Wildfire At Midnight

Wildfire at Midnight/ Mary Stewart
London: Coronet, 1972, c1956.
224 p.

I read a lot of Mary Stewart when I was younger - I always liked romantic suspense, and she was one of the best. But somehow I missed this one on my first encounters with her writing. It's not one of the best she's ever done, but when I read it recently I still enjoyed it. 

It's set on the Isle of Skye during the summer of 1952 -- Giannetta, a young fashion model, has left the crush of London leading up to the Queen's coronation, to get some R&R at a remote Scottish hotel. She is dismayed when she arrives to find that her philandering ex-husband is also a guest, along with a mixed bag of other English guests. It's a bit "And Then There Were None", as Giannetta soon discovers that everyone is on edge, since a young local girl was murdered on the mountainside shortly before she arrived. 

Then another murder happens, and like before there is a ritualistic element to it. It seems clear that it had to have been one of the guests, although who is still a mystery. Unfortunately for Giannetta, the murderer has now turned his attention to her. 

There is a lot of good stuff in this one - great descriptive passages of the Scottish countryside and especially the fog, which plays a vital role in the conclusion in a hair-raising chase through blinding fog and bogs, with Giannetta trying to elude a killer. The identity of the murderer is also well concealed and not easily guessable, which makes the story much more dramatic. 

But, it is also set in the 50s and there are some very retro opinions on marriage and a woman's right to complain when her husband strays. (ie: don't). Giannetta and her ex, Nicholas, have prickly encounters throughout the book but we can all see where this is going: she takes him back, even though his character seems bland and boring compared to most of the others, and he's never really made that appealing to the reader. There are a couple of other slightly less jarring elements due to the era but otherwise this is a rather spooky read. The murders are really chilling and Stewart doesn't romanticize the 'ritual' element; they really are sad and awful. 

A good read for a wet and windy Autumn night, when you want to spook yourself just a little, and don't mind some 50s marital advice crowding in to the otherwise readable story.