Wildfire at Midnight

Wildfire at Midnight is a novel by Mary Stewart which was first published in 1956.[1] Stewart herself described the book as "an attempt at something different, the classic closed-room detective story with restricted action, a biggish cast, and a closely circular plot".[2]

First edition
(publ. Hodder & Stoughton)
Cover art by Eleanor Poore

Synopsis

Fashion model Gianetta Brooke leaves her usual glamorous surroundings to go on holiday to the Scottish island of Skye, only to find that her ex-husband, writer Nicholas Drury, is staying at the same hotel in Camasunary.[3] Set against the backdrop of recent events at the time of publication—the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and the Hillary expedition that was the first to reach the summit of Mount Everest—this romantic suspense novel now has a "bygone era" sense of time and place.

After two murders take place locally, suspicion falls on the hotel guests, who include an aging "femme-fatale" star stage actress, a possessive mountaineer and her ingenue apprentice, and a writer of travel guides. Gianetta, above suspicion due to her more recent arrival at the hotel, finds herself divided when assisting the police, torn between old loyalties and her clear civic duty.

The mystery component lightly blends 1953 news events with mountaineering, druid mythology and pagan ritual, along with conflicting views about the conquering of nature: heroic progress or human arrogance? Add in a dash of Separate Tables interaction among the guests at the hotel and mix in a killer among them for traditionally entertaining suspense intrigue.

References
  1. Mary Stewart novels
  2. "Teller of Tales" (The Writer, Volume 83, No. 5, May 1970
  3. The Romantic Armchair Traveller
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