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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Her er min omtale av Svarthuset. Linken fører til min bokblogg. https://mineboker.wordpress.com/2018/01/14/svarthuset-av-peter-may/
Intriguing but mysteries are not quite my cup of tea.
A little overwrought and sloppy at the end, but perhaps the genre is not for me.
I still finished so that’s something.
A little overwrought and sloppy at the end, but perhaps the genre is not for me.
I still finished so that’s something.
I just enjoy this man's writing. His settings capture the mood standing on their own practically as a character themselves. It was so easy to empathize with the protagonist. Even the backstory was good, and I'm not a fan of backstory. The twists were out of the blue, valid, and credible, and upon completion I felt so fulfilled at the telling of a solid, enjoyable, beautiful tale. I've read two of the three in this series, and I'm about to buy the third.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
I am always on the lookout for both great detective novels and great books about/set in Scotland, and while this didn’t quite fit the bill for the first point (I wouldn’t quite call this a detective novel), it hit the second point perfectly.
When it comes to a good detective novel/mystery, I am sometimes willing to put up with relatively mediocre writing if the story itself is strong and the mystery is compelling enough. But Peter May is both an excellent writer from a technical standpoint, and also a great storyteller.
My one slight qualm is that it seems like one too many terrible things have happened to Fin McLeod. I felt like May maybe could’ve toned it down a bit when bludgeoning Fin with one terrible life event after the other. But, I suppose it’s not completely unrealistic, and obviously some of these events are interrelated.
I also squirmed a bit when reading about Lewis just because it reminds me so much of the area in which I grew up. It was kind of scary, actually, how well May brought this type of place to life - I was sometimes driving around my hometown while listening to this and could not shake the feeling that I was actually reading about small-town southwestern Pennsylvania. Even with that slightly gloomy sense of recognition, however, I was still awed by May’s ability to evoke the sense of a place, which, when done well, is my absolute favorite thing to read in both fiction and nonfiction.
Ultimately, I thought this was a fantastic novel. It’s well-paced, intriguing, the writing is stellar, and the sense of atmosphere and place is almost overwhelming in its ability to bring the Isle of Lewis to at least this reader, who is (sadly) currently quite far from the Outer Hebrides. I would absolutely love to visit them one day, but until then I suppose I’ll just have to keep going with this trilogy!
When it comes to a good detective novel/mystery, I am sometimes willing to put up with relatively mediocre writing if the story itself is strong and the mystery is compelling enough. But Peter May is both an excellent writer from a technical standpoint, and also a great storyteller.
My one slight qualm is that it seems like one too many terrible things have happened to Fin McLeod. I felt like May maybe could’ve toned it down a bit when bludgeoning Fin with one terrible life event after the other. But, I suppose it’s not completely unrealistic, and obviously some of these events are interrelated.
I also squirmed a bit when reading about Lewis just because it reminds me so much of the area in which I grew up. It was kind of scary, actually, how well May brought this type of place to life - I was sometimes driving around my hometown while listening to this and could not shake the feeling that I was actually reading about small-town southwestern Pennsylvania. Even with that slightly gloomy sense of recognition, however, I was still awed by May’s ability to evoke the sense of a place, which, when done well, is my absolute favorite thing to read in both fiction and nonfiction.
Ultimately, I thought this was a fantastic novel. It’s well-paced, intriguing, the writing is stellar, and the sense of atmosphere and place is almost overwhelming in its ability to bring the Isle of Lewis to at least this reader, who is (sadly) currently quite far from the Outer Hebrides. I would absolutely love to visit them one day, but until then I suppose I’ll just have to keep going with this trilogy!
Generally a wonderful read, beautifully written there are times when the plot is obvious. I was gripped.
I loved this book. The mystery kept me turning the pages. The setting was almost a character in its own right. The descriptions were so well wrought that I could easily picture the action in my head. There were really clever episodes of misdirection that were intriguing and kept me guessing.
Really masterfully written and very suspenseful. One of the biggest strengths of this book is the characters. All of the significant characters are multi-dimensional and not through an overabundance of words. Peter Mays made every word count. I love that style of writing, especially in a thriller or mystery when the setting is so stark and isolated that it very fitting to the mood of the book.
The characters all seemed like real people and even when I couldn’t understand how they could behave in such a way, they still seemed realistic. A great example of this is when Fin Macleod goes to visit a paraplegic weaver in the village, he learns of an entirely different side to the victim. I won’t say anything more but I felt that was an example of excellent character development.
Highly recommended read for mystery/thriller readers.
Really masterfully written and very suspenseful. One of the biggest strengths of this book is the characters. All of the significant characters are multi-dimensional and not through an overabundance of words. Peter Mays made every word count. I love that style of writing, especially in a thriller or mystery when the setting is so stark and isolated that it very fitting to the mood of the book.
The characters all seemed like real people and even when I couldn’t understand how they could behave in such a way, they still seemed realistic. A great example of this is when Fin Macleod goes to visit a paraplegic weaver in the village, he learns of an entirely different side to the victim. I won’t say anything more but I felt that was an example of excellent character development.
Highly recommended read for mystery/thriller readers.
Tyvärr bara två drivrutiner av fem möjliga. Kände inte att det var nån aha-upplevelse på slutet och det blev aldrig riktigt spännande.
I like how the story never felt like a crime-novel. Blew me away. Good story, good build-up.
Solid Scottish murder mystery. Good characters, atmospheric
tense
fast-paced