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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It failed to hold my attention. The murder seems an excuse to let the protagonist play old-home week, so while the novel uses a few of the murder mystery conventions, it's much more about an adult returning to the scene of his miserable childhood in an isolated rural area. Despite the Hebridean trappings, that childhood is rather similar to any miserable childhood in an isolated rural area. It's not poorly written, but the most interesting thing about it is the setting. Plot and characters seem pretty standard.
Liked this much more than I thought I was going to. I'm always wary when it comes best-selling crime novels (well, in these parts it's been selling like hot cakes, at least). I grew up in a house where the crime genre was worshipped, and a day didn't go by that I wasn't exposed to a whodunnit on the TV in the afternoon, a police procedural on in the evening, a Christie drama on the radio...it never ended.
Anyway, usually these days if I do dip into the crime genre, the book has to have an interesting kind of angle, like Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann or, The Killer Inside Me, by Jim Thompson. I can't say Blackhouse had anything like that, but it was cheap and I wanted to see what the fuss was all about...
And like I said, I'm glad I did.
For a lot of the book, I felt that I needed a bingo card, especially when it came to the central protagonist Finn. He's leaving the force...he's getting a divorce...he's going back...he wants to get his ex in the sack...his childhood friend gets asthma attacks.
There's really nothing special there at all, very two-dimensional and bland. Now, as for the crime/mystery itself, well, happily, it almost takes second place to May setting up the scenes and the background...and this is where May really excels himself.
Outside of Finn, the characters really shine, are memorable, and the picture he paints of life on a small island is simply superb. The flashback moments are well worth the entry price alone and there were times when I got annoyed when the book moved back into the present day investigation.
Anyway, it's worth a look, and I've already started Lewis Man which I didn't think I was going to, so May has definitely done something right.
3.5
Anyway, usually these days if I do dip into the crime genre, the book has to have an interesting kind of angle, like Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann or, The Killer Inside Me, by Jim Thompson. I can't say Blackhouse had anything like that, but it was cheap and I wanted to see what the fuss was all about...
And like I said, I'm glad I did.
For a lot of the book, I felt that I needed a bingo card, especially when it came to the central protagonist Finn. He's leaving the force...he's getting a divorce...he's going back...he wants to get his ex in the sack...his childhood friend gets asthma attacks.
There's really nothing special there at all, very two-dimensional and bland. Now, as for the crime/mystery itself, well, happily, it almost takes second place to May setting up the scenes and the background...and this is where May really excels himself.
Outside of Finn, the characters really shine, are memorable, and the picture he paints of life on a small island is simply superb. The flashback moments are well worth the entry price alone and there were times when I got annoyed when the book moved back into the present day investigation.
Anyway, it's worth a look, and I've already started Lewis Man which I didn't think I was going to, so May has definitely done something right.
3.5
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Meh. Perhaps the issue is with me as I was feeling in the mood for a more traditional detective story and this is more of a deep exploration of one person’s life and the buried secrets that are corrupting the present. That person happens to be a police officer but that’s a very minor part of the story. I liked the mood, the setting and learning about this very unique area of Scotland but the story seemed wildly unrealistic (the dialogue between the 6 year olds was particularly egregious, more realistic to teens) and I was repeatedly irritated by the author’s very limited perspective on the world - only attractive women are valuable, people with disabilities are objects of pity, people with extra weight are to be ridiculed or reviled. This was my first novel by this author and I doubt I’ll venture further into his catalogue.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Moody and atmospheric.
I picked this up after hearing about it on the What Should I Read Next podcast. As a Free Church member myself, I was a little put off by the bitter edge to his description of Christians in general and the Free Church in particular, but overall I found this a well-written murder mystery. I’ll be looking for the next book in the series.
Can’t wait to read my next one by him. This was my first Peter May book, I’m hooked.