Wild Fire is the eighth book in the Shetland series by Ann Cleeves. If you happen to have watched the Shetland series, you’ll know the answer to the mystery in this book, as it’s one of the stories that was adapted for the series. That was the case for me. I still enjoyed the story immensely, particularly the very different direction the book takes with Inspector Jimmy Perez’s personal life.

A family has moved to the Shetland Islands from London, looking for a fresh start. The Flemings are quite well-off. Their son, Christopher, is on the autism spectrum, and it hasn’t been easy for him. The family employs a Nanny as well. When the previous owner of their home apparently hangs himself in their barn, it causes an uproar with the local population. One of the things you can count on in a closed, rural community is gossip, which spreads like wildfire, hence the title.

Helena Fleming begins finding drawings of a hangman’s noose in their mail. She’s not happy with the relocation, after having thought it would be better. When Christopher discovers Emma, the Nanny, also hanging in the barn, Jimmy Perez knows there’s something nefarious going on. He calls in Willow Reeves from the mainland to help. Willow comes bearing news for Jimmy on a personal level that he receives in a surprisingly negative way.

Helena’s chief antagonist is a woman named Margaret Riddell. She seems to be nothing more than a bitter, jealous woman who has targeted the family for some unknown reason. She’s particularly got herself in a knot about Christopher. Margaret’s son, Magnie, was seeing Emma. Is that the key to the mystery?

I found Wild Fire to be more Willow’s case than Jimmy’s, although his presence is definitely felt. Willow seems to be the one advancing the case, despite the news she’s brought Jimmy. That he receives her news so badly is something of a shock to those of us who have gotten to know him through eight books. It seems out of character for him, at first. As he spends time alone throughout the investigation, his thoughts reveal themselves and help him work through the situation to the point that his reaction becomes understandable.

Cleeves does a terrific job intertwining the advances in the personal lives of characters readers have grown to know through the series with this investigation. Both Willow and Jimmy are facing life-altering changes while at the same time having to concentrate on the deaths they are investigating. Not just them, but others we have grown to know on the police force are also becoming more than what they were and finding more meaning in their lives. It feels natural while keeping the investigation and information flowing. It’s Willow who begins piecing together what happened to Emma, rather than Jimmy and his relentless quest for more information with his interviewing techniques. His quiet thoughtfulness while interviewing people usually leads to silences that people feel the need to fill by giving him more than they intended.

As usual, Cleeves manages to capture the isolation as well as the beauty of the Shetland Islands. The scenery is much the same for the people who live there and don’t venture off-island enough. They do not appreciate the beauty of it the way someone who doesn’t live there will. It’s a place where you can easily get lost inside yourself, while at the same time having the feeling of everyone knowing everything. Neighbors are a necessary evil to some, and with the insularity of the community, few people won’t make each other’s acquaintance. She captures it all so well with the descriptive text that flows and creates a beautiful setting to appreciate, while at the same time having a note of caution. There is no real idyllic community, as the gossip mongers attack the new family, who probably thought living there would be a dream come true.

The audiobook is narrated by Kenny Blyth. I like that he doesn’t try to make the characters each have a distinctive voice. There are some subtle changes of tone to differentiate between them, but he doesn’t go overboard trying to infuse the voices with more femininity or masculinity. It’s also not a giveaway on the character’s motivation. He could have descended into a nasal air of superiority to voice a known gossip, and he didn’t, which helped me discover the character’s traits on my own rather than inferring it from how he presented it. I prefer this style of narration to those who try too hard to be the varying characters.

I did very much enjoy Wild Fire, although the story will be different going forward from here. The mystery really took a while to figure out, which was nice. I had no idea from the beginning how it was going to end. The characters are all rich and well-developed, including the new ones. It’s a story where past resentments and bitterness over the choices one makes in the past have an impact on the present.

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