Customer Reviews

Wildfire at Midnight

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Gianetta Brook has had a rough go of it. Lovely, red-haired and seemingly a London jet-setter, she is actually a vulnerable young woman with a sterling set of ethics and lingering loyalties. Her romantic history, however, is disappointing. As a younger model, awash with the glow of new-found fame, she meets writer Nicholas Drury, 10 years her senior. Sardonic and handsome, he sweeps her away in a whirlwind courtship that ends in a swift marriage doomed to fail as she believes he only sees her slick model's veneer and not the innocent girl beneath the gloss. Four years later, Gianetta finds herself divorced, still modeling and utterly exhausted by her seemingly sophisticated life. A vacation to the isle of Skye in the Hebrides is recommended by her well-meaning parents. Especially as she wants to avoid the coronation throngs crowding London in May of 1953, Gianetta quickly accepts their advise. Within days she finds herself at the small Camas Fhionnaridh Hotel at the foot of the Cuillin where fishing and climbing is the order of the day and the fast pace of London is left far behind her. Or so she thinks. Instead of peace and quiet, she is first assaulted by the advent of her ex-husband, then by the fact that all of the company staying in the hotel are actually suspected of being a killer who has murdered a local girl in a bizarre ritualistic way involving the Old Religion's tradition of setting wildfire in honor of the Beltane. In the styple of a classic Agatha Christie drawing room police procedural, Gianetta's values are put to the test as the local police enlist her aid in creating their dragnet and the clues begin to point unerringly towards identifying Nicholas as the unknown murderer.
Ever present in this well-written story is Mary Stewart's evident love of nature and her uncanny ability to impose on the reader's mind's eye the majesty of the Scottish Hebrides--the towering mountains, the misty bogs and the glittering lochs. Her expert juxtaposition of the modern day coronation ceremony with the Highland lore of old is scintillating in that it evokes an intelligent Hitchcockian anticipation and delightfully squeamish dread of what is to come as one turns to the next page. Most of the romance takes place outside the bounds of the novel; the reader must conjur up his/her own imagery of the couples relationship before and after the actual storyline. For those who liked Du Maurier's Jamaica Inn, I think Wildfire at Midnight will equally enthrall.

When I was a child in the 1970s we were on a holiday on the west coast of Scotland and by chance, taking refuge in the car from the torrential summer downpour in the barren square of Portree, my father turned on the radio. What came on was a creepy, disturbing drama set on Skye. A young woman, the only visitor to this country hotel not on the suspect list for a grizzly murder is sitting in the dead of night by the unconscious body of another would-be victim of the murderer. "How appropriate!" my mother laughed, and we listened on. The landscape of the story was the same landscape that was around me, though I couldn't see it for the rain, and there were strange characters, a crazed climber, beltane fires and murder. I thought it was great and it really, really stayed with me. It was years later that I read Wildfire at Midnight and realised that this was the self-same story I'd heard as a child. It's cracking, unashamedly romantic, but really rather well written. A good read for a sick day tucked up on the sofa, or a quiet night in. Mary Stewart's great - if only new pulp fiction could manage the same alluring balance of literary poise and good swash-buckling plots. No one else does it as well.

This is my favourite Mary Stewart Novel. Gianetta is getting away from a bad marriage. He thought her the perfect, mature spouse, instead she was a young, insecure woman in love and he betrays her. Getting away from it all, she takes a vacation to the Isle of Skye, in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. There she finds a mix of fellow guests, but her peaceful vacation meant to repair her soul is shattered when her ex husband arrives.

It is as moody and atmospheric as the Isle itself, and grows darker as they soon discover there is a madman aloose in the group, killing people in ancient pagan fashion. As they near the Pagan Holiday of Beltaine (May Day) where bonfires were lit high in the hills, she fears that madman may be her exhusand.

A super timeless read that you will never forget.

This review relates to the printed, not audio, book. This is one of the better Mary Stewarts. She writes what I suppose might be termed romantic suspense, or modern gothic romances. A heroine has to solve a mystery, avoid a danger and find the love of her life. Some Mary Stewarts are just too precious, but this one just escapes that fate. The essential ingredients of suspense, good story-telling and well-drawn characters are all here - and these qualities on their own would make this book a pleasurable enough read. But what makes this book stand out for me is her highly evocative depiction of the Isle of Skye. The Scottish Highlands are generally great fodder for mood writing, and Ms Stewart really milks the romance, majesty and mystery of the Cuillin mountains. It was years after I read this book that I finally clapped eyes on the Cuillin mountains, one quiet late afternoon on a sunny summer's day; yet thanks largely to Ms Stewart I felt my spine tingle with the magic of the moment.

Page 51, "The whispering stopped. It stopped as abruptly as an engine shuts off steam. Silence dropped like a blanket, so that in a matter of seconds the memory of the sound seemed illusory, while the silence itself surged with millions of whisperings, all equally unreal. But the sense of desperation was still there, even in the silence. It was as if the stillness were a held breath, that might burst at any moment in a scream."

Page 142, "I turned to look back at Blaven, only to find that the mist was, indeed, rolling down the slopes behind us like a tide of smoking lava. Blaven was already invisible, and a great wall of mist bore steadily across the glen behind us, obliterating the afternoon."

Can that woman write or not? Seeking relief from her hectic life as a model as well as the crush for the 1953 coronation, divorcee Gianetta leaves London for a vacation at a rustic resort on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, although she's a bit flummoxed at the surprise appearance of her ex-husband Nicholas Drury as one of the inn's guests. Gianetta soon finds herself in the midst of a murder mystery with a dead body or two and suspects everywhere - a local girl was murdered in a ritual resembling the ancient Beltane rites.

Soon two female guests disappear while climbing Blaven - but who was the third person seen heading towards the mountain with them? Could Gianetta be marked as the next victim? Inquiring minds want to know, but I am not telling - read it for yourself. This was a fabulous fast paced read and Stewart keeps you guessing to the very end with a doozy of a nail-biting finish set amongst the swirling mists, shifting bogs and the rocky crags of the Cuillin on the Isle of Skye. Written in the 1950's its a bit dated in places (I just cringed every time someone tossed a cigarette but down the mountainside) but other than that another solid read from Dame Mary Stewart.

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 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.

Wildfire at Midnight is a nicely-done suspense story about a beautiful fashion model who, wanting a rest from the stress of her job and the hustle and bustle of London, decides to take a vacation in the very remote Isle of Skye region of Scotland. Little does she know that it will be anything but relaxing; she steps into a situation rife with tension, as a murder has occurred just prior to her arrival, and the investigation is still ongoing; thus every man staying at her hotel (one of whom just happens to be her ex-husband) is a suspect. Adding to the tension are the undercurrents between various men and women staying at the hotel, Gianetta's dismay at seeing her ex again after four years, and the additional murders that occur while she is there.

The suspense in this book is nicely done, if somewhat mild. That is, it is far from obvious at the outset who the murderer is. However, by the time the culprit is revealed it isn't at all surprising, due to the clues that Stewart has dropped along the way. I call the suspense mild because the revelation of the murderer lacks the shock value of, say, some of Mary Higgins Clark's early works (not her later works which are totally lame). However, Mary Stewart is a different kind of suspense writer; hers is a blend of suspense, literature (which is very well done, as her prose is lyrical) and romance (which is a little weak in this particular book).

This book, as all of Stewart's that I've read so far, is somewhat dated: the constant smoking, for instance. Also, some of the slang and cultural references in the characters' dialogue is a little puzzling; I'm sure it was crystal clear to a 1950s British reader, but it's foreign to a 21st century reader in California. Nevertheless, Stewart's writing is good enough that it is still highly readable today. In fact, I find the dated quality of her books somewhat charming.

This book is not a keeper for me, because I will not read it again. Not because there is anything wrong with it, but because once I know whodunit, why would I want to ever re-read it? But if you like suspense stories that are a beautiful blend of mystery and literature and that transport you to another time and place, this one is for you.

I must admit that when I first read this book years ago, I didn't like it. Now that time has past, I see it in a different light, more as the story of Gianetta and Nick, with a chilling mystery casting a pall over them. The descriptions of Skye sound breathtaking; I've yet to go there. But my kids just returned and assure me that Skye is amazing. They went there on my recommendation based on the book. I'll go there someday myself, I hope, to stay at the base of the Cuillins.

If you appreciate an 'old fashioned' tale free of graphic intimacy and violence, if you appreciate vivid description, romance and intrigue this is for you. I read all but one of Mary Stewart's books in my early twenty's through late thirties. Now, nearing seventy, I am rereading them and cherishing the stories I read in my young years. I have divested myself of hundreds of books. Mary Stewart's remain a constant. "Wildfire at Midnight" tells of a young divorcee, unusual in Ms. Stewart's books, traveling to the Isle of Skye to recover from and get over her ex. BUT...he is in the same hotel on the remote Isle. Like many of Ms. Stewart's work murder has been done, intrigue and danger abound and one is constantly wondering WHO DID IT? a good read.

I loved this book! It is a great example of Mary Stewart's ability to create suspense and atmosphere in writing. I only wish that she would write another book sometime. I don't even know if she is still around.