What I like about May’s style is that it feels so real. The tone set for the book is quite depressing in parts but it’s evocative. It’s not a rapid read like a traditional thriller, though you want to continue reading because it’s compelling. May’s writing is so fluid that it pulls you into the story. You don’t usually get this kind of wonderful writing in crime fiction. I really enjoyed the balance between character driven elements and solving the murder. As the story unfolds there are some surprising twist and turns as we build up to the end. Intricately plotted, what won me over are the surprises in the book. The bleakness of the Isle of Lewis combined with the intriguing story line just makes it a fantastic read. What drew me into The Blackhouse was the setting. The Blackhouse gives you an impressive story line set in the Outer Hebrides.įin Macleod returns to the Isle of Lewis after being away from his home town of Crobost for nearly twenty years to investigate a gruesome murder that resembles another murder case that he is working on in Edinburgh.Ĭhildhood friends of Fin are interviewed for the investigation. And without a doubt, The Blackhouse has a great plot.

The best part of any murder mystery is who done it and why. The Chessmen and The Lewis Man are books 2 and 3 which I am looking forward to reading soon!

What a great book! The Black House is book one of the Lewis trilogy. I am over the moon to have stumbled upon Peter May’s The Blackhouse. I am so thrilled to have come across Tana French and now Peter May! Lately I have discovered some great authors. Synopsis from paperback book, 396 pages, copyright 2009 and published by Quercus.įind Peter May: Website | Facebook | Twitter Review: And every step forward in solving the murder takes him closer to a dangerous confrontation with the tragic events of the past that shaped–and nearly destroyed–Fin’s life. His return after nearly two decades not only represents a police investigation, but a voyage into his own troubled past.Īs Fin reconnects with the places and people of his tortured childhood, he feels the island once again asserting its grip on his psyche.

When a grisly murder occurs on the Isle of Lewis that has the hallmarks of a killing he’s investigating on the mainland, Edinburgh detective and native islander Fin Macleod is dispatched to see if the two deaths are connected.

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