---
product_id: 5200930
title: "The Blackhouse (The Lewis Trilogy, 1)"
price: "VT5405"
currency: VUV
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/5200930-the-blackhouse-the-lewis-trilogy-1
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

# The Blackhouse (The Lewis Trilogy, 1)

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## Description

desertcart.com: The Blackhouse (The Lewis Trilogy, 1): 9781623659998: May, Peter: Books

Review: Not just a murder mystery… - I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read this as the January Book of the Month with Scotland Book Club. A small-town crime and mystery novel based on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland follows the return of Finn Macleod, now a DI with Edinburgh police, to his hometown and the ghosts of his past, to investigate a murder of a larger than life childhood bully. This novel is filled with fact, ways of life on Lewis, and historical interest references. I found myself making copious notes on points of interest and then Googling information surrounding mentions in this book, from the actual Isle of Lewis, Blackhouses, Lews Castle, the Brahan Seer and the Lewis Chessmen through to the reality of the Guga Hunt and images of Leith Walk. This book brought a remote area of Scotland to life for me. Even though this was a crime and mystery novel, there are so many layers within the story which do not fail to surprise and add extra depth and strength to the characters and the plot. Very well developed in all aspects. I will make time to read the next 2 books in this trilogy. Thank you Scotland Book Club for introducing me to this author. My favourite lines with beautiful words from the novel: ‘And for once it is warm, like breath on the skin, caressing and seductive.’ ‘The sea breathes gently upon the shore, phosphorescent foam bursting silver bubbles over gold.’ ‘And all the regrets of his life rose up inside him like water in a spring, and he knelt beside the boat and wept.’ ‘A blink of moonlight splashed a pool of broken silver on the ocean beyond.’ ‘Real sleep. The kind that wraps all thoughts in black and lowers them gently to the bottom of a deep, dark well.’
Review: A Thriller with Depth and Power. - I sat up and paid attention when The New York Times Book Review (Marilyn Stasio) raved: “Peter May is a writer I’d follow to the ends of the earth.” So, of course I added this author to my TBR list. The Blackhouse is the first in a trilogy based in the Scottish Hebrides and featuring Edinburgh cop, Fin Macleod. Finn is sent to his childhood home on Lewis where a grisly murder on the isolated island seems to be a copy of a murder he has been investigating in Edinburgh. Our detective is somewhat relieved to leave Edinburgh, as he grieves over the death of his young son, while half-heartily trying to prevent his marriage from crumbling. But first a few warnings: If you’re at all squeamish, you’ll have to tiptoe through; 1) a full and grisly autopsy, and 2) an honored, traditional, but gruesome, gannet hunt on a small island. If you’re expecting a standard police procedural, you’re happily in for more than you bargained for ~~ this thriller has depth and power. Now that you have read the Book Barmy safety warnings, fasten your seatbelts, because you are in for a great mystery read. Mr. May is an extraordinary writer, able to take us seamlessly between two narratives. Masterfully moving from first person to develop Fin’s story growing up on Lewis, and then the third person to tell the current day story– Fin’s broken, disillusioned adult childhood friends, the crime, and its resolution. Mr. May has a gift for developing his characters, all of which are remarkable, but Fin is an especially likeable hero. Having the grand experience of staying in the Outer Hebrides many years ago, I can attest that he also gives the reader unbelievably lovely descriptions of the harsh life in the Outer Hebrides — bleak, windy, and yet starkly beautiful. The plot is a compelling mix of retribution, revelations, and intrigue. High accolades for what turns out to be not only a tightly plotted thriller, but an insightful treatise on growing up, moving away, then coming home — one you thought you’d moved beyond. From the introduction: Three things that come without asking: fear, love and jealousy. A Gaelic proverb And thank you Mr. May for a brilliant ending. See more at BookBbarmy(dot)com

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,564,385 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #1,243 in Suspense Thrillers #4,227 in International Mystery & Crime (Books) #10,346 in Murder Thrillers |
| Book 1 of 4  | The Lewis Trilogy |
| Customer Reviews | 4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars (18,614) |
| Dimensions  | 5.75 x 1.25 x 8.5 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 162365999X |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1623659998 |
| Item Weight  | 12.8 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 501 pages |
| Publication date  | August 5, 2014 |
| Publisher  | Quercus |

## Images

![The Blackhouse (The Lewis Trilogy, 1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/719oqzCONmL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Not just a murder mystery…
*by B***S on January 28, 2022*

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read this as the January Book of the Month with Scotland Book Club. A small-town crime and mystery novel based on the Isle of Lewis, Scotland follows the return of Finn Macleod, now a DI with Edinburgh police, to his hometown and the ghosts of his past, to investigate a murder of a larger than life childhood bully. This novel is filled with fact, ways of life on Lewis, and historical interest references. I found myself making copious notes on points of interest and then Googling information surrounding mentions in this book, from the actual Isle of Lewis, Blackhouses, Lews Castle, the Brahan Seer and the Lewis Chessmen through to the reality of the Guga Hunt and images of Leith Walk. This book brought a remote area of Scotland to life for me. Even though this was a crime and mystery novel, there are so many layers within the story which do not fail to surprise and add extra depth and strength to the characters and the plot. Very well developed in all aspects. I will make time to read the next 2 books in this trilogy. Thank you Scotland Book Club for introducing me to this author. My favourite lines with beautiful words from the novel: ‘And for once it is warm, like breath on the skin, caressing and seductive.’ ‘The sea breathes gently upon the shore, phosphorescent foam bursting silver bubbles over gold.’ ‘And all the regrets of his life rose up inside him like water in a spring, and he knelt beside the boat and wept.’ ‘A blink of moonlight splashed a pool of broken silver on the ocean beyond.’ ‘Real sleep. The kind that wraps all thoughts in black and lowers them gently to the bottom of a deep, dark well.’

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Thriller with Depth and Power.
*by B***Y on November 28, 2017*

I sat up and paid attention when The New York Times Book Review (Marilyn Stasio) raved: “Peter May is a writer I’d follow to the ends of the earth.” So, of course I added this author to my TBR list. The Blackhouse is the first in a trilogy based in the Scottish Hebrides and featuring Edinburgh cop, Fin Macleod. Finn is sent to his childhood home on Lewis where a grisly murder on the isolated island seems to be a copy of a murder he has been investigating in Edinburgh. Our detective is somewhat relieved to leave Edinburgh, as he grieves over the death of his young son, while half-heartily trying to prevent his marriage from crumbling. But first a few warnings: If you’re at all squeamish, you’ll have to tiptoe through; 1) a full and grisly autopsy, and 2) an honored, traditional, but gruesome, gannet hunt on a small island. If you’re expecting a standard police procedural, you’re happily in for more than you bargained for ~~ this thriller has depth and power. Now that you have read the Book Barmy safety warnings, fasten your seatbelts, because you are in for a great mystery read. Mr. May is an extraordinary writer, able to take us seamlessly between two narratives. Masterfully moving from first person to develop Fin’s story growing up on Lewis, and then the third person to tell the current day story– Fin’s broken, disillusioned adult childhood friends, the crime, and its resolution. Mr. May has a gift for developing his characters, all of which are remarkable, but Fin is an especially likeable hero. Having the grand experience of staying in the Outer Hebrides many years ago, I can attest that he also gives the reader unbelievably lovely descriptions of the harsh life in the Outer Hebrides — bleak, windy, and yet starkly beautiful. The plot is a compelling mix of retribution, revelations, and intrigue. High accolades for what turns out to be not only a tightly plotted thriller, but an insightful treatise on growing up, moving away, then coming home — one you thought you’d moved beyond. From the introduction: Three things that come without asking: fear, love and jealousy. A Gaelic proverb And thank you Mr. May for a brilliant ending. See more at BookBbarmy(dot)com

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Dark, Compelling, Beginning to a Trilogy
*by C***N on October 3, 2014*

"Blackhouse" is the bleak, yet stellar, first volume in Scottish writer Peter May's Lewis Trilogy. Edinburgh detective Fin Macleod, grieving the loss of his only son and his crumbling marriage, is sent to the Outer Hebrides island of Lewis to investigate a gruesome murder that has similarities in its grisliest details to a seemingly unrelated Edinburgh murder. In the process of the investigation, Fin awakens and confronts many painful memories of his early life on the island: the early deaths of his parents and subsequent life with a flaky aunt, bullies and teachers who harass him for his Gaelic speech, a former best friend with whom he has lost touch, and (of course) his first love. Fin's most compelling and painful memory involves a real Lewis tradition that is still carried out today: twelve men make a perilous journey to Sula Sgeir, an island in the North Atlantic that consists of a hard gneiss rock, ledges, and caves, and rises several hundred vertical feet above the ocean. (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sula_Sgeir). The purpose of the journey is to capture, kill, butcher, and process several thousand young gannets, who used to be a food staple, but are now a delicacy. During the expedition, the men live in an ancient blackhouse, or botha, on the island. May alternates chapters about Fin's contemporary investigation and, in the youthful Fin's voice, his painful childhood. May introduces elements of Scottish natural history, seafaring history, geology, and folklore, such as the predictions of the Brahan Seer Kenneth Mackenzie and St. Ronan's sister, Brenhilda, who was believed to have inhabited and died on Sula Sgeir. Following up on these historic and folkloric elements made reading "Blackhouse" on my Kindle with a Wikipedia app a joy! Best of all, unlike so much crime fiction, the tension and mystery of the story build until the very end of the book's conclusion--one that this reviewer, at least, did not see coming. I immediately downloaded the next book in the trilogy and it is next on my list to read--something I do not usually do. Usually I am ready for a break from the characters and read something else before I return to a subsequent book in a series, but Fin Macleod is such a sympathetic character with such a dark history and unresolved demons that I wanted more right away.

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*Last updated: 2026-02-15*