that I wouldn't enjoy the last Shetland book. In this one, not only does Ann Cleeves take us through the twists and turns of a murder investigation with her usual deft skill, the reader also learns how she has decided to leave Jimmy Perez, Willow and Sandy as she sends them into an unknown future. I feel a tiny bit sad that there are no more Shetland novels to read but I think she has timed it right, there are only so many murders you can imagine in this amazing landscape. As always, the Shetland landscape and weather are characters all of their own in the novel and it was good to see a Sunday show more tea turn up in this one, as this is such a feature of Shetland life and the community side of life on the islands is often barely considered. Another great read. show less

Jimmy Perez #8. I have loved this series, but this, the last book taking place in Shetland, was a mixed bag for me. It was another intriguing mystery plot, but seemed to be somewhat sloppily put together compared to the previous books, with a very rushed plot ending. And I found the soap opera romance aspect, which took up a fair chunk of the book, to be tedious as well as eye-rollingly predictable. Sad to see this wonderful series end on such a disappointing note.