The Blackhouse by Peter May – Book Review #3
I received this Peter May trilogy for Christmas from the children. The Blackhouse is the first book in the series and I’ve decided not to read them one after the other. I’ve learnt my lesson from last year when I read a series of Harlen Coben books and ended up having to take a break in the middle. I started to lose the enjoyment because I think I overloaded my brain, reading about the same characters for weeks!
The Blackhouse
Here’s the blurb from Goodreads:
A brutal killing takes place on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland: a land of harsh beauty and inhabitants of deep-rooted faith.
A MURDER
Detective Inspector Fin Macleod is sent from Edinburgh to investigate. For Lewis-born Macleod, the case represents a journey both home and into his past.A SECRET
Something lurks within the close-knit island community. Something sinister.A TRAP
As Fin investigates, old skeletons begin to surface, and soon he, the hunter, becomes the hunted.
My Thoughts
It took me a really long time to get into this book. It wasn’t what I was expecting, which was a regular murder investigation.
Instead of just reading about the investigation and how the detective, Fin McLeod catches the killer, we are learning everything about the detective, from his childhood to present day.
At the start of the book, I kept wondering why I needed to know all this about Fin, and it was the reason I was struggling to connect with the story.
I’m not sure what changed, but just before halfway through I started to want to know more about Fin and all the people he grew up with.
I didn’t see the ending coming at all and now I can’t wait to read the next book so I can get back to the island and read more about Fin!

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[…] with The Blackhouse, the story is set in the past and the present day. I had a bit of trouble getting into The […]
I’m not generally a thriller/detective reader but this sounds really interesting! Thanks for sharing – I’m going to check it out at the library! #readwithme
Ooh this sounds really good! I love a good murder mystery #readwithme
The cover itself looks quite chilling, you have me intrigued. Thanks for sharing with #readwithme
I like the sound of this! I think sometimes the first book in a series sometimes does more scene setting before it gets into the story, but then later books get straight into the story. It sounds very sensible to break them up and not read one after another!
Good that you persevered with the book. Enjoy the next one, it sounds like an interesting series.
#readwithme
Glad you warned us about the slow start, as I sometimes find that difficult to get past in a book. Will be adding this to my list #readwithme