While grieving over the accidental death of his only child, Fin investigates a grisly homicide nearly identical to a previous case in Edinburgh. Top 30 Book Review Blogs on the internet as voted by ShoutAbout.Television dramatist May's brilliant first in a trilogy set on the Gaelic-speaking Isle of Lewis, northernmost of Scotland's Outer Hebrides, introduces Fin Macleod, a Lewis native and Edinburgh CID detective sergeant. “Between Two Strangers” by Kate White – Book Review May 20, 2023.“The Apple Orchard” by Veronica Henry – a short story review May 21, 2023.“No Two Persons” by Erica Bauermeister – Book Review #NoTwoPersons #BookReview May 22, 2023.Top Five Tuesday: 5 books that have something to do with AIR #Top5Tuesday #TuesdayBookBlog May 23, 2023.“We All Die In The End” by Elizabeth Merry – Book Review #ShortStories #WeAllDieInTheEnd #BookReview May 24, 2023.Fictionophile’s archives Fictionophile’s archives.The atmospheric setting was described in such a way as to actually affect the reader’s senses. The characterizations were expertly formed, with each character fully fleshed-out and multi-dimensional. It is a character-driven study in human nature, an examination of how our pasts can shape our lives. The novel does the mystery genre justice, but it is much more than a mystery novel. The adult, present-day Fin uses his memories and his return to Lewis as a way of facing the demons of his past. The hunt for the gugas is perceived on Lewis as a rite of passage that turns boys into men. Memories of the year he was chosen to take part in the annual guga hunt which is a long tradition on Lewis. Memories of starting school, the accidental death of his parents, and his boyhood friendships. The story is told alternating between the present with the murder investigation – and the past which slowly reveals the trauma and tragedy filled childhood days of Fin. His return to the Isle reacquaints him with Artair, his best friend from childhood and also Marsaili Macdonald, his first love. It turns out that the murder victim, Angel Macritchie, was a childhood nemesis of Fin, a bully who played a large part in his growing up. Fin has not been back to the island since he left it eighteen years ago to attend university. When a murder occurs on Lewis that resembles one that he is working on – his superiors send him to Lewis to aid in the investigation. Fin is very vulnerable as he is in mourning for his broken marriage and for his young son who perished in a hit-and-run. He is now a policeman working out of Edinburgh. The protagonist, Fin Macleod was born and brought up on Lewis. However, let us not forget that this is a murder mystery.

The setting was a major factor in the story and the author’s skillful writing transports the reader to Lewis with it’s rich culture and long history. “ The Blackhouse” by Peter May is the first in a trilogy of novels set on the Hebridean Isle of Lewis. They say that reading is the cheapest form of travel.

The Blackhouse by Peter May