#BlogTour: The Black Loch by Peter May @authorpetermay @riverrunbooks @soph_ransompr @poppydelingpole #TheBlackLoch #PeterMay #BookReview #LewisTrilogy

Book Synopsis:

THE RETURN OF FIN MACLEOD, PETER MAY’S MUCH-LOVED HERO OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING LEWIS TRILOGY.

A MURDER

The body of eighteen-year-old TV personality Caitlin is found abandoned on a remote beach at the head of An Loch Dubh – the Black Loch – on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. A swimmer and canoeist, it is inconceivable that she could have drowned.

A SECRET

Fin Macleod left the island ten years earlier to escape its memories. When he learns that his married son Fionnlagh had been having a clandestine affair with the dead girl and is suspected of her murder, he and Marsaili return to try and clear his name.

A RECKONING

But nothing is as it seems, and the truth of the murder lies in a past that Fin would rather forget, and a tragedy at the cages of a salmon farm on East Loch Roag, where the tense climax of the story finds its resolution.

The Black Loch takes us on a journey through family ties, hidden relationships and unforgiving landscapes, where suspense, violent revenge and revelation converge in the shadow of the Black Loch.

My Review:

The Black Lock is an intriguing, powerful read that is much more than your normal crime book.

The story is told in two timelines, one following Macleod as he tries to absolve his son of murder and the other flashing back to Macleod’s past where we discover what secrets are lurking there.  Out of the two timelines I definitely preferred the one set in the present as it was more fast paced and I found it very interesting to follow Macleod on his murder investigation.  The past timeline, though important, was slower and I often found myself impatient to get back to the present investigation.  

I thought this book was very clever as it was more than just a murder investigation with the author exploring some quite serious topics throughout the book too.  The author has created some brilliant characters with some quite complex needs and it was interesting to see these developed in the story.  It’s not an easy read at times because of this but I thought these issues were dealt with sensitively by the author.

Overall I really enjoyed this book and was excited to be back with Macleod solving another murder case with him.  I thought the book was quite well paced and there always seemed to be something happening to keep my interest.  It was interesting to learn more about Macleod’s past and to see how the Island had changed since our last visit.  The author cleverly weaves the two timelines together and I loved seeing how everything was resolved, especially as I hadn’t been able to guess the outcome.  

Huge thanks to Poppy and Sophie from Ransom pr for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book.  

About The Author:

“Peter May is a writer I’d follow to the ends of the earth” New York Times

Peter May is the multi award-winning author of:

– the Lewis Trilogy set in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland;

– the China Thrillers, featuring Beijing detective Li Yan and American forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell;

– the Enzo Files, featuring Scottish forensic scientist Enzo MacLeod, which is set in France. The sixth and final Enzo book is Cast Iron (January 2017, Riverrun).

He has also written several standalone books:

– I’ll Keep You Safe (January 2018, Riverrun)

– Entry Island (January 2014, Quercus UK)

– Runaway (January 2015, Quercus UK)

– Coffin Road (January 2016, Riverrun)

May had a successful career as a television writer, creator, and producer.

One of Scotland’s most prolific television dramatists, he garnered more than 1000 credits in 15 years as scriptwriter and script editor on prime-time British television drama. He is the creator of three major television drama series and presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland before quitting television to concentrate on his first love, writing novels.

Born and raised in Scotland he lives in France.

His breakthrough as a best-selling author came with The Lewis Trilogy. After being turned down by all the major UK publishers, the first of the The Lewis Trilogy – The Blackhouse – was published in France as L’Ile des Chasseurs d’Oiseaux where it was hailed as “a masterpiece” by the French national newspaper L’Humanité. His novels have a large following in France. The trilogy has won several French literature awards, including one of the world’s largest adjudicated readers awards, the Prix Cezam.

The Blackhouse was published in English by the award-winning Quercus (a relatively young publishing house which did not exist when the book was first presented to British publishers). It went on to become an international best seller, and was shortlisted for both Barry Award and Macavity Award when it was published in the USA.

The Blackhouse won the US Barry Award for Best Mystery Novel at Bouchercon in Albany NY, in 2013.