The Blackhouse by Peter May

Posted for reader Kaye. Kaye died on October 26, but we wanted to publish her final book review.

This story takes place on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. A young detective, Fin, who grew up on the Isle, is sent back to investigate a murder that is similar to one he is investigating in his home in Edinburgh. His superiors fear it may be the work of a serial killer.

Life on the Isle was hard, the people had their customs, and it was very interesting to read about. The story told of a yearly trip the men from the Isle made to a smaller island to hunt and kill the “Guga,”  a native bird they spend two weeks out of the year hunting. What happens on the island, stays on the island, never to be discussed.

When he was 18, Fin fell on his first trip to hunt the Guga and was saved by his friend Artair's father. The older man tied a rope around Fin and pulled him up the cliff before plunging to his death. 

As the story unravels, Fin discovers that as a result of the accident he has a memory blackout of things that happened to him and his friend Artair. Fin has a dark secret that he has blocked out of his mind. Artair has hated Fin since the death of his father, and it has become deeply complicated.

The story kept me reading just to solve the mystery of the murders. It had a surprise ending. The Blackhouse is the first book in a series and can be found at the Galesburg Public Library in the adult fiction area under the author's last name, May.

Submitted by Georgette Kaye Carroll