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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Pretty good, although I could have done without the last few hundred descriptions of weather, sea and sky.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Fin McLeod is an Edinburgh policeman who just lost his ten-year-old son, Robbie. Coming back from his leave, he is put back on the still-unsolved murder case he was investigating at the time of his son's death. A new similar murder returns him to the place he was raised, the Isle of Lewis, to see if there's any connection between the two crimes. As the investigation proceeds, Fin must confront his past, reliving it through many of the people who were is friends and acquaintances when he was growing up.
The author alternates between Third Person POV for the murder and First Person for the flashbacks of Fin's past. The two are more connected than Fin realizes at first. While the Third Person chapters are a somewhat typical police procedural story, albeit very well-written, I really loved the stories of Fin's past. I've been to Stornoway (stayed at the Crown Inn where Fin resides during his visit) and visited many of the places mentioned in the book which was just an extra fillip of pleasure to me as a reader. I will quibble and say that I didn't find many places open in Stornoway on a Sunday, but otherwise, it's always fun to revisit real locations in a book.
The writing, as I said, is excellent and captures the stark landscape of Lewis very well. The story itself is engrossing, filled with tension as Fin gets closer to the murderer and the resolution of his own past which is surprising and melds well together. The book deserves all the kudos it has received, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. As is said in the book, though in a different context, "A journey that you would rather never end always passes quickly." The Black House finished all too quickly for me.
The author alternates between Third Person POV for the murder and First Person for the flashbacks of Fin's past. The two are more connected than Fin realizes at first. While the Third Person chapters are a somewhat typical police procedural story, albeit very well-written, I really loved the stories of Fin's past. I've been to Stornoway (stayed at the Crown Inn where Fin resides during his visit) and visited many of the places mentioned in the book which was just an extra fillip of pleasure to me as a reader. I will quibble and say that I didn't find many places open in Stornoway on a Sunday, but otherwise, it's always fun to revisit real locations in a book.
The writing, as I said, is excellent and captures the stark landscape of Lewis very well. The story itself is engrossing, filled with tension as Fin gets closer to the murderer and the resolution of his own past which is surprising and melds well together. The book deserves all the kudos it has received, and I can't wait to read the next book in the series. As is said in the book, though in a different context, "A journey that you would rather never end always passes quickly." The Black House finished all too quickly for me.
Everything about this tale is dark. It's cold, it's wet, it's bleak. But rather than an oppressive weight which forces you away, the story's a big more like a black hole, drawing you in. You feel the cold, dark ocean and the lonely, bitter people of the small Scottish Isle of Lewis, as seen from one of their own (or formerly their own) who left and came back. You feel the resentment of former childhood friends left behind, the painful disappointment and resignation of lost love, and while it's unbelievably grim (what hope is there?), there's something that compels you to read on. Something about the story which makes it...not quite hopeless. Some readers will be compelled solely by the desire to discover the killer and the motivation, but some of us will be unable to put the book down for the deeper questions it brings; for the discovery of the gaps in our hero's tale, the question of memory, trauma, friendship, pride, betrayal, and how, contained in each human, is the capability of being incredibly sensitive and empathic while also being cold, brutal, and selectively blind.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
DNF @ 67%
I was going to try and stick it out, but I can't do it. Sorry Dad. He's been trying to get me to read this series for ages and finally picked it up as an audiobook, but it's just not working out for me.
Even though I haven't finished it, I feel like I have experienced enough of this book to give it a bit of a review. Honestly, I would probably still give this a middle ground 3 stars, but it started dragging on and I just don't have the motivation to finish it. It's possible it's the audiobook and I might have enjoyed it better as a print book.
The premise is interesting enough. It's a classic police investigation story where the investigator is forced to return to his childhood home and confront the trauma of his past. The setting is in remote Scotland, which I actually really liked, and I did think Finn was a complex and interesting character. But only half of this book held my attention. Interestingly enough, I actually didn't care at all about the present day mystery. Finn is forced to go back to his childhood home to investigate the grizzly murder of the town bully. At the same time, we get flashbacks to an overall mundane childhood.
But it was his childhood that intrigued me. The story is very much character driven by a number of seriously flawed individuals and I was actually quite interested in the drama and intrigue between Finn and his best friend Arthur and their mutual crush, Marshali (don't know actual spelling as I read as audiobook). There's a lot of interesting details about the way of life in this remote Scottish town that I found pretty interesting. So it does beg the question why I'm deciding to DNF.
Perhaps I might return to it, but I found the murder investigation pretty boring. I'd tune out for long periods of time, such that I was listening to this while running one day and suddenly realized I had no idea what had happened and had to go back more than 20 MINUTES to get to a place I recognized because I tuned out for so long. I've been trying to DNF books a little more when I'm not enjoying them, so even though I think I could push through this one, I think I'll find something else more engaging.
Sorry Dad, don't think Peter May is for me.
I was going to try and stick it out, but I can't do it. Sorry Dad. He's been trying to get me to read this series for ages and finally picked it up as an audiobook, but it's just not working out for me.
Even though I haven't finished it, I feel like I have experienced enough of this book to give it a bit of a review. Honestly, I would probably still give this a middle ground 3 stars, but it started dragging on and I just don't have the motivation to finish it. It's possible it's the audiobook and I might have enjoyed it better as a print book.
The premise is interesting enough. It's a classic police investigation story where the investigator is forced to return to his childhood home and confront the trauma of his past. The setting is in remote Scotland, which I actually really liked, and I did think Finn was a complex and interesting character. But only half of this book held my attention. Interestingly enough, I actually didn't care at all about the present day mystery. Finn is forced to go back to his childhood home to investigate the grizzly murder of the town bully. At the same time, we get flashbacks to an overall mundane childhood.
But it was his childhood that intrigued me. The story is very much character driven by a number of seriously flawed individuals and I was actually quite interested in the drama and intrigue between Finn and his best friend Arthur and their mutual crush, Marshali (don't know actual spelling as I read as audiobook). There's a lot of interesting details about the way of life in this remote Scottish town that I found pretty interesting. So it does beg the question why I'm deciding to DNF.
Perhaps I might return to it, but I found the murder investigation pretty boring. I'd tune out for long periods of time, such that I was listening to this while running one day and suddenly realized I had no idea what had happened and had to go back more than 20 MINUTES to get to a place I recognized because I tuned out for so long. I've been trying to DNF books a little more when I'm not enjoying them, so even though I think I could push through this one, I think I'll find something else more engaging.
Sorry Dad, don't think Peter May is for me.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book — it was a Christmas present from my sister, and not a genre I normally read at all. The unravelling of the mystery in the last hundred or so pages was extremely gripping to read, and childhood flashbacks which began as annoying and distracting soon became repositories of dramatic irony and tension. Just as interesting to read is the unpacking of masculinity and boyhood regarding the experiences of Lewismen of my parents’ generation — sometimes a toxic masculinity, sometimes an ode to the strength of the bonds that tie these communities together. Likewise, the role of the church: from the Revival of the 60s and 70s to the more relaxed attitude of the early 2000s (when I presume, based on the scant context clues, that this book is set). Very rarely do I get to read books set in my own country, so this was an especial treat for me. A solid 3-star read. Added 1/2 point on Storygraph for my personal enjoyment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, Murder, Alcohol, Classism
Moderate: Child abuse
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes