Thursday, August 16, 2012

{review} wildfire at midnight

Argh! My internet has been playing up at home. I've set up some posts to go out automatically, but my commenting will likely be sporadic. Frustrating...

Mary Stewart Wildfire at Midnight (1956)
So we faced each other, the murderer and I, marooned together… alone together, above the silent world, on the mountain where already he had sent three people to their deaths.
He was smiling still… He liked me, and he was going to kill me. He was sorry, but he was going to kill me.

Another satisfying Mary Stewart book, with plenty of red herrings, a spot of old and new romance, lovely scenery (Skye), some nasty murders, and a smart, beautifully dressed heroine (Titian hair, exotic name) who isn't afraid to do that INCREDIBLY ANNOYING THING WHERE YOU WANDER OFF BY YOURSELF EVEN THOUGH THERE'S A MANIAC ON THE LOOSE

Oh, sorry, spoiler...

Rating: Sometimes well-done predictability is what one wants in a book.

If you liked this... I liked this one much more than Nine Coaches Waiting and Touch Not the Cat and nearly as much as The Moonspinners or My Brother Michael. I've reviewed some of them here. Then again, I'm currently reading The Ivy Tree and wondering if that is going to be my absolute favourite.

10 comments:

  1. I have Nine Coaches Waiting here to read. That will be my first Mary Stewart.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Marg - from other reviews I get the impression that most people love Nine Coaches Waiting. It left me a little cold, but do give it a go. It is a pretty typical Stewart.

      Delete
  2. Madam Will You Talk is my all time favourite, but the Greek series is very good (including This Rough Magic, with life-saving dolphin!). Have you ever read Wind Off the Small Isles? It is the only one that isn't reprinted and sounds v. interesting but I've not yet managed to get hold of a copy.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Anne! I loved Madam Will You Talk - I thought the setting was perfect and one of my fantasies is looking cool and perfectly coiffured when the temperature is a million degrees. My Brother Michael was my favourite 'Greek' one. (Never did like dolphins!) I'll keep an eye out for Wind Off.. - it's fearsomely expensive secondhand.

      Delete
  3. So glad to have encountered another Mary Stewart fan! I am reading This Rough Magic now and have Stormy Petrel waiting on my nightstand. A couple of bloggers have mentioned that they think The Ivy Tree is the weakest Stewart they've read so I'll be interested to see your thoughts.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Anbolyn! I've finished The Ivy Tree now and really thought it was very good - very dark and with quite a complex plot, but all the familiar Mary Stewart elements of lost loves and so on. Quite different in tone to This Rough Magic, though. And no dolphins...

      Delete
  4. I love Mary Stewart, though I haven't read this book yet. I really enjoyed both Nine Coaches Waiting and Touch Not the Cat, so I'll be interested to see if I agree with you that this one is better!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think the magic/second-sight element of Touch Not the Cat really put me off that one. I've finished The Ivy Tree now and if you like a dark Mary Stewart, it's really worth reading.

      Delete
  5. This is my favourite Mary Stewart although I haven;t read them all. Glad you liked it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It really had all the ingredients you want from a Mary Stewart, didn't it, Sarah? A really 'classic' form of her work, I thought.

      Delete

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