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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I feel like Peter May writes the way I write. He's a showing, not telling kind of author, and I really love his style.
But that's not all I can say about this book! It's so gripping! It starts with a murder. But there are so many more mysteries than the murder, and so much back story and character development! I really got into the characters (might have a crush on one of them...). Just the way the story is built is a joy to read and fascinating to unravel through all its twists and turns. I had less than 10% left to read when I got to my stop on the subway, and I was really dreading getting off of the train!
Favorite Quotes from the book:
"Whatever your blackest fear, Fin. Whatever your greatest weakness. These are things you must face up to. Things you must confront, or you'll spend the rest of your life regretting it."
"A journey that you would rather never end always passes quickly."
But that's not all I can say about this book! It's so gripping! It starts with a murder. But there are so many more mysteries than the murder, and so much back story and character development! I really got into the characters (might have a crush on one of them...). Just the way the story is built is a joy to read and fascinating to unravel through all its twists and turns. I had less than 10% left to read when I got to my stop on the subway, and I was really dreading getting off of the train!
Favorite Quotes from the book:
"Whatever your blackest fear, Fin. Whatever your greatest weakness. These are things you must face up to. Things you must confront, or you'll spend the rest of your life regretting it."
"A journey that you would rather never end always passes quickly."
A gripping tale of murder, deceit and long buried secrets set on Scotland's West Coast.
Really this is a 3.5 star review for me; when I picked this up after looking for Scottish crime/drama/suspense novel recommendations I was excited about this one as my first foray into the genre. I honestly expected this to be more of a gritty crime/suspense sort of novel, but instead ended up something along the same tone as JK Rowling's The Casual Vacancy, in that there was indeed a mystery/crime aspect to the plot, but the bulk of the novel drew on a personal familial/neighborhood centered drama. I found Fin to kind of be a giant dick at points, but the flashbacks provided some context as to just how far his character grew from a child to an adult, and there were bigger dicks in this story that I disliked more. In all, I did enjoy it, it wasn't my favourite book I've ever read, but I liked it enough to pick up the next one. It was the personal/family drama that grabbed me moreso than the crime aspect.
In short: came for the murder, stayed for the gossip.
In short: came for the murder, stayed for the gossip.
Fin McLeod returns to the Isle of Lewis that he left years ago, trying to escape the bleak and windswept island in the Northern Hebrides. Now, he has returned in order to investigate whether or not a recent murder is tied to another murder in Edinburgh. Fin is a police detective and the local constabulary are not happy that he has been foisted onto their investigation. As Fin begins to investigate, all the reasons he left Lewis return to haunt him: his parents' death; his love for his first girlfriend (Marsaili); the despair that grows when there is little hope for one's future. The denouement takes place on a rock in the ocean where, for generations, the men of Ness have hunted gannet fledglings for two weeks out of the year. While the villain of the piece may be obvious, the intricate plotting and splendid writing will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned.
A very atmospheric tale full of suspense with great characters. I thought I knew what was going on, but was still surprised. I especially loved the cold, gloomy Hebrides setting- a place unknown to me. The alternative chapters flashing back to the past and then present were a bit disruptive in this one. I have the second book on hand so I'm diving back in!
I am not usually into these who done it books, but because of my Book Club it was a have to read. Saying that I really enjoyed it. Not so much for the "who done it" bit , but because of the lovely story that Fin told of the island Lewis and his past of growing up on the island. I might even go and read the next one.
Detective Fin Macleod of the Edinburgh police returns to the Isle of Lewis for the first time in 20 years to investigate a murder that may either be the second by a serial killer or a copycat killing. The victim is someone from his own past and he must face the memories, and the nightmares, from his own past to make sense of the present.
Rating: 3* of five, but just barely
The Publisher Says: From acclaimed author and television dramatist Peter May comes the first book in the Lewis Trilogy--a riveting mystery series set on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, a formidable and forbidding world where tradition rules and people adhere to ancient ways of life. When a grisly murder occurs on the Isle of Lewis that has the hallmarks of a killing he's investigating on the mainland, Edinburgh detective and native islander Fin Macleod is dispatched to see if the two deaths are connected. His return after nearly two decades not only represents a police investigation, but a voyage into his own troubled past. As Fin reconnects with the places and people of his tortured childhood, he feels the island once again asserting its grip on his psyche. And every step forward in solving the murder takes him closer to a dangerous confrontation with the tragic events of the past that shaped--and nearly destroyed--Fin's life.
The Blackhouse is a thriller of rare power and vision that explores the darkest recesses of the soul.
My Review: This was a huge, long slog of a story, alternating between Fin (the main character) as narrator of his life of unremitting grimness and misery, and third person limited, basically the camera-eye PoV that one would expect to find in a novel by a screenwriter. This made the pace slow for me as each time we shift, I have to hit the brakes or push in the clutch to shift up.
This isn't to say that the author is a bad writer, his prose is limpidly clear. But keep Google open while you're reading, since there are unexplained, untranslated Gaelic words all over the place. There are exciting sea scenes and tense moments of nailbiting stress during the islanders' unique rite of passage for males.
There are also characters who are unnecessary, flashbacks of unconscionable length and questionable necessity, and an ending that will break a decent person's heart...that has holes the size of a gannet in it. (You'll get the joke later.) If the ending is true, and I think it is true to the character and the build-up, the obliviousness of the responsible adults of the island is unconscionable and unpleasant.
Trigger warning for animal rights activists and the tenderhearted towards all gawd's creation, and for child abuse.
The Publisher Says: From acclaimed author and television dramatist Peter May comes the first book in the Lewis Trilogy--a riveting mystery series set on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland's Outer Hebrides, a formidable and forbidding world where tradition rules and people adhere to ancient ways of life. When a grisly murder occurs on the Isle of Lewis that has the hallmarks of a killing he's investigating on the mainland, Edinburgh detective and native islander Fin Macleod is dispatched to see if the two deaths are connected. His return after nearly two decades not only represents a police investigation, but a voyage into his own troubled past. As Fin reconnects with the places and people of his tortured childhood, he feels the island once again asserting its grip on his psyche. And every step forward in solving the murder takes him closer to a dangerous confrontation with the tragic events of the past that shaped--and nearly destroyed--Fin's life.
The Blackhouse is a thriller of rare power and vision that explores the darkest recesses of the soul.
My Review: This was a huge, long slog of a story, alternating between Fin (the main character) as narrator of his life of unremitting grimness and misery, and third person limited, basically the camera-eye PoV that one would expect to find in a novel by a screenwriter. This made the pace slow for me as each time we shift, I have to hit the brakes or push in the clutch to shift up.
This isn't to say that the author is a bad writer, his prose is limpidly clear. But keep Google open while you're reading, since there are unexplained, untranslated Gaelic words all over the place. There are exciting sea scenes and tense moments of nailbiting stress during the islanders' unique rite of passage for males.
There are also characters who are unnecessary, flashbacks of unconscionable length and questionable necessity, and an ending that will break a decent person's heart...that has holes the size of a gannet in it. (You'll get the joke later.) If the ending is true, and I think it is true to the character and the build-up, the obliviousness of the responsible adults of the island is unconscionable and unpleasant.
Trigger warning for animal rights activists and the tenderhearted towards all gawd's creation, and for child abuse.