Wild Fire

Wild Fire by Ann Cleeves

Helena Fleming seemed to have randomly turned up on DI Jimmy Perez’s doorstep, but there wasn’t anything random about it.  She was concerned about the notes which she had been receiving.  They were drawings of the hangman game.  Was it related to something that had happened in the past or was there something more sinister?

A few days later, Helena’s son finds a young woman hanging in their byre.  It was the nanny who worked nearby for the local GP.  It isn’t long after her call that Perez and the GP, Robert Moncrief, are on the scene.  Perez recognises immediately that it’s not a suicide.

Perez sends his DS, Sandy Wilson, to examine the dead woman’s room and car.  Wilson feels that there is something suspicious about the car.  Perez has requested his superior, Willow Reeves, to be the SIO.  She brings shocking news with her. She is pregnant and Perez is the father.  How will this news affect Perez’s ability to investigate?

As the investigation progresses, the team interviews several potential suspects.  A couple of days later another woman is found strangled.  Could it have been because she had been spreading rumours about the young victim?

Will there be more victims before the team can solve the mystery?  Author Ann Cleeves has the mystery unravel in an unusual way, which will leave the reader somewhat surprised.  Another good murder mystery by this author.