The Blackhouse: The gripping start to the bestselling crime series (Lewis Trilogy Book 1)

When one has finished a perfectly mediocre book it's a profound relief to find the next one a pleasure to read. " The Black House" scores points on many levels and Peter May is an accomplished storyteller. I expected to read a classic murder mystery but this novel is much more than that. In fact the murder investigation plays second fiddle and is merely there to enable the author to delve into his hero's past. It's a tale full of quiet melancholy as Finn's reminiscences force him to see the child he was and the way fate delivered blows which made him the adult he is. I found the author adept at recreating both the happiness and angst of childhood and the inevitable nostalgia they give rise to, once the character has become a grown-up and has to think back on all the defining moments of his life when he took a path that it might have been better to avoid. The landscape is masterfully depicted and the characters utterly believable. A tale that is both moving and cruel and that won't leave you indifferent.

Being a fan of Rebus makes it hard for me to find good misteries, I generally find them lacking in something that Rankin can do to a perfection (self-irony, characterization, social criticism, to name the most important ones). But he isn't a 'Rebus-factory', which is good, so time and again I need to look for somethin outside his oeuvre.The Black House isn't a bad novel at all, but I could't find any trace of irony, self-irony, or humour in it and this turned it into a tedious reading (maybe Gunn should've been given more prominence). Moreover, I found the Marsaili-Fionnlagh-line a bit of cliché.I also didn't like that we (readers) weren't given any clue until the two-third of the novel of what all the fuss was about, the word amnesia makes an appereance on the last pages when it could've been used to keep alive the readers' curiosity about the men's past.Now I think about it more, I felt being left out while reading the novel, and if that was Peter May's intention then I should've given him five stars.

One of the most enjoyable books I have read for a long time. A little different from most crime books but not rather annoying as I have found some other Peter May books which I thought depended on situation that were, at least to me, unbelievable (the couple getting separated in Glasgow Docks in Entry Island) or were factually inaccurate as far as the UK is concerned, eg having to carry a valid driving licence with you while driving as in Coffin Road

The Blackhouse isn't the usual crime thriller. In fact the murder which brings Fin back to the island of Lewis rather fades into the background as he faces up to and comes to terms with the story of his own troubled past. I liked the juxtaposition of first and third person voices. This allowed us to get to know the young Fin well, while at the same time developing all three main characters into rounded people. This was cleverly done, though I did find some of the dialogue between the five year olds a little unconvincingly 'grown up'.The island comes across as a wild place, battered by gales and rain, but also stunningly beautiful. It is the perfect setting for the story; the brutality of the crimes committed there contrasting with moments of unexpected goodness and kindness.Poor Fin is shown at a traumatic moment in his turbulent life, and things get worse before they get better. Let's hope that the author will show us other sides to his character and fortunes in future books - and maybe give the poor man a break please!First time for me reading this author, but all in all a very enjoyable book. Difficult to put down and I look forward to reading more.

This book was a real surprise - nothing like I expected. Peter May is new to me - I anticipated a routine crime drama set aginst a Hebridean background but this book is nothing like that - it is a dark, otften bleak narrative but full of humanity.May uses an unconventional narrative style which I initially found disconcerting but proved to be very effective.I have never been to the Isle of Lewis but the mountains of the North West Highlands of Scotland and the Isle of Skye have been my spiritual home for decades and I have seen Lewis floating on the horizon at all seasons of the year. I'm aware of it's history , culture and geography but May shines a light into dark places of the human soul, raises issues I'd never thought of and links them to the landscape in a way I'd never conceived.This is a very real story rooted in the culture and landscape of a place and whilst May describes the landscape and weather effectively, it is his understanding of people that stands out.At times you may think you know where the story is going but May never rushes his narrative and gets you thinking. This story is a page turner ut not in the conventional manner.A very good, thought provoking read.I wondered how second volume of the trilogy would compare - I'm not far into it yet, but it's good - the same, yet different, still exploring the difficulties of