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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
Gozada de libro. El ambiente es magnífico, la descripción de los personajes es perfecta y la historia es grandiosa. Me ha encantado.
This is a good story: well-written, strong characters that don’t blend into each other, prominent setting, an engaging mystery. The past is woven into the present in such a way as to let the mystery unfold for the reader, rather than having it presented to them. It may just be my state of mind at the time of reading it, but there were times I felt like I wasn’t going to make it to the end of the book. I kept thinking, ‘who cares? Get on with it!’. But like I said, I think that was more my own headspace, rather than the book. I do feel like the ending was sort of too neatly wrapped up and concise; like, I get what the author was going for, but it didn’t quite hit the mark for me. Contrary to the first 90% of the book, he could have drawn the ending out a little. But this is a story I will remember reading, and probably remember enjoying.
This story starts off pretty grim. In the first few pages we find out that Fin and Mona have recently lost their young son and not surprisingly their relationship is on the rocks. Fin's boss calls him in and basically tells him it's time to get back to work. He assigns him a case that has the same M.O. as a case Fin had investigated previously. The catch, the new murder happened on The Isle of Lewis, where Fin grew up. All this in the first few chapters.
May does a good job of using the harsh geography, the history of protestant fundamentalism on the Isle of Lewis and the extreme weather to set a very somber mood over the whole story. Frankly, the new murder is really a secondary consideration to the exploration of Fin and his early years growing up in a very unique place.
The narrative switches between time frames to slowly build upon the mysteries of the murders and what happened at the guga harvest on An Sgeir so many years ago. There are some books where this switching back and forth takes me out of the flow of the narrative, but in this instance the technique worked for me.
Although this is considered a mystery(and there were several mysteries throughout), for me, it was a look at friendship, love, betrayal and bitterness.
Almost a 5 star book for me.
May does a good job of using the harsh geography, the history of protestant fundamentalism on the Isle of Lewis and the extreme weather to set a very somber mood over the whole story. Frankly, the new murder is really a secondary consideration to the exploration of Fin and his early years growing up in a very unique place.
The narrative switches between time frames to slowly build upon the mysteries of the murders and what happened at the guga harvest on An Sgeir so many years ago. There are some books where this switching back and forth takes me out of the flow of the narrative, but in this instance the technique worked for me.
Although this is considered a mystery(and there were several mysteries throughout), for me, it was a look at friendship, love, betrayal and bitterness.
Almost a 5 star book for me.
Detective Fin McLeod heads back to his native island of Lewis, where a murder similar to the one he is investigating has just occurred. But there, not only does he have to look and see if the murderer is the same man, he also has to face the bitter sweet memories and the nostalgy of his past.
If you're looking for a fast-paced thriller with lots of action, this book is not for you. However, if you enjoy a good psychological investigation, nostalgy and an exploration of the islanders's mentality, you'll probably love it as much as I did. I have a soft spot for Scotland and Celtic countries, which is why I picked this book, but I also was attracted by the fact that it took place in a remote island. I've always felt the difference between "islanders" and "continentals", and those closeted communities interest me.
In this well written novel, you can feel the atmosphere, the weight of religion. Fin knows everyone, he grew up with those Lewis people even if he left some 20 years ago. A lot of things have evolved since then, yet the past is omnipresent.
This story also deals with memory and trauma, hints had been thrown here and there along the novel and I knew I was missing on something, but I didn't guess the final element until it was thrown in my face ! I felt the shock just like that character (no spoiler here).
Maybe the ending was a little too rushed, that's what I felt when I closed the book, yet thinking about it afterward, I guess it fit the conclusion.
To sum this up, a very good psychological whodunit with depth of characters and a compelling plot.
If you're looking for a fast-paced thriller with lots of action, this book is not for you. However, if you enjoy a good psychological investigation, nostalgy and an exploration of the islanders's mentality, you'll probably love it as much as I did. I have a soft spot for Scotland and Celtic countries, which is why I picked this book, but I also was attracted by the fact that it took place in a remote island. I've always felt the difference between "islanders" and "continentals", and those closeted communities interest me.
In this well written novel, you can feel the atmosphere, the weight of religion. Fin knows everyone, he grew up with those Lewis people even if he left some 20 years ago. A lot of things have evolved since then, yet the past is omnipresent.
This story also deals with memory and trauma, hints had been thrown here and there along the novel and I knew I was missing on something, but I didn't guess the final element until it was thrown in my face ! I felt the shock just like that character (no spoiler here).
Maybe the ending was a little too rushed, that's what I felt when I closed the book, yet thinking about it afterward, I guess it fit the conclusion.
To sum this up, a very good psychological whodunit with depth of characters and a compelling plot.
Good mystery. A little slow but engaging enough to keep us listening to the audio on a long days drive. Looking forward to the next in the series.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow, loved this novel. A dark, bleak story about a pair of boys growing up in a remote part of the Scottish islands, with complex characters and a bit of a mystery to unravel. Includes a fascinating education (if a bit detailed and graphic) about a centuries-old tradition of hunting and slaying gannets. Fast-paced, I couldn’t put it down. Thankfully it rained all weekend so I didn’t feel guilty about keeping my nose in a book.
A murder on the Isle of Lewis bearing the same hallmarks of one recently committed in Edinburgh forces DI Fin McCleod back to the place he grew up for the first time in his adult life. The novel then progresses by means of alternating between the present murder investigation (narrated in the 3rd person) and the past (in 1st person), explicating Fin's early Hebridean experiences. I found the switch from 3rd to 1st person (both, strangely, in Fin's point of view) rather disorientating at first.
The mood is unrelievedly dark. All young people growing up on Lewis seem desperate to leave as soon as possible. The damp, the wind, storms, stray sheep causing car accidents, obesity, alcoholism, abuse, bullying, joyless church adherence, poverty, yearly massacre of seabird chicks ... there really isn't a lot of sweetness and joy to be had on May's version of Lewis.
But the story was interesting, and I may have given The Blackhouse a grudging 4 stars - had it not been for the ending. True, the last quarter of the book had me up til past 1am, desperate to find out what would happen, BUT I felt let down by the final plot revelation. I felt as if May had broken the crime-writer's unwritten pledge of seeding adequate clues along the way and making the final reveal convincing. Maybe there are documented psychological amnesia cases such as Fin McLeod's out there in the real world. That said, I'm afraid in the context of a crime novel, such a twist needs more thorough foregrounding (e.g. via earlier hints) for it to convince this reader.
The mood is unrelievedly dark. All young people growing up on Lewis seem desperate to leave as soon as possible. The damp, the wind, storms, stray sheep causing car accidents, obesity, alcoholism, abuse, bullying, joyless church adherence, poverty, yearly massacre of seabird chicks ... there really isn't a lot of sweetness and joy to be had on May's version of Lewis.
But the story was interesting, and I may have given The Blackhouse a grudging 4 stars - had it not been for the ending. True, the last quarter of the book had me up til past 1am, desperate to find out what would happen, BUT I felt let down by the final plot revelation. I felt as if May had broken the crime-writer's unwritten pledge of seeding adequate clues along the way and making the final reveal convincing. Maybe there are documented psychological amnesia cases such as Fin McLeod's out there in the real world. That said, I'm afraid in the context of a crime novel, such a twist needs more thorough foregrounding (e.g. via earlier hints) for it to convince this reader.
I didn't find this book the "mystery" that it is acclaimed to be, and think it's praise is more apt for the beautiful descriptions and image-evoking writing. For me, this book was much more centred on Fin reflecting on his childhood and those events that shaped him, with his police career and the murder investigation taking a firm backseat. Luckily, it was the beautiful writing that I enjoyed most and I also appreciated the flashbacks that slowly revealed a little bit more about Fin's character. The ending was unnecessarily dramatic in my opinion, almost for shock value, and while I loved May's descriptive writing, the (few) female characters in The Blackhouse didn't feel realistic to me. Despite these drawbacks, I'll be picking up the next installment in the trilogy. For anyone interested in The Blackhouse, please be warned there are serious themes of child abuse and sexual assault, and graphic descriptions of hunting and blood. It won't be everyone.
A very enjoyable book; well written excellent atmospheric story with a very good sense of time & place. Tension was well maintained right to the end.