⋙ [PDF] The Blackhouse Peter May 9781849163842 Books

The Blackhouse Peter May 9781849163842 Books

Download As PDF : The Blackhouse Peter May 9781849163842 Books

The Blackhouse Peter May 9781849163842 Books

I sat up and paid attention when The New York Times Book Review (Marilyn Stasio) raved: “Peter May is a writer I’d follow to the ends of the earth.” So, of course I added this author to my TBR list.
The Blackhouse is the first in a trilogy based in the Scottish Hebrides and featuring Edinburgh cop, Fin Macleod. Finn is sent to his childhood home on Lewis where a grisly murder on the isolated island seems to be a copy of a murder he has been investigating in Edinburgh.
Our detective is somewhat relieved to leave Edinburgh, as he grieves over the death of his young son, while half-heartily trying to prevent his marriage from crumbling.

But first a few warnings:

If you’re at all squeamish, you’ll have to tiptoe through; 1) a full and grisly autopsy, and 2) an honored, traditional, but gruesome, gannet hunt on a small island.

If you’re expecting a standard police procedural, you’re happily in for more than you bargained for ~~ this thriller has depth and power.

Now that you have read the Book Barmy safety warnings, fasten your seatbelts, because you are in for a great mystery read.

Mr. May is an extraordinary writer, able to take us seamlessly between two narratives. Masterfully moving from first person to develop Fin’s story growing up on Lewis, and then the third person to tell the current day story– Fin’s broken, disillusioned adult childhood friends, the crime, and its resolution.

Mr. May has a gift for developing his characters, all of which are remarkable, but Fin is an especially likeable hero. Having the grand experience of staying in the Outer Hebrides many years ago, I can attest that he also gives the reader unbelievably lovely descriptions of the harsh life in the Outer Hebrides — bleak, windy, and yet starkly beautiful.
The plot is a compelling mix of retribution, revelations, and intrigue.

High accolades for what turns out to be not only a tightly plotted thriller, but an insightful treatise on growing up, moving away, then coming home — one you thought you’d moved beyond.

From the introduction: Three things that come without asking: fear, love and jealousy. A Gaelic proverb

And thank you Mr. May for a brilliant ending.
See more at BookBbarmy(dot)com


Tags : The Blackhouse [Peter May] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Isle of Lewis is the most remote, harshly beautiful place in Scotland, where the difficulty of existence seems outweighed only by people's fear of God. But older,Peter May,The Blackhouse,Quercus Books,1849163847,Fiction - General,General

The Blackhouse Peter May 9781849163842 Books Reviews

This is a wonderful novel and is worthy of all of the enthusiastic reviews it received. The writing is superb and the plot is both exciting and full of surprises. Although a good deal of the story revolves around the Detective Fin Macleod’s attempt to solve a murder, there is another even more powerful story taking place. For in order to investigate the murder Fin has to return to his home for the first time in many years and confront his difficult childhood and those who tormented him. The book goes back and forth from past to present in a masterful manner and the characters are remarkable. The fact that we are introduced to such a different culture in the Outer Hebrides islands off the northwest coast of Scotland makes it all the more fascinating. Given that so much is revealed in the remarkable ending I’m not sure how May will turn this into a trilogy. But I have no doubt this tremendously talented writer will do just that. I can’t wait to read the other two books in this series and anything else this man has written.
Learned so much about the Scottish Highlands culture in a way that makes me want to learn more and more. O' yah, the mystery was a puzzle worth guessing what was the key. There are so many mini mysteries which are tantamount to the Big One. As the protagonist gets more and more tangled in the secrets and lies so does the reader. I didn't want story to end. Happy to read that The Black House is one of three.
Police detective Fin Macleod is sent from Edinburgh, Scotland to the Isle of Lewis, way up north, to investigate a murder similar to one that occurred in Edinburgh. The scene of the new murder is also the scene of Fin's unhappy childhood. The ways in which his childhood was unhappy provides almost as much suspense as the murder mystery.

I loved the character of Fin, saddened by the recent death of his child, sent to face the ghosts of his own childhood. The remote locale was fascinating, especially the scenes in which the characters go to an even more remote mountain in the middle of the sea to engage in a ritual hunt and confront the truth.

I strongly recommend this book, the first in the trilogy. I have ordered the second and am eagerly awaiting its arrival. I can't get enough!
I'm about two thirds through the book, and I love it. It's one of the best mysteries I've read in a long time. The setting on an island off Scotland is so real, I feel like I'm there with the characters. These people are quite different from any I've read about before. They are truly unique, much more than strange and truly unforgettable. I can't figure out who did the ghoulish murder, but have gotten so involved in all the characters, plots and subplots, I hardly care about who did it at this point. I already have several guesses as to who did it, but I think the tale has so much more depth and meaning than this that I only want to find out more about each character and their many involvements with each other, the island and, only finally, the murder. There are so many twists and turns and history repeating itself that I can barely put it down at night to go to sleep. I even dreamed about it last night -- not a bad dream, but an interesting, although strange, one. No wonder this novel has won so many awards.
I sat up and paid attention when The New York Times Book Review (Marilyn Stasio) raved “Peter May is a writer I’d follow to the ends of the earth.” So, of course I added this author to my TBR list.
The Blackhouse is the first in a trilogy based in the Scottish Hebrides and featuring Edinburgh cop, Fin Macleod. Finn is sent to his childhood home on Lewis where a grisly murder on the isolated island seems to be a copy of a murder he has been investigating in Edinburgh.
Our detective is somewhat relieved to leave Edinburgh, as he grieves over the death of his young son, while half-heartily trying to prevent his marriage from crumbling.

But first a few warnings

If you’re at all squeamish, you’ll have to tiptoe through; 1) a full and grisly autopsy, and 2) an honored, traditional, but gruesome, gannet hunt on a small island.

If you’re expecting a standard police procedural, you’re happily in for more than you bargained for ~~ this thriller has depth and power.

Now that you have read the Book Barmy safety warnings, fasten your seatbelts, because you are in for a great mystery read.

Mr. May is an extraordinary writer, able to take us seamlessly between two narratives. Masterfully moving from first person to develop Fin’s story growing up on Lewis, and then the third person to tell the current day story– Fin’s broken, disillusioned adult childhood friends, the crime, and its resolution.

Mr. May has a gift for developing his characters, all of which are remarkable, but Fin is an especially likeable hero. Having the grand experience of staying in the Outer Hebrides many years ago, I can attest that he also gives the reader unbelievably lovely descriptions of the harsh life in the Outer Hebrides — bleak, windy, and yet starkly beautiful.
The plot is a compelling mix of retribution, revelations, and intrigue.

High accolades for what turns out to be not only a tightly plotted thriller, but an insightful treatise on growing up, moving away, then coming home — one you thought you’d moved beyond.

From the introduction Three things that come without asking fear, love and jealousy. A Gaelic proverb

And thank you Mr. May for a brilliant ending.
See more at BookBbarmy(dot)com