Wildfire at Midnight

This romantic suspense novel was written in 1956 and is undoubtedly a product of its time. It is set in 1953 as Edmund Hillary is climbing Mount Everest, and preparations are being made for Queen Elizabeth's coronation. It is the latter event that drives our heroine out of London to the Isle of Skye. Once there, she finds her idyllic vacation has a couple of flaws: her ex-husband is booked in the same hotel, and there has been a murder of a young woman. Now the novel adds in elements of the "locked room" mystery as someone on Skye must have been responsible for the death.

As long as the reader is willing to accept the mores of the time (husbands can cheat on their wives, and the latter may need to accept it if they think it is a one-time show more thing was the hardest one for me to swallow), the book is quite compelling. The descriptions of Skye made me see the island; I wasn't surprised to find that Stewart had visited the location.

Some folks don't like that the independent-minded heroine has sort of a "damsel in distress" moment. I can understand that. When the emergency is ongoing, I can handle it; afterward, I collapse. So that wasn't an issue for me.

I think if you like romantic suspense with a healthy scoop of mystery, that you would like this book. show less

This was quite a satisfying little book - despite the fact that by the time I picked it up from the library I had rather forgotten what it was about and why I'd requested it!

I read through the whole thing in a few hours, the writing making it easy to slide along, and the mystery kept me alternately a little horrified and worried for everyone - especially Gianetta, of course - as well as eager to find out the ending.

I won't discuss the ending at all, save to say that it wasn't what I expected, precisely, and it was terribly satisfying, as such things go. Honestly, anything more would spoil it!

I will definitely be looking for a few more of Mary Stewart's books to read now.

This Mary Stewart story about murder on the Isle of Skye has always been a favourite of mine. It is very atmospheric with lots of rain and highland mists. I like the fact that it is tied to a particular time, close to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth 11 and with everyone tuned to the wireless to hear about the mountaineers trying to scale Everest.

The heroine is attractive, lacking in confidence like several other Stewart heroines, but showing a decided amount of spirit particularly in the breathtakingly scary ending. I do not find the romance particularly convincing. Gianetta may still be in love with her ex-husband, but we see him so infrequently that it is hard to make a judgement about his character.
Stewart's other characters are show more better drawn, with a wide variety featuring in one of those closed communities so beloved of Golden Age crime writers. I particularly liked sultry actress Marcia Maling causing havoc with married couples. I also love the claustrophobic atmosphere in the hotel as danger draws ever closer with all of the guests potential murderers.
For newcomers to Stewart's magical blend of mystery, crime and romance this is a good novel to start with. show less

Wildfire at Midnight is a classic Mary Stewart thriller, with a rather innocent young woman travels far from the safety of London to find adventure, dangers, and a hint of romance. This time Gianetta, a "mannequin" (model), flees the congestion of London in the run-up to the coronation for the wilds of Skye. Upon arrival, it appears her vacation is destined for rockiness, because her ex-husband is staying at her hotel. Talk about awkward. Then people start dying and a fellow resident receives a kind of voodoo doll, and everything begins spiraling out of control. All she wanted to do was do a bit of hiking and perhaps learn to fish. Ultimately, she is going to have to learn to survive instead.

One of my favorite of Stewart's thrillers. show more The final twist (the one after the murderer is caught) has not aged particularly well, but if you can get past that particularly interesting take on women and their desires, it's an excellent book. Highly recommended for the retro thriller lover in all of us.

First Line: In the first place, I suppose, it was my parents' fault for giving me a silly name like Gianetta. show less

Mary Stewart’s novels are always good comfort reads. There’s definitely a formula to them—they always take place in an exotic location, and feature a smart, somewhat skeptical heroince (who’s usually in her mid to late twenties). Throw in some romance and suspense, and you have the recipe for a really fun, atmospheric read. Wildfire at Midnight is no exception to this.

Giannetta Drury is a model, who decides to take a break from London to visit the Island of Skye, up in the Hebrides. She stays at a local hotel, but is perturbed when her ex husband, Nicholas, is also one of the guests there--ouch, how awkward! As Giannetta becomes more familiar with the other guests at the hotel, she learns the story of the murder of a young local show more girl, whose throat was brutally cut. But as events unfold, it turns out that the murderer hasn’t yet finished their work…

Wildfire at Midnight is more of a mystery than some of Mary Stewart’s other books, and the suspense is right up there as some of the best that she’s ever offered. There are several truly bone-chilling scenes in this novel, especially the one in the fog towards the end! I feel that character development is weaker here (for example, I felt that Dougal Macrae seemed rather undisturbed by the murder of his daughter, two and a half weeks prior to the events in the book). But I enjoyed the romance aspect—it’s there all along, though Giannetta doesn’t realize it until the end. Giannetta also seems to be less skeptical than some of Stewart’s other heroines, but that more or less works in her favor this time. Again, another strong novel from Mary Stewart. show less

Mary Stewart was master of the romantic suspense novels, set in the middle of the 20th century, and this is no exception. High on the suspense, fairly low on the romantic thread. The heroine - who narrates the book - is a young divorced woman called Gianetta. She travels to Skye for a relaxing break, only to find herself caught up in a nasty mystery, whose perpetrator may be one of her fellow guests at the hotel...

This is not my favourite Mary Stewart novel, but it's a well written story, even though I found many of the characters rather flat and unmemorable. Gianetta herself is likeable and strong-minded, and the suspense is such that I had to skip to the end before reading the last few chapters. Recommended if you like this genre of show more fiction.

Longer review here: https://suesbookreviews.blogspot.com/2021/12/wildfire-at-midnight-by-mary-stewar... show less

I have been reading [a:Mary Stewart|15590|Mary Stewart|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1210367214p2/15590.jpg]'s Arthurian series, so when I came across this book in my libraries donation pile I decided to take it and try one her early works in Mystery . Not my usual genre, so it was risky.

Set in a small hotel on The Isle of Skye (Scotland) people are being murdered, and there seems to be a ritual attached to these deaths. Stewart's writing took me there and I could feel the wind and the scent of the wet and cold coming off the mountains.

Turned into a decent read. I liked the protagonist Gianetta until the last part of the book. In the beginning I thought of her as a very modern woman for the era (1950's), suddenly at the end she show more turns into the "Damsel in Distress" and that irked me a bit.

A quick enjoyable read. If you like a good scary mystery this might be for you. show less