naerts 's review for:

The Blackhouse by Peter May

2.0

---

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.