The Wilds by Sarah Pearse is the final book in the Detective Elin Warner trilogy, a series of mysteries following one troubled detective and her quest for truth. Each book in the series follows a new case in a new location, and this case is just as gripping as the rest and makes for an excellent mystery read.
With the previous two books in this series, especially the second one, it took me a moment to really get into them and settle into the setting and the story. That was not the case with The Wilds. I was hooked very quickly, and immediately engaged with the places and people in this story.
At the beginning, this story reminded me of the Gabby Petito case, the story of a woman who disappeared on a vanlife trip across the United States with her fiancé. The story is not at all a retelling of these events, but it does involve several characters living in their vans, so after the massive press that case got, the connection was easily made.
Kier is an artist, living in her van with her boyfriend Zeph. The story picks up in 2018, in Devon, where Kier has returned to her hometown for her twin brother’s wedding. Kier isn’t happy in Devon. She is much more comfortable traveling around Europe, never settling down, in an effort to outrun her horrific childhood. Her boyfriend Zeph was a successful New York City chef until his aggressive methods in the kitchen saw him ousted from his restaurant.
In October 2021, Detective Elin Warner goes on a trip to Portugal with her brother, hoping to reconnect. But Isaac also wants her to look into the disappearance of his friend’s twin sister, Kier, and the campsite in Portugal that they happen to be visiting is where she was last seen.
The Detective Elin Warner series is marked by its atmospheric settings, and this woodsy campsite in Portugal is perhaps the best one yet. While you’re reading you can feel the fog weaving through the trees, feel the roar of the waterfall, and hear the crunch of fall leaves. It’s truly magnificent the way this campsite comes to life.
The plot of this book is relatively straightforward, and the twists are more like gentle weaving curves than hard-line turns. The author leads her readers on a journey through the events of this story, and while nothing a few things are truly shocking, many of the new pieces of information revealed feel like pieces fitting right into a puzzle. It’s a different kind of approach for a thrilling mystery novel, but one I really appreciated in this story.
The Wilds plays with the idea of an unreliable narrator, and the reader is never quite sure which of these characters is hiding something sinister, but the dual perspectives of Kier and Elin reveal two complex, interesting women with a story to tell.
The Wilds was my favorite book in this series. This case is deeply personal for everyone involved, and it makes the story feel meaningful and weighted. This book ties up loose ends in the series in a way that doesn’t feel rushed, and it ends with a sense of deep catharsis. The Sanatorium is perfect for winter, The Retreat is perfect for spring and summer, but The Wilds feels like a crisp fall, and it’s worth reading any time of the year.
Writing: 5
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