Excellent

As with all of Mary Stewart's books, the story is terrific, and characters are well drawn. The performance was great, right down to the tough-to-do Scottish accents. I just wish more of Ms. Stewart's books were available.

12 people found this helpful

So excited!

I’ve been wanting Mary Stewart books on audible for years! I couldn’t believe it when I logged in to use my last credit and saw that they now are. This is one of my favorite stories from her, because it’s set in Scotland - in Skye. The narrator did a great job, I thought. Can’t wait to read the next one.

4 people found this helpful

Great to see this writer being re-released

Memorable for those of us who were around in the 1960’s and read Ms Stewart’s books. Her talent is on par with Agatha Christie and surpasses her as a romantic mystery writer. I’m waiting for many of her other books to come out in audio. She weaves a brilliant picture of place and yet it is timeless.

4 people found this helpful

Suspense and romance in the highlands of Scotland.

Wildfire at Midnight by Mary Stewart is an evocative mystery set on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. This audio book is excellently narrated by the talented Lucy Paterson. To say this book is captivating, is an understatement! It’s very exciting, the Scottish scenery is fantastic and the characters are so interesting! It’s a fabulous book! I highly recommend it.

4 people found this helpful

Entertaining listen but weak character development

This review contains dome spoilers. The performance was a wonderfully entertaining listen with the narrator’s voices beautifully portraying the characters’ personalities in a believable manner. The story was weak, however, with suspense due to the protagonist’s own stupidity and panic. She is the weakest and least perceptive of any of Stewart’s heroines. Not until the very end does she show any sort of sense and then only briefly. Her ex husband is manipulative and emotionally abusive which is never dealt with adequately. Slightly abusive men are a recurring character in Stewart’s work. I suppose these men are more real than others. There really are only human beings, not the stereotypical “knights in shining armor” types. This story more than most brings this out. While the abuse is acknowledged, how it is dealt with is not obvious from the text. In fact, the heroine continues to take responsibility for others’ bad behavior, and the ex husband continues to treat her badly through the end of the story. It only stops after she almost dies and with a rather lame sounding apology. Showing how both characters had grown and worked out their problems would have made this a better book. Having said all this, I still enjoyed Stewart’s vivid descriptions of places I will never be able to visit. I like the way she writes, with sentence that are a kind of meal to themselves. As noted, the narrator was wonderful so I was glad for the slight escape into the Scottish mountains.

2 people found this helpful

A dark thriller from the 1950s

A lot darker than most of Mary Stewart's books. The murders are a bit gruesome with just a little bit of romance to lighten it up a bit. Set on the Island of Skye in Scotland in 1953. There is a serial murder on the loose who must be one of the small group at the hotel. Who can you trust and where can you hide? It reads like an Agatha Christie thriller. The narrator did a lovely job, especially with the accents.

2 people found this helpful

Great mystery

Mary Stewart was an extraordinary writer and this traveling murder mystery is an exemplary example. The twists, red herrings, and suspense are grippingly fascinating. As is often the case in Mary Stewart’s mysteries, our intrepid heroine is an ordinary woman traveling somewhere and due to her bad timing and inherent decency ends up involved in a mystery, often with murder involved, and helps solve the case. She often blunders a bit and ends up discovering the murderer while in a perilous situation. The scenery and people are written so beautifully that it is easy to get caught up in the story and see the the mountains, crevasses, choppy sea and wind blown heather and envision the characters. The narrator was smooth and expressive although the individual voices were not all easily discerned. There were many different voices though and to her credit she was consistent with the inflections and dialects as a whole.

1 person found this helpful

Great Narrative

Mary Stewart is such a good storyteller. This is one of her earlier works and really give color to Great Britain in the 1950s. Enough mystery and suspense for a good story.

1 person found this helpful

This is why audio books are so good...

When you come across a story so well written that it comes alive every time you hear it, it’s worth taking the time to praise it. Mary Stewart is in class by herself as a writer. Her rich, descriptive phrasing brings the most commonplace activities (walking, drinking a cocktail or running into the arms of your despicable ex-husband 😄) to life. One of my favorite passages (among many) is when Gianetta meets the beautiful actress, Marcia Maling. The narrator conveys both the sophistication and lovely humor that springs up between the women in a matter of minutes. Speaking of the narrator, Lucy Paterson, she not only has to voice beautiful English women, but Scottish Highlander cooks, mountain climbers and shy policemen. She’s fabulous! The story unfolds over 5 days and is an enjoyable listen again and again.

A Bit Dated, But Still a Favorite!

I first read this in the late 60's---my all things Mary Stewart/Phyllis Whitney phase, just after my Perry Mason novels phase. Yes, the heroine's actions are a little dated, but when it was written in the late 50's, it was almost feminist in perspective! I enjoyed the descriptive writing & the narrator was spot on. Aside from a few feminist cringes on my part, I still really enjoyed the story.