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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
This is the first of three mysteries. I read the second first because it was a book group read, but really recommend reading them in order. As far as the mystery goes, it doesn't matter, but these are character driven books and their stories are told in layers and always pertain the mysteries. Highly recommend.
Once I gave it a chance I had a hard time putting it down.
This one's been on my 'to read' list for a while now and I'm so glad I've taken the time to read it. A 5 star read and so much more than a crime thriller. In fact, the crime and it's resolution is in a way secondary to the story line that follows Detective Sergeant Fin Macleod back to his childhood roots on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland. In a way this is quite a tragic story and while there are bits that were slightly unbelievable for me and ever so slightly cliche, I loved the depths that were transcended in Fin's character which created quite a strong connection for me with him.
Fin Macleod is a complex man whose life has been marred by tragedy and an event that draws him back to the island of his origin, gives him the opportunity to face everything he is repressing and denying. I loved being transported on the journey with Fin and I found myself resonating with him and in a small way being confronted by my own demons and things that are left unsaid and not spoken about. Fin's exchange with the son that he didn't realise he had (one of the slightly cliche bits for me), Fionnlagh, summed up how this story connected with me:
"Fin looked at him squarely. "Sometimes there are things about yourself that you just don't want to talk about." "Why?" "Because talking about them makes you think about them, and thinking about them hurts". p 287.
Set in the backdrop of the rugged, mystical and far flung Isle of Lewis, plagued by cold, dark and grey features, "The Blackhouse" gave me an insight into aspects of the human soul and the complexity of all of our journeys, marred by decisions that we don't know why we made, tragedies that befall us, and markers that direct our footsteps. The feelings that beset people, regrets that they hold are explored through the characters in this story. "The Blackhouse" is raw and provocative. A great read that will stay with me awhile and I look forward to reading the next two books in this trilogy.
Fin Macleod is a complex man whose life has been marred by tragedy and an event that draws him back to the island of his origin, gives him the opportunity to face everything he is repressing and denying. I loved being transported on the journey with Fin and I found myself resonating with him and in a small way being confronted by my own demons and things that are left unsaid and not spoken about. Fin's exchange with the son that he didn't realise he had (one of the slightly cliche bits for me), Fionnlagh, summed up how this story connected with me:
"Fin looked at him squarely. "Sometimes there are things about yourself that you just don't want to talk about." "Why?" "Because talking about them makes you think about them, and thinking about them hurts". p 287.
Set in the backdrop of the rugged, mystical and far flung Isle of Lewis, plagued by cold, dark and grey features, "The Blackhouse" gave me an insight into aspects of the human soul and the complexity of all of our journeys, marred by decisions that we don't know why we made, tragedies that befall us, and markers that direct our footsteps. The feelings that beset people, regrets that they hold are explored through the characters in this story. "The Blackhouse" is raw and provocative. A great read that will stay with me awhile and I look forward to reading the next two books in this trilogy.
Loved the setting and the characters. Some disappointments (feet of clay and all that) but I honestly didn't see the end despite some pretty strong pointers. Will read the other two.
"The whole truth would never leave the rock. It would stay here among the chaos of boulders and birds, whispered only in the wind."
A brilliant crime novel. The Blackhouse is my first novel by Peter May and I'm patiently waiting inline for the second book in the trilogy. The backdrop for the novel is in the remote northwestern island of Scotland, Isle of Lewis. Detective Inspector Fin MacLeod in Edinburgh, Lewis born and raised, was assigned and to return to Lewis to investigate a crime.
Bear in mind, Guga hunting tradition is part of this story.
A brilliant crime novel. The Blackhouse is my first novel by Peter May and I'm patiently waiting inline for the second book in the trilogy. The backdrop for the novel is in the remote northwestern island of Scotland, Isle of Lewis. Detective Inspector Fin MacLeod in Edinburgh, Lewis born and raised, was assigned and to return to Lewis to investigate a crime.
Bear in mind, Guga hunting tradition is part of this story.
‘It was late, sultry warm in a way that it only ever gets at festival time.’
When a brutal murder on the Isle of Lewis seems similar to a previous murder in Edinburgh, Detective Fin McLeod is sent to investigate. Fin McLeod was raised on the island: going back is a journey into the past. His trip starts just before the annual guga hunt, a hunt in which he once participated and which resulted in tragedy. There are memories from the island that Fin would prefer to forget. But he had friends there too, even if he’s not seen them for a long time.
‘There was no greater reminder of your own mortality than to witness another human being laid bare on a cold mortuary table.’
Fin knows the man who was murdered, he was at school with him. He’s a man who many had reason to dislike. But as Fin investigates, he finds memories of his own life on the island, events he’s not thought of for a long time. There are people whose lives have been blighted in different ways, people trapped on the island who would have preferred to leave it as Fin did. The story moves between the past and present of various characters, of the children they were and the adults they’ve become. Fin needs to come to terms with his own past as part of the process of finding the murderer.
‘It was no good looking backwards, even if you had no notion of where it was you were going.’
I really enjoyed this novel. Mr May’s depiction of Lewis, of the characters he’s peopled the island with, the difficulties associated with living in such an isolated place. This novel is the first in a trilogy, and I’m about to start the second.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
When a brutal murder on the Isle of Lewis seems similar to a previous murder in Edinburgh, Detective Fin McLeod is sent to investigate. Fin McLeod was raised on the island: going back is a journey into the past. His trip starts just before the annual guga hunt, a hunt in which he once participated and which resulted in tragedy. There are memories from the island that Fin would prefer to forget. But he had friends there too, even if he’s not seen them for a long time.
‘There was no greater reminder of your own mortality than to witness another human being laid bare on a cold mortuary table.’
Fin knows the man who was murdered, he was at school with him. He’s a man who many had reason to dislike. But as Fin investigates, he finds memories of his own life on the island, events he’s not thought of for a long time. There are people whose lives have been blighted in different ways, people trapped on the island who would have preferred to leave it as Fin did. The story moves between the past and present of various characters, of the children they were and the adults they’ve become. Fin needs to come to terms with his own past as part of the process of finding the murderer.
‘It was no good looking backwards, even if you had no notion of where it was you were going.’
I really enjoyed this novel. Mr May’s depiction of Lewis, of the characters he’s peopled the island with, the difficulties associated with living in such an isolated place. This novel is the first in a trilogy, and I’m about to start the second.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Although I am not a big fan of crime novels, I really enjoyed this book though initially it felt like two separate stories - one an autobiography of growing up on the Island of Lewis, and the other a story about solving the murder of Angus Macritchie. The two stories gradually merge into one, which I found really interesting because you are meeting some of the characters twice - once as children and again as adults.
Having visited Lewis and Harris, I loved the descriptions of the island and the claustrophobic feeling of living in such a tight-knit community dominated by the church. This part felt very realistic and believable.
The crime element of the story reminded me a little of Jane Harper's The Dry, where the main character has grown up with some of the characters, and their childhood plays a part in the present story. The Blackhouse certainly kept me on the edge of my seat as the story hurtled towards its conclusion, though I can't decide if I felt that the crime part of the book was as realistic or believable as the part about growing up on the island.
I also felt the book was quite dark and unrelentingly sad.
Having visited Lewis and Harris, I loved the descriptions of the island and the claustrophobic feeling of living in such a tight-knit community dominated by the church. This part felt very realistic and believable.
The crime element of the story reminded me a little of Jane Harper's The Dry, where the main character has grown up with some of the characters, and their childhood plays a part in the present story. The Blackhouse certainly kept me on the edge of my seat as the story hurtled towards its conclusion, though I can't decide if I felt that the crime part of the book was as realistic or believable as the part about growing up on the island.
I also felt the book was quite dark and unrelentingly sad.
Tumedalt hea lugemine, mis haarab su sündmuste keerisesse kaasa kohe esimesest peatükist alates. Tagasivaated ajas võivad esmase jälgimise natuke raskeks teha, aga nad on vajalikud, et aru saada nii Fin’i taustast kui põhjustest, mis ta kodusaarele tagasi tõid.
Excellent characterisation, excellent story. Very few inconsistencies and a gripping, intelligent, wrong-footing story.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced