Reviews - The Blackhouse | The StoryGraph

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584 reviews for:

The Blackhouse

Peter May

3.92 AVERAGE

laylavv's review against another edition

4.5

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I bought this trilogy for my Husband because we were visiting the Isle of Lewis. The cottage we are holidaying at had a copy and I dived in too despite it not being my usual genre.
I think staying in the island and even on one of the roads mentioned several times has helped immerse me into the story even more, the author did a good job of describing the coast, villages and feel of the Island. Had I not been here I don't think I would have been that hooked.
I feel like the murder took a back burner to the trauma and was wrapped up fairly quickly at the end but the flashbacks and lead up to the end are important.

I don't feel like concussion causing someone to forget a decade of child abuse is very realistic, I'd of enjoyed the story more if that hadn't been part of it. I also feel the lack of discussion about the death of the 8yo son felt lazy

I would have preferred it if there wasn't such a large and detailed section of the book to be about the out dated practice of guga (baby gannet birds) hunting. I think this was focused on too much, possibly to get the islanders on the authors side. Museums and gift shops stock it 14 years later.
All in all it was well written and the attention to detail about the island was written very well. A couple of tweaks and it would have been an easy 5.

Content Warnings

hilarymay's review against another edition

4.0

Not my normal type of book but lent by a friend. A gripping read. The main protagonist has had a pretty rotten life but it wasn’t too depressing! Not too scary for me too and took me a long time to guess who’d done it. Would like to read the rest of the series.

olympiapaige's review against another edition

3.0

Great to read before bed. Eh. That's all I am really say to recommend it. I'm sure some people would be inspired by the setting and the tales of the hunt, but I wasn't especially.

hashblack's review against another edition

5.0

A breath taking story told by a master in his art in a style as unique as it is riveting. I got into this book looking for a horror story, but what I found took me through a morose wormhole full of suspense, trauma, heartache and a happy ending that almost brought a tear to my eye.

This author takes us back to what story telling is really all about. This is a fantastic piece of work, and I highly recommend it.

katmarhan's review against another edition

4.75

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

9.5/10
The writing is excellent—moody, evocative, intense.
The characters are multi-faceted and layered; they felt true to this place and time.
The plot is really two storylines, unspooling side by side. Fin Macleod, now a detective in Edinburgh, is investigating a murder on the Isle of Lewis that bears similarities to one of his recent cases. That “current” timeline is written in 3rd person but from Fin’s POV. Fin grew up on Lewis and knew the murder victim. The second storyline, in first person by Fin, tells of his youth and his experiences with the other locals.
There is tragedy woven throughout the stories, well beyond the murders. This is a somber tale, but a powerful and well-written one.