Reviews

The Chessmen by Peter May

mschwartz's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

rmichno's review against another edition

4.0

This wasn't my favorite book in the series, but it did have the usual mix of good writing, interesting characters and enough of a mystery to keep me interested.

I like Fin and in this book we learn a lot more about his past, which I think helped flesh out his character. But I'm still not sure I always understood his motivations or some of his decisions. Perhaps if the books were written in a first-person narration that would explain more.

I liked the overall mystery but I almost bumped this down to 3 stars because the ending felt rushed. Several big revelations got crammed into the end and I didn't feel like they were resolved in a satisfying way.

But I'll definitely look into more books by this author in the future.

fionadinw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

emme_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

okenwillow's review against another edition

5.0

Mieux qu’un polar, Peter May nous offre un puissant polar social à la Ken Loach, avec misère, enfance difficile, souvenirs nostalgiques, poids de la religion et des traditions, relations humaines et sociales complexes. Peter May approfondit ses personnages avec un talent indéniable, l’atmosphère particulière des lieux est elle-aussi évoquée à la perfection, l’intrigue policière, si elle semble passer au second plan la plus grande partie du livre, n’est pas en reste, car si l’aspect humain de l’histoire prend les devants, le suspens n’est pas moins présent pour autant et la résolution de l’énigme est d’autant plus spectaculaire que l’on n’a pas l’impression de baigner dans un polar classique. Un vrai coup de cœur pour l’ensemble de la trilogie. Oui, carrément !

hollys_reading_therapy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

bookswithboo's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense

4.0

kurwaczytaj's review against another edition

5.0

Závěr trilogie z ostrova Lewis se autorovi povedl.

leighmowzer's review against another edition

2.0

Unfortunate ending of a trilogy. The never-ending addition of childhood stories, murders and new characters just became totally unbelievable and I completely lost interest. I wish you'd stopped at one Fin Macleod book, Peter May. Nothing wrong with a stand-alone book. Come on!

indydriven's review against another edition

4.0

The Chess Men is the third outing in the Lewis trilogy by Peter May. The main character, Fin MacLeod, has recently accepted a position to oversee security at a local estate; in particular, his job is to catch salmon poachers. He has been advised by his boss that Whistler MacAskill, an old friend of Fin’s has been poaching on the estate and he wants Fin to ensure that it stops. Fin follows Whistler one night across the moors until a fierce storm hits and Whistler saves Fin’s life by hauling him into a temporary shelter. The next morning when they emerge from the cave, their eyes cannot believe what they see – the loch has been completely drained and is just a huge muddy hole. Even more strange is that in that muddy hole where the loch was is a light aircraft that went missing 17 years ago, along with the skeletal remains of Fin’s friend, Roddy MacKenzie. A natural weather phenomenon explains where the water from the loch went during the storm, however, the reasons why Roddy MacKenzie and his plane are at the bottom of the loch is another matter.

I have really enjoyed reading this trilogy set in the Outer Hebrides. I thought they were well written and that there was really good character development, especially with Fin MacLeod. I recommend anyone picking up this series if you like mystery and atmospheric reads.