Status
Available
Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
Minotaur Books (2018), 416 pages
Description
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.
User reviews
LibraryThing member pgchuis
I haven't read one of these novels for years, but I have been watching "Shetland" - it's all very different. This was an enjoyable read, but Perez wasn't the same man as on TV and I missed Tosh.
The story was easy enough to follow, but all the characters were unlikeable (I'm thinking especially of
The story was easy enough to follow, but all the characters were unlikeable (I'm thinking especially of
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you, Perez!) and the solution underwhelming, especially as the writer tried to drag out the suspense for a couple of chapters by referring to "the murderer" and "the person with the knife" repeatedly in a verbally odd way. The portrayal of Christopher's autism seemed to me authentic, although I am no expert. Show Less
LibraryThing member hobbitprincess
The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it was the end of the series. As usual, I didn't see the ending until it happened. I also like that the author wrapped up the series nicely in the end, so I am not left wondering what happened to the main characters. Excellent book, and
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excellent performance by Kenny Blythe in narrating it. Show Less
LibraryThing member Beamis12
Shetland island has certainly seen it's fair share of murder and mayhem. A relative newcomer to the island, Helene, begins to receive crpyptic drawings of hanging men, a thinky veiled reference to the previous owner of their house who was found hanged in their barn. Soon after she shows the
This murder will bring, Jimmy, Willow and Sandy together for one final outing. A case with many strings, threads leading to a hidden and past life, a young boy on the autism spectrum, a husband and father, and a woman with a secret who cannot forgive nor forget. Sometimes people are just not who you think they are. The clues are there, in retrospect, but admit to missing them. The case is suspenseful enough, but the atmosphere of the island, and the characters have for me, always been the draw for me. Although I admit I liked done of the books in this series, better than others, it has never disappointed me.
So as Jimmy, Willow and Sandy leave the pages of future books, may they ride off into the sunset, finding happiness wherever they land.
Smaltzy, I know but i couldn't resist and I'm really going to miss this series, characters that felt like friends.
ARC from Netgalley.
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drawings to Perez, another body is found hanged in their barn, this time a young woman who was the nanny for another found.This murder will bring, Jimmy, Willow and Sandy together for one final outing. A case with many strings, threads leading to a hidden and past life, a young boy on the autism spectrum, a husband and father, and a woman with a secret who cannot forgive nor forget. Sometimes people are just not who you think they are. The clues are there, in retrospect, but admit to missing them. The case is suspenseful enough, but the atmosphere of the island, and the characters have for me, always been the draw for me. Although I admit I liked done of the books in this series, better than others, it has never disappointed me.
So as Jimmy, Willow and Sandy leave the pages of future books, may they ride off into the sunset, finding happiness wherever they land.
Smaltzy, I know but i couldn't resist and I'm really going to miss this series, characters that felt like friends.
ARC from Netgalley.
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LibraryThing member jmoncton
This was a fascinating police procedural set on Shetland Island in Scotland. For me, a good detective mystery has a crime and lots of potential suspects. If there are multiple suspects with dark twisted motives, then even better. A smart detective with personality quirks (think Hercule Poirot or
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Sherlock Holmes) always adds to the fun. This mystery met all the criteria with a beautiful setting. Definitely never came close to guessing the outcome of this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member BrianEWilliams
Recommended.
This Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez murder mystery begins with the suspicious death of a twenty-something family nanny. Her body has been staged to make it seem as if she hanged herself, but it soon is apparent that she was strangled. The hanging is particularly sinister because a man
The ensuing investigation reunites Perez with his commanding officer, Willow Reeves. It's a tense reunion because of a personal and intimate relationship they developed in the previous novel. The pair struggle with their feelings in this story, and only resolve them at the end of this book.
The investigation also takes Perez and his colleagues into the lives of the victim, Emma Shearer, and several other residents of Shetland Island. The Island and its rural way of life serves as an atmospheric background for the story, and are as much a character in the story as any of the humans.
It's a complex and intriguing mystery story. It's also the last of a multi-book series and the only one that I have read to date. I had no difficulty reading it as a standalone.
This Detective Inspector Jimmy Perez murder mystery begins with the suspicious death of a twenty-something family nanny. Her body has been staged to make it seem as if she hanged herself, but it soon is apparent that she was strangled. The hanging is particularly sinister because a man
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hanged himself at the same place a few months before this one was found.The ensuing investigation reunites Perez with his commanding officer, Willow Reeves. It's a tense reunion because of a personal and intimate relationship they developed in the previous novel. The pair struggle with their feelings in this story, and only resolve them at the end of this book.
The investigation also takes Perez and his colleagues into the lives of the victim, Emma Shearer, and several other residents of Shetland Island. The Island and its rural way of life serves as an atmospheric background for the story, and are as much a character in the story as any of the humans.
It's a complex and intriguing mystery story. It's also the last of a multi-book series and the only one that I have read to date. I had no difficulty reading it as a standalone.
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LibraryThing member pennykaplan
An English family moves to the Shetland islands in the hopes it will be better for their autistic son, but then their nanny is found hanged, and suspicions spread like wildfire. A bit convoluted in the denouement, but the setting and characters are great. New developments on the Jimmy and Willow
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front. Show Less
LibraryThing member Carol420
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
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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. Show Less
LibraryThing member atticusfinch1048
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
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 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.
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
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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 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.
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LibraryThing member diana.hauser
WILD FIRE by Ann Cleeves is a Shetland Mystery (#8, I believe).
I purchased the book many months previous when it was first published, but I was reluctant to actually read the book. I wanted to savor it, just knowing that it was on my shelf. Ms. Cleeves had announced that this was the last book in
I did love the book (as expected) and I was left not feeling sad, but rather feeling satisfied and content. All the main characters - Jimmy, Sandy, Willow, Cassie, Duncan - all seemed to be in a ‘good place’. They seemed stable, mature, satisfied with work and life and willing to put aside the past for a tentative step into the future. Ms. Cleeves tied up many loose ends which almost left the plot secondary to our characters’ relationships.
As in all the previous Shetland Mystery books, very detailed and likable (though often troubled) main characters are skillfully described. The sense of place/location is interesting and powerful; Shetlanders - their customs, characters and geography - take center stage. The plots, the policing, the conversations all make for a remarkable series.
In WILD FIRE, a young woman was found hanged in the same barn where the previous owner of the property was found handed many years previous. The young woman, Emma, worked as a nanny to a wealthy, notable family and was a bit of a mysterious person.
Family life and relationships and parental situations were at the crux of the plot.
Thank you, Ms. Cleeves, for your wonderful gift of writing.
I purchased the book many months previous when it was first published, but I was reluctant to actually read the book. I wanted to savor it, just knowing that it was on my shelf. Ms. Cleeves had announced that this was the last book in
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the Shetland series, the last Jimmy Perez mystery. I think that all of her adoring fans were in a state of extreme mourning.I did love the book (as expected) and I was left not feeling sad, but rather feeling satisfied and content. All the main characters - Jimmy, Sandy, Willow, Cassie, Duncan - all seemed to be in a ‘good place’. They seemed stable, mature, satisfied with work and life and willing to put aside the past for a tentative step into the future. Ms. Cleeves tied up many loose ends which almost left the plot secondary to our characters’ relationships.
As in all the previous Shetland Mystery books, very detailed and likable (though often troubled) main characters are skillfully described. The sense of place/location is interesting and powerful; Shetlanders - their customs, characters and geography - take center stage. The plots, the policing, the conversations all make for a remarkable series.
In WILD FIRE, a young woman was found hanged in the same barn where the previous owner of the property was found handed many years previous. The young woman, Emma, worked as a nanny to a wealthy, notable family and was a bit of a mysterious person.
Family life and relationships and parental situations were at the crux of the plot.
Thank you, Ms. Cleeves, for your wonderful gift of writing.
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LibraryThing member pierthinker
Ann Cleeves’s Shetland series featuring the detective Jimmy Perez has been very successful, not least because of the sensitive treatment of the books and characters in the BBC TV series, Shetland. This volume, Wild Fire, is the eighth and last book in the series.
A young girl is found murdered in
There are several plausible suspects and motives to keep the reader off balance throughout and the real killer and motive are only revealed at the very end of the book. Cleeves keeps us guessing throughout and the remoteness of the Shetland community and the entanglements of people living in these closed communities is well done. I did feel there was a lack of threat or menace to keep the tension going.
A young girl is found murdered in
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the same location as and in a similar manner to a recent suicide. The girl had a connection to the family living where her body was found and lived and worked with another family close by. Both families are recent arrivals in a small and close-knit rural community in Shetland.There are several plausible suspects and motives to keep the reader off balance throughout and the real killer and motive are only revealed at the very end of the book. Cleeves keeps us guessing throughout and the remoteness of the Shetland community and the entanglements of people living in these closed communities is well done. I did feel there was a lack of threat or menace to keep the tension going.
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LibraryThing member edwardsgt
Unfortunately the last in the Shetland series the author says she is writing and Jimmy Perez will be sorely missed! Another fascinating insight into the lives and characters of Shetlanders and incomers living there as Jimmy investigates the murder of a nanny found hanging in a derelict barn. He
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tries to penetrate a wall of silence to determine a motive with the help of his boss from Inverness (and some time lover) DCI Willow Reeves. As usual the author manages to weave a plot which leaves the reader guessing until the final pages who is responsible and why, having left several red herrings en route. Highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member thornton37814
Jimmy Perez is called out to investigate the death of a nanny found hanging in the same barn as a man who committed suicide. Suspicion rests on the family owning the barn who has an autistic son, the family who employed her, and on a young man who was seen with the young woman a few times and his
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mother. Jimmy calls in DCI Willow Reeves from Edinburgh; however, their relationship becomes strained when she tells him she's bearing his child. Sandy plays a more significant role in this investigation than in earlier ones. Cleeves did an excellent job casting suspicions to other suspects. The autistic boy finds another corpse during the investigation. Fortunately the puzzle pieces fall into place for the detectives before additional deaths take place. I'm sad to see this series end. I see a potential for two spin-off series using some of the series characters although I doubt those will materialize. Show Less
LibraryThing member RajivC
This book is, in my view, flawed, especially since this is Jimmy's final appearance. The essential premise is good, with murder and rumor being the main theme. The girl found hanging soon after the start of the book is the subject of abuse, as we see.
Willow announces she is pregnant and this
I was not convinced by the climax, the same way I was not convinced by the climax of "Cold Earth".
Anyway, Sandy Wilson finds love, and through all their troubles, Jimmy and Willow find each other. They are finally at peace with each other at the end, and this is good. The final image of them together as the boat approaches home clearly indicates that they will find happiness with each other.
Ann Cleeves has portrayed Jimmy as an emotionally troubled person, especially after Fran's death. I think she over played that hand. I am glad she sorted it in the end.
Willow announces she is pregnant and this
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throws Jimmy off his game to the point where he cannot concentrate. This is sad because she shows Jimmy and Willow running around like two headless chickens. I was not convinced by the climax, the same way I was not convinced by the climax of "Cold Earth".
Anyway, Sandy Wilson finds love, and through all their troubles, Jimmy and Willow find each other. They are finally at peace with each other at the end, and this is good. The final image of them together as the boat approaches home clearly indicates that they will find happiness with each other.
Ann Cleeves has portrayed Jimmy as an emotionally troubled person, especially after Fran's death. I think she over played that hand. I am glad she sorted it in the end.
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LibraryThing member AMKitty
A mother’s helper is found hanging in the barn of a croft, newly purchased and renovated by soothmoothers. The family has not integrated well to the island, in part because the Shetlander from whom they bought the property hanged himself in the barn and partly because the son’s autism marks him
Willow returns to help Jimmy and Sandy track down the young woman’s killer against this background of a community shocked by the murder and outsiders who immediately fall under suspicion.
This novel, like the other Shetland mysteries, is well written and beautifully plotted. It provides good closure for what the author announces in the opening acknowledgements is the final volume for this series. I will miss not reading more about Jimmy, Sandy, and Willow solving crimes; it was a fun ride while it lasted.
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as different from other children. Willow returns to help Jimmy and Sandy track down the young woman’s killer against this background of a community shocked by the murder and outsiders who immediately fall under suspicion.
This novel, like the other Shetland mysteries, is well written and beautifully plotted. It provides good closure for what the author announces in the opening acknowledgements is the final volume for this series. I will miss not reading more about Jimmy, Sandy, and Willow solving crimes; it was a fun ride while it lasted.
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LibraryThing member brangwinn
Well, nothing like starting with the last book in a series. It must be a great series since I enjoyed the last book. Great character development as well as creating a setting that enables the reader to understand the remoteness of the island, and appreciate the sense of community such a rural area
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enables. Jimmy, the protagonist in this series is well-thought out. His devotion to caring for the young daughter of his deceased wife plays a major role in this story as it probably does in the rest of the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
THe author has announced this is the last of the series. While the ending is one that works for me, I thought it seemed like the author was running out of steam throughout this book, and just wanted to get it over with. I'm sorry to see the series end, and will always recommend them as a definite
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good read. Show Less
LibraryThing member gretchgriff
This series is a great audiobook go-to while I'm doing housework or otherwise not able to focus my full attention, but it kind of stumbled to the finish line in this final installment. Once again an accident/suicide is discovered to be a murder, and once again it sets off additional murders. The
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relationship between the murderer and their victim is more complicated this time around than in previous installments, but new twist in the mystery part of the book wasn't enough to make up for the exasperating romantic relationship side, which is tedious and repetitive. Show Less
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Mystery — 2019)
Theakstons Old Peculier Prize (Longlist — 2019)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2018
Physical description
416 p.; 8.56 inches
ISBN
1250124840 / 9781250124845