The Black Loch

Lewis Trilogy #4

by Peter May

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.

Genres: Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Scotland, Thriller, Audiobook, Suspense

394 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 12, 2024

Reviews

[Labijose · Rating 3 out of 5]

⭐⭐⭐

Como ya he dicho en el avance, ¡qué placer volver a visitar las Hébridas escocesas tras la larga espera desde que concluí la (supuestamente) última parte de la trilogía! Siempre supuse que no habría más entregas, pero, afortunadamente, el autor ha decidido que sí.

Y esto es casi lo mejor que puedo decir, para mi desgracia, de la presente entrega. Esto y las magníficas descripciones paisajísticas. Aún sabiendo que nunca sería capaz de aguantar más de dos días en un paraje semejante, me he sentido tremendamente feliz de sentirme “casi” en casa mientras acompañaba a Fin MacLeod en su búsqueda de la verdad (o no) con tal de poder exonerar a su hijo.

Pues de eso se trata la trama. Fin reside actualmente en Glasgow con Marsaili, con la que ha logrado rehacer su vida, trabajando para la policía, (pero no con la policía), cuando recibe el aviso de que han detenido a su hijo Fionnlagh (que sí que había regresado a las Hébridas como profesor) acusado de asesinar a Caitlin, una alumna célebre por sus documentales televisivos a la que casi dobla en edad, pero con la que a su vez mantenía relaciones. El escándalo general está servido, y para la policía hay pocas dudas de su culpabilidad. Aún así nuestro protagonista decide desplazarse hacia su lugar natal con su compañera y tratar de hallar algún resquicio de duda en lo que parece un caso a todas luces resuelto. Y desgraciadamente no va a ser muy bien recibido.

Al margen de la trama principal, que por desgracia es lo de menos, tenemos un escándalo medioambiental con la crianza de los salmones, una de las fuentes principales de ingreso de la población, y de casi toda Escocia. Y creedme si os digo que se os pueden quitar las ganas de comerlos durante una temporada (afortunadamente solo lo hago de pascuas a ramos, aunque debo reconocer que me gustan esos bichos). También tenemos una parte muy emotiva con unas ballenas (bastantes ballenas) que se quedan varadas en la playa cuando uno de sus miembros sufre un mal parto. Quizás no viniera muy a cuento, pero creo que es una adición que le da un mayor empaque a la obra. Eso sí, ya te anticipo que no esperes un final feliz (¿alguna vez lo hay con las ballenas varadas?).

Pero me tengo que conformar con otorgarle tres estrellas a mi retorno a estos idílicos paisajes, ya que la resolución del caso (y la forma de llegar a dicha resolución) me ha dejado más frío que un invierno en esas islas, con ventisca incluida. Y si a ello le sumo la forma tan increíble que tiene Fin de encarar su manera de hacer justicia (y no una, sino dos veces, lo que me causa mayor incredulidad) es que no puedo ponerle una puntuación mayor. Y creedme que lo siento, pues tras su lectura me he pasado unas buenas horas visionando fotos y videos de los sitios descritos. Casi quemo Google Maps.

Por supuesto que, si a alguien le interesa su lectura, no debe hacerlo sin haberse leído antes los tres previos, que son los que me han dejado con tan buen sabor de boca, y que me dejan en disposición de perdonarle a este autor cualquier desliz (y este para mí lo es) presente y futuro. Y gracias a él conocí por unos maravillosos días Escocia, y además pude visitar su maravilloso museo en Edimburgo, con el ajedrez de Lewis como uno de sus mayores atractivos: sólo 11 piezas, ojo, que el resto las tienen los avariciosos ingleses, como todo lo demás que han ido rapiñando por ahí. ¡Ah!, y de paso hice una de las mejores amistades “goodreaderianas” gracias al susodicho ajedrez. Un entrañable saludo, Pili.

Todo ello gracias a Peter May y su maravillosa trilogía.

En cuanto a este, tres estrellas. Slàinte!
⭐⭐⭐

[Sandysbookaday (on indefinite hiatus) · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCERPT: It was early. The exceptional spell of warm, still weather had brought tourists and midges in almost equal numbers to this island off an island on the north-west coast of the most north-westerly outpost of the European continent. The voices of children rang out in the bright, clear morning, tiny footprints left in wet sand. A shouted warning rose above the rush of the sea, as parents laden with folding chairs and rugs and a hamper hurried down the tiny single-track road towards the shore. But a solitary, sharp scream sent fear back like an arrow, and everything was dropped, sand flying in the wake of swift feet as they sprinted towards the water's edge.
The children were standing either side of a human shape lifting and falling only slightly on the ebb and flow of the sea, hair fanned out like seaweed in the sand. The young woman stared up into a sky reflected in the blue of her wide-open eyes. A pretty face, but bruised on the left side, the blood leached from a gash on her cheek by seawater. Her t-shirt was torn, ripped away at the neck, one breast exposed. She was barefoot, white panties shredded in bloodstained ribbons.
One of the children turned a pale face towards her parents, the death of innocence already apparent in her dark eyes. And in a tiny voice said, 'Will she be alright?'

ABOUT 'THE BLACK LOCH': 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 TRAP
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.

MY THOUGHTS: This is a sad story in many ways, laced with lies, secrets, death and the perils of infidelity.

These Hebrideans are a passionate lot - there doesn't seem to be one person on this island who hasn't sinned, many multiple times. Historical sins. Current sins. They all bleed together to form a maelstrom of mistrust and resentment. Old friendships appear to be rekindled but, really, do they count for anything when one friend's son is accused of murdering another friend's daughter? Fin finds himself examining everything - his past relationships and his current - as his life is shattered by the accusations against his son, accusations his son refuses to refute.

The Black Loch is a dark and brooding read, unsettling and, at times, violent and shocking, but one that I consumed in less than twenty-four hours, unable to put it down. Atmospheric, thrilling and suspenseful, it ticks all my boxes.

Will we see more of Fin MacLeod? I hope so.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#TheBlackLoch #NetGalley

THE AUTHOR: Peter May started his writing career as a journalist, winning a national award at the age of 21. Still in his twenties, he switched to writing drama for UK television. He created three major drama serials in the UK and has credits for scriptwriting or producing more than 1,000 episodes of ratings-topping shows. He quit TV in the 1990s to concentrate on his first love, writing books.
Peter May is a Scot living in France.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Quercus Books via NetGalley for providing a digital ARC of The Black Loch by Peter May for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

The Black Loch by Peter May was published 12 September, 2024. The 4th book in the Lewis Trilogy (don't shoot me, I'm only the messenger!) is easily read as a stand-alone.

https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

[PattyMacDotComma · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5★
“He had left Marsaili in reception, sitting huddled on a hard plastic chair, as if by making herself smaller she could also reduce the size of the problem.”

Nothing will reduce the size of the problem - their son is about to be charged with murder. Worse still, the evidence is pointing to Fionnlagh’s guilt, and he’s said nothing to suggest otherwise.

Fin MacLeod used to be a detective but has resigned. He tries to worm a bit of information out of his old Sergeant, George Gunn, but George sticks pretty much to the book, much as he’d like to help. Even if Fin were still his boss, Fin would have been off the case because of his personal connection.

He tries to talk to his son several times.

“Fionnlagh broke eye contact and cast his eyes towards the floor. ‘Still playing the cop?’

Fin felt anger spike through him. ‘It’s a role I played for years, Fionnlagh. And I can still remember my lines.’

Fionnlagh shook his head. ‘What’s the point?’ ”

Fionnlagh is thirty and married with a little girl, Fin and Marsaili’s adored granddaughter, and he’s been having an affair with Catilin, an eighteen-year-old former student. He looks guilty.

Caitlin and a girlfriend filmed popular TV documentaries around the shores, and recently an activist sent them to swim in and film an exposé of the crowded, filthy ‘wild’ salmon traps full of diseased and dead fish.

She and Fionnlagh had been meeting regularly at a house on the top of the cliff above the beach where her body was found. They were seen. From the prologue:

“Out across the clifftops they run, oblivious to the phosphorescence of salt water breaking white against the rocks thirty feet beneath them, the sound of it masking the shouted words exchanged.”

As Fin visits the sites where this took place, he thinks back on what he and three friends were doing in those places in their teens – and it wasn’t good - poaching and stealing for a crook to make some summer money.

An interesting side to these Lewis stories is that so many of the people involved have known each other for generations. Fin and Marsaili themselves met in early primary school when he arrived on the first day speaking only English, while everyone at school spoke Gaelic. She took him by the hand, stood between him and the bullies, and was his champion.

They were sweethearts on and off, married other people, and Marsaili had Fionnlagh, whom Fin discovered years later was his son, not her husband’s. Together now, they have many bittersweet moments, sometimes happily reminiscing, sometimes still resentful.

It is an unseasonably warm, sunny time for the first few days.

“To his left, The Narrows, where he and generations of island teenagers before and since had gathered on Friday and Saturday nights in search of drink and sex and an escape from joyless Calvinism. Right now it was full of tourists and shoppers enjoying the sunshine. But Fin could remember winter nights in the rain and the cold, huddling in the shelter of doorways, sharing illicit roll-ups and hoping for word of a party that might provide warmth and beer and relief from boredom.”

Teens the world over, I suspect, try to escape. I assume it’s Nature’s way of getting them to strike out on their own, make lives for themselves.

What looks like an open-and-shut case turns out to have a lot of elements that only Fin, as a dedicated father and experienced detective, can untangle. It’s an absorbing read.

I liked it all except for the repeated (too often) comments about how terrible it was that two people with a twelve year age gap could have an affair. There’s a lot wrong with the timing and circumstances of this affair, but I think the twelve year age difference itself is unremarkable.

This is book four of the Lewis Trilogy, which I gather hasn’t been renamed (yet). I’ve enjoyed them all. I didn’t comment on May’s descriptions of this unique setting (and weather), but trust me, it’s all there.

Thanks to #NetGalley and Quercus Books for a copy of #TheBlackLoch for review.

My reviews of the Lewis Trilogy

My review of The Blackhouse

My review of The Lewis Man

My review of The Chessmen

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’d listened to audio versions of the (then) Lewis Trilogy back in 2016. I loved these books and have rattled on to friends ever since, imploring them to seek them out and experience these wonderful tales for themselves. So, I was really excited to hear that a fourth book was to be released. How would this latest episode stack up against those forming the original trilogy?

I confess that though I recall some of the ‘highlight’ events of the previous books, much of the rest - the cast’s backstory - has since been swallowed up by the passage of time. Consequently, it took me a little while to settle into this latest chapter in the life of Fin Macleod and those who he grew up with, who’d been born and raised on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. After some years away from the island, Fin, a former policeman, finds himself returning to Lewis having learned that his married son Fionnlagh has been accused of the murder of eighteen-year-old Caitlin, her body having been found washed up on the beach. It seems that the two had been embroiled for some time in an illicit affair.

A big feature of this series is the island itself, the most north westerly land mass in Europe, and possibly the windiest! The native language here is Gaelic, spoken by around half of the population, and much of the land and surrounding sea is labelled in this strange tongue. The descriptions of Lewis are wonderful, and there’s no doubt that a good part of my attraction to these stories is driven by the mystery and drama of this remote, wild, and treeless place. Everyone knows everyone, it seems, and nobody’s business is sacrosanct – here, your business is everyone’s business.

Fin and his partner Marsaili – they were childhood sweethearts whose chequered history has been told in the earlier books – attempt to make sense of the accusations made against their son. As they re-acquaint themselves with people they have long known but have become somewhat estranged from, we begin to learn of more happenings from their earlier lives. In fact, this tale is really a mix of past and present events, tightly woven together to shape this mystery surrounding a young woman’s death. There are dramatic events aplenty here: secrets exposed and tragedies suffered.

In fact, my only disappointment is how the story is eventually concluded. The unwinding of events just feels to me like a unlikely collision of occurrences. I didn’t buy it. But, in all honesty, this didn’t really spoil my enjoyment of my latest trip to the Isle of Lewis. This remains one of my all-time favourite series. Perhaps I’ll get to Lewis for real one day - I have Scottish ancestry, so that's a good excuse. Yes, I’d really like that.

My thanks to Quercus Books for supplying a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

[Brenda · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Fin Macleod and his wife Marsaili were called to the Isle of Lewis, where a young woman by the name of Caitlin had died, they had no idea of what was ahead. Their son, Fionnlagh, had been arrested for her murder and they needed to do all they could to clear her name. As an ex-cop, Fin knew the ins and outs, but also knew he wouldn't be kept updated with the investigation. George Gunn, a local policeman, and Fin's good friend, helped on the quiet, knowing he could lose his job if discovered.

Thirty years prior, when Fin was a teenager, he and his friends would get up to mischief - as teens do - and stealing salmon from one of his friends' fathers cages earned them some pocket money. It was a great lark - until it no longer was. The more Fin learned, the more he worried that the past was connected to the current day. Could Fin clear his son's name before he was taken from the island and charged?

The Black Loch is the 4th in the Lewis Trilogy by Peter May and it was packed with intrigue, menace and danger. This one could easily be read as a standalone as it's ages since I read the 3rd in the series, but reading from the beginning would obviously work well. Fin is a wonderful character, and reading about the tangled web of the past made me wonder how he actually reached adulthood!! I wonder if there will be a #5 in this captivating series? Highly recommended.

With thanks to NetGalley & the publisher for my digital ARC to read and review.

[Ceecee · Rating 5 out of 5]

4-5 stars rounded up

Fin and Marsaili Macleod return to the Isle of Lewis/Harris in the Outer Hebrides when their son Fionnlagh is arrested with the potential of a murder charge for the death of 18 year old Caitlin. Caitlin’s body is discovered on A Loch Dubh - The Black Loch. What unfolds takes Fin on an uncomfortable trip down memory lane as the past catches up with the present.

I’m thrilled Peter May has added another novel to the acclaimed Lewis series and this is another compelling and absorbing read. It’s a dark story and has a haunting quality to it, making it a memorable read. There are multiple layers to the plot, which reveal themselves a bit at a time taking the storytelling into unexpected and unpredictable places. This becomes increasingly uncomfortable for Fin who is very conflicted. As a central protagonist Fin is a source of fascination and I think it’s fair to describe him as flawed- probably why he’s so interesting!

The book is hugely atmospheric- how could it not be with this stunning location which Peter May does real justice to. I’m lucky enough to have been but even if I hadn’t the area comes alive through the quality of the writing. However, as I don’t want to give too much away, I’ll settle for saying I doubt I’ll look at a fillet of salmon in quite the same way as before reading this.

Overall, another belter of a read and one I can wholeheartedly recommend.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is part 4 in the Lewis trilogy, hencefort known as the Lewis quartet.
Fin Macleod and Marsalai returns to the island of Lewis as a civilian after his son has come under suspician of the killing of an 18 year old girl. On his quest for the truth Fin reaquaints himself with his island and his past and people who he knew.
The island is the most interesting character in this book and it illustraties also a world that is gone.
The book has a certain melancholia and while the mystery is there the voyage to the conclusion feels to me more important. Again an excellent story that fits beautifully with Mays Lewis trilogy.
The book has been a brilliant return to a very well written and enjoyable series of books.

To really enjoy this book read the trilogy first, it truly enhances the reading pleasure.

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

[7/10]

It was a homecoming neither of them could have imagined in their worst nightmares.

Fin Macleod and his wife Marsaili return to the island of their birth and childhood, Grand Bernera in the Outer Hebrides. With them, I return myself to the Lewis trilogy by Peter May, although I guess we can no longer call it a trilogy. Was there indeed a need for a fourth book in the same setting? Apparently, yes! Because the secrets believed to be long buried in the peat and the ‘machair’ of the wind swept isles have a nasty habit of coming up to ravage the lives of the survivors once more.

‘There’s not a lot of us left here on Great Bernera, Sergeant. Everyone knows everyone.’

... and everyone is related to everyone else, either by blood or by a shared past.
Fin is no longer a member of the police forces, but it is a murder that brings him and Marsaili back to the island: his son Fionnlagh, a teacher in the local school, is accused of murdering one of his students, Caitlin Black, with whom he was having a secret affair. More disturbingly, Fionnlagh refuses to defend himself and Fin is hard pressed to untangle the threads of this case that lead all the way back to the last summer he and his friends spent on Grand Bernera before leaving for college and/or career.

Because the victim is the daughter of Niall Dubh, with whom teenage Fin and others from his class was involved in a dangerous scheme to steal salmon from one of the local fish farms, a childish caper that ended in two tragic deaths. Now, Niall is a multi-million corporate tycoon operating numerous salmon farms off the coast of Hebrides, divorced from his wife, who is another member of the teenage gang of Fin and Marsaili.

The novel is in general following the usual police procedural steps of interviewing witnesses, building a psychological profile of Caitlin and her friends and combing the actual clues with a fine comb. But in truth, everything revolves around the events from decades ago, from that long ago summer of betrayals and lies and crushed dreams.

It was as if the whole history of his life here on the island, and all the years he had spent away from it since offered only phantom memories, wraithlike and insubstantial. The only one of those that stayed with him, and real, was the most painful and the one he least wished to dwell on.

The sins of the fathers seem destined to be visited upon their offspring, with Fionnlagh’s daughter Eilidh being bullied in school the same way Fin was in his early years. I could recap here the whole complex web of relationships that ties these island people together, but that would I think reveal too many of the festering secrets that have led to the present crime. Peter May, considering the more than ten years since the previous episode was published, is also revisiting events from the past in order to refresh the reader’s memory. I guess he wanted to make this fourth book a sort of stand-alone thriller, separate from the original trilogy, but I think reading The Blackhouse first will make the lead characters more believable.

The other relevant aspect of this fourth book is the sensation that the whole plot is just an excuse for May to go on a virulent and quite partisan rant against the modern practice of salmon farming. To say that the author is against it doesn't even begin to describe the lengths he goes to in order to fit the whole story around the criminal activities of the business owners.

‘Mr Macleod, would you want to eat salmon that have been pumped full of vaccines, half eaten by sea lice and drowned in toxic chemicals?’

Peter May is a great writer. Even as I register my complaints about the lack of subtlety in his campaign to ban industrial fish farming, I feel compelled to also observe that his sense of space, his timing and his nuanced characterization are as good here as in the original trilogy. His subject matter and his treatment with the focus on family ties and on secrets buried in the past bring him very close to the kind of novels I usually expect from Tana French. His love for the rough beauty of the Hebrides and his admiration for the local traditions is what raises his books above the average thriller rating for me.

Each episode has some sort of reflection on the harshness of nature and the corresponding hardness necessary for survival on these inhospitable shores. In this book, outside of the horrors of the salmon farms, the message is driven home when a school of whales is beached on the shore of the island, victims of either nature or man, or both.

Life in the raw. If nothing else, she would learn just how tenuous a hold any of them had on it, and how easily it could be lost or squandered.

These people are fighters, survivors, driven closer in adversity.
I hope there might be more stories to tell about Great Bernera, Fin, Marsaili and the rest of the islanders.

The corncrake's song rings in my ears,
above the rye a full moon sails
Eino Leino – “Nocturne”

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This fourth installment of the Lewis Trilogy (yes, a headscratcher) is unrelentingly bleak and inexplicably creates its own series plotholes. I kept on because I was already invested in Fin and Marsaili and the landscape—a character in its own right—but by the end I wondered why May bothered.

There's a big time gap between book three and book four and that alone is awkward. In the interim, Fin and Marsaili have grown tired of each other and Fin is working a hideous job: a forensic investigator of child pornography. He spends his days in front of a computer watching videos of the unspeakable, becoming more depressed by the minute. What finally unchains him from his nightmare is a call from the Isle of Lewis: his now-grown son has been arrested for the rape and murder of his underage girlfriend.

See what I mean?

May mines Fin's childhood yet again, already the source of multiple tragedies involving his boyhood friends, introducing yet another terrible incident to become the catalyst for present-day mischief and mayhem. It just stretches the suspension of disbelief to the breaking point that one young boy could be involved in yet another incident where one of his buddies dies in an"accident."

Of course, this is crime noir: it's meant to be bleak and a bit over the top. But there's something about this particular novel that feels mean-spirited. The creepy student-teacher affair. Fin and Marsaili's sputtering romance. Yet another twisted minister. And let's not forgetting the farmed salmon half-eaten by lice. Gah. I won't even tell you about the heartbreaking scenes toward the end- the most bleak of all.

I don't know. I just don't feel like this added anything to a what is a great, unique series. If there is a fifth, I hope May finds a bit of tenderness and hope in the scoured shoreline and rain-swept moors of Lewis.

[Bruce Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This novel is a follow up to the author’s acclaimed Lewis Trilogy and features the same protagonist, Fin Macleod. For the past decade Fin has been working for Cyber Crime in Glasgow, a job he’s come to detest. Then suddenly, Fin and his wife Marsaili need to return to their original home; the Isle of Lewis. Their son, Fionnlagh, currently a science teacher at the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway, has been accused of the rape and murder of one of his students, 18 year old Caitlin Black. There is little doubt the two had been having an affair, despite the 12 year age difference and Fionnlagh being married with a daughter. It also turns out that Caitlin is the daughter of Fin’s childhood friend Niall Black, who has become a billionaire through salmon farming.
Fin is determined to prove his son’s innocence even though, unhelpfully, Fionnlagh acts guilty. One puzzling piece of evidence which throws doubt on his guilt is an expensive gold chain with sapphire pendant found with the body that was not Caitlin’s, nor could Fionnlagh have afforded it.
As Fin investigates the case, the picture of Caitlin that emerges is of a popular and charismatic young woman who is passionate about the environment and somewhat estranged from her father.
There are also a couple of interesting flashback sequences to Fin’s teenage years on the island and a few guilty secrets which he and others are determined to hide, yet, somehow seemed connected to Caitlin’s murder.
This is a heart wrenching tale about a man forced to confront the truth about himself and those closest to him, all played out against the harsh topography and climate of the Outer Hebrides.

[Marianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Black Loch is the fourth book in the Lewis Trilogy by award-winning British journalist and author, Peter May. After over a decade in Glasgow, working a job he’s come to detest, Fin Macleod and his wife Marsaili are suddenly rushing back to the Isle of Lewis. Their son, Fionnlagh, currently a science teacher at the Nicolson Institute in Stornoway, has been accused of the rape and murder of one of his students.

Caitlin Black, eighteen, having an affair with her teacher and apparently pregnant, has been found at the bottom of a cliff at the head of the Black Loch. DS George Gunn meets Fin and Marsaili at the airport and tells them that witness accounts and evidence point straight to Fionnlagh, who’s not talking. When Fin gets to see him, he’s disturbed that Fionnlagh acts guilty.

They are both appalled that their son could have been having an affair with a student, but there’s no way he could have murdered her. Is there? Fin is warned off by the CIO, DS Douglas Maclaren: he’s no longer a policeman and any investigating must be left to them.

There are several puzzling things about the case though, including an expensive gold chain and “evil eye” pendant with the body that was not Caitlin’s, nor could Fionnlagh have afforded it. The assault between a consenting couple, too, is baffling. But when the DNA result comes in, the police stop looking: they have their man.

Fin decides, if he is to save his son, he needs to know more about the girl, and what possible disagreement may have led to her murder. Can he, without actually investigating, find out what he needs to know? He chats to those who knew Caitlin well: her mother, her father, her best friend. They paint a picture of a popular, charismatic young woman who was passionate about the environment.

A number of people with a range of potential motives come to light, and without solid proof, eliminating someone who might be protecting their reputation, someone who longs to revenge the death of their loved one in Fin’s past, an environmental activist besotted with the young woman, or a billionaire salmon farmer whose practices are under threat from her surveillance, is a challenge. Fin and Marsaili await Professor Angus Wilson’s post mortem with trepidation.

As always, May gives the reader some gorgeous descriptive prose: “a vast expanse of peat bog stretched away to the mountains of Harris in the south. Myriad tiny lochans caught and reflected the sunlight, as if someone had scattered a handful of shredded tinfoil across the land” and “Villages strung out like beads on a necklace lined the road north, fully exposed to the anger of the winter storms that blew across three thousand miles of ocean to vent their fury on a resolute coastline that reflected the character of those who lived there. Nothing grew, beyond a few stunted bushes, to offer any kind of protection. Trees here had an even more tenuous hold on the landscape than people” are examples.

The narrative is mostly in the third person, with pertinent backstory provided by Fin’s reminiscences in the first person, and a few of Marsaili’s diary entries. The list of Gaelic pronunciations enhances the reading experience of this intriguing tale, which has almost a school of red herrings to keep them guessing before the nail-biting climax and the shocking reveals. A brilliant final instalment to this addictive trilogy.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus/riverrun

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been quite a while since I have read a book by Petter May so when I saw another instalment in this series I grabbed it straight away. This is the fourth book in the series and is a well-developed story that is very enjoyable.

Caitlin, a young woman in her prime and a local TV star is found dumped on a beach at Black Loch. What is hard to believe in this case is that Cailtin was an extraordinarily good swimmer and canoeist, can she really have drowned?

No longer in the police force, Fin MacLeod and his wife return to where Fin grew up but for the worst possible reason, his son Fionnlagh stands accused of the murder of Caitlin and it soon becomes apparent that he was having an affair with her. Fin is devastated and cannot understand how his son could find himself in such a position and as bad as it all is Fin must help try and save his son.

May creates a wonderful atmosphere which is almost as creepy as it is gloomy, broken and damaged people strengthen the story and everything is not what it seems.
I found the book quite slow in parts, it has a very dark theme about it but altogether is a great thriller. If you have read the previous books in this series, I am sure you will enjoy returning to these familiar characters you have come to know.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of the book, all opinions are my own.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

enjoyed this latest in the series many twists and turns

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Back on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, author Peter May has given us the fourth instalment to the Lewis Trilogy. Back to the brooding landscape, in the outermost reaches of Scotland, Fin Macleod returns in a most satisfying way, middle aged, weary and weathered by everything that life has thrown at him.

Fin Macleod is a favourite character in many ways and author May has done great justice to him in this additional novel in a much loved series. Living in Glasgow, Fin is married to Marsaili, in a job that is damaging and a relationship that is dwindling. He has left the Isle of Lewis and has no intent to return, excepting the call that no parent ever wants.. your son has been arrested on suspicion of murder…

So Fin finds himself back home, back to an island of haunting memories as he tries to unpack what has happened and what his son Fionnlagh has actually been accused of. It’s a story where the past and present intertwine in true Peter May style, and a story where the landscape and location is as much a character as any of the people are.

This was a great read and I relished being back on the Isle of Lewis and reconnecting with one my favourite characters. 4 big stars.

[Gail Souter · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tedious and long winded

I never realised I had bought novel on salmon farming and the memoirs of Fin! What a dreadful bore of a book! If only it had concentrated on the actual murder but instead it kept delving back into Fin's childhood memories, which had no relevance to the murder of the girl! The beached whales had no relevance either! A very poor follow up to the trilogy!

[Dorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautifully atmospheric as always with Peter May. It got quite twisty at the end!

Another fantastic instalment in the world of Fin Macleod. One of my favorite series ever.

[Magdalena · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recently listened to The Black Loch by Peter May. While the atmospheric setting and detective Fin Macleod’s story remain compelling, I found the story itself somewhat underwhelming compared to the earlier books in the series, which were all excellent and truly memorable.

I also struggled a bit with the narrator’s strong dialect, which made listening more difficult. I often felt impatient and just wanted to get through the book. For this reason, I think reading it might be a better option than listening.

Overall, I’m giving this book 2 out of 5 stars. Unfortunately, despite May’s usually evocative writing and the haunting Scottish Highlands backdrop, this installment didn’t live up to my expectations and left me feeling disappointed.

[Mysticpt · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s been a while since we’ve been back to these islands and not sure the plot of this one was worth it. He is still a great writer, but not much time spent on the plot and way too much time telling us how awful and toxic the salmon industry is. And then there were the endless pages about the tragedy of beached whales that I’m not sure was worth it. I will round up to 3 stars though many of the pages were a bummer to read and not sure I can eat salmon again.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well it’s been a long time since we were treated to a Hebrides novel by Peter May and this is a stonking return, thankfully I don’t really eat fish or Salmon would be being added to my list of fish not to touch much like cod. This is an intriguing mystery full of heart and soul and great for fans of the Hebrides trilogy or people new to the series. A truly fascinating read 5* from me

[Sophie Breese · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a while to get into this book - I loved the previous books in the trilogy and was caught up in trying to remember the details. And then I let go and was absorbed into the world that Peter May so wonderfully describes. His characters are never simple and I love that about his writing. I felt like the ending came a bit too fast and I am not sure I can eat Salmon again but apart from that an excellent read.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ll be reading the first three in this series without a doubt as I loved Fin, now ex police, and I want to get to know him as he was in his earlier life as a police officer.

Fin returns to his roots on the Isle of Lewis when his son is arrested for murder. Using his skills as an ex policeman, he begins to investigate the death of Caitlin whose body was found on the beach. Clearly this is a small island where everyone knows everyone else’s business and he reacquaints himself with some of his childhood friends. Not all of them are particularly friendly now and resent his presence as father of the murderer.

This is a story of secrets, lies, family bonds, friendships, bullying, and of course murder. Everything in the mix to produce an addictive thriller. There is also the addition of environmental issues which Peter has thoroughly researched and which add more depth to this story. He has cleverly woven these into the plotline. There is the heartbreaking beaching of a pod of whales, based on an actual event, and an unsettling delve into the huge business of salmon farming. Having read a few years ago about how bad the conditions are at salmon farms I eat wild salmon now, and so will you after reading this!

I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know the characters, and the flashbacks to the relevant events in their youth which have have made them the adults they are today. The relationships. The young boys who think they are invincible. The mothers looking back on their lives and wondering what they would have done differently.

A superb fast paced thriller by a hugely talented man.

Many thanks to Poppy and Sophie at Ransom PR for my spot on the blog tour and my hardback copy of the book.

[Helen Frost · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning through and through from the backdrop and exquisitely described landscape of Lewis to the carefully entangled tale with its twists and turns. I have friends in Lewis and feel the spirit of the place is captured beautifully from the beauty and wildness of the landscape to the fact that it’s so sparse in population that everyone knows everyone and there is a strong sense of of loyalties and that everyone pulls together against adversity but if anyone puts a step wrong then it sends ripples through the entire community. The names and Gaelic element made me feel fully immersed and part of the action myself rather than looking on as an outsider. I loved that personal loyalties were tested to the max, not least that a retired cop was suddenly facing the other side of the investigation when his son was the accused and the wrenching emotions this caused whilst trying to keep open minded under extreme time pressures. As usual old secrets rise to the surface and threaten to bubble over and opening old wounds is never going to go well. I didn’t guess the ending and there was a real frenzy of action towards the end which was totally exhilarating. Top notch writing and not one to be missed in my humble opinion.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Black Loch (Lewis Trilogy, #4) by Peter May.

The first 3 books in the trilogy are: The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man, & The Chessmen. It's been quite a spell since finishing the last story in this trilogy now a quartet. As a matter of fact I gave up on the author coming through with a book a spell binding with Fin as the central character. In this case good things come to those who wait. And this book was well waiting for.
This author is such a totally devoted writer in the best way he never fills pages with fluff. He does fill pages with situations that have a morale or life lessons learned. In other words intelligent reading. So appreciated by myself and I'm sure I am not alone in those feelings.
Fin's son is being held for the murder of an 18 year old girl whose body was found dead from a great fall. Proving his son, Fionnlagh, innocent comes very close to costing Fin his own life.
Characters from the first 3 books come in to play with details that help in remembering their past importance. The author has a map in the front and back of the book which I used in following along with Fin.
File this fantastic addiction to Peter May's collection under "My Favorites".

[Julian Worker · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book set on the island of Lewis.

The former police officer Fin Macleod and his wife Marsaili return from Glasgow to the Isle of Lewis because his married son Fionnlagh has been arrested in connection with a murder.

The victim is an eighteen-year-old TV personality called Caitlin, a keen swimmer and canoeist found dead on a remote beach. Fionnlagh was having an affair with Caitlin and admits that he killed her after an argument. However, Fin doesn't accept this explanation as a local environmentalist friend indicates that after the fight on the cliff, Caitlin swam to some salmon cages to take videos of the fish being eaten alive by sea lice.

So who did kill Caitlin?

This book has a very well written ending apart from the unnecessary storyline of a huge pod of pilot whales beaching themselves on a local beach. Fin keeps investigating and eventually puts the pieces together and goes to confront the murderer but they've been tipped off and are trying to leave the isle of Lewis.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Such a depressing book. Peter May loves to write driving directions from one part of the Isle of Lewis to another. Ir talking about cold wind and rain. When he isn’t doing that he’s describing all the characters of the book most of whom regret the decisions they made in their lives. All the loves that are now ashes or the guilt from unrevealed past crimes. Or the dreadful things happening to salmon and whales! I finished the book only because I wanted to be sure I’d correctly guessed the murder’s identify. I did.

[LInda Hunter · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointed. Too much repeated from the trilogy.

[Anna Quilter · Rating 3 out of 5]

An addition to the earlier Lewis trilogy...set in the self named Scottish Isle.
The locals involved in this book tend to leave Lewis..but for one reason or another gravitate back...usually for family or murder repercussions.

Most of the action in the book..has underlying motivations shown in flashbacks and that does tend to slow the action in the investigation of the current murder this book is centred on.

However it is a dramatic setting..with some erie scenes played out ...and some horrors of fish farming shown and explained..

The book is self contained but I'd suggest starting at the trilogy for some history..

[Karen Chong · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 / 5.0

Not a bad book considering this is the first time I’ve read of this series. Although I did find the personal stories Fin sharing filled up half the plot I found the overall read to be great. Especially near the last 100 pages where the book turned to be more gripping, thrilling and encapsulating. My only bone to pick is how much filler was wasted in the story Fin was sharing of his past.

Overall not a bad read, an interesting one. This book is definitely worth the time investment and you won’t be disappointed!

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The body on the beach…

The body of eighteen-year-old Caitlin Black is washed ashore on a remote beach of the Black Loch on Lewis, and the signs are that she may have been murdered before being thrown off the cliff into the loch. There is an obvious suspect – the man who had been having an affair with her, Fionnlagh Macleod, older than her by some twelve years, married, and Caitlin’s teacher. Fionnlagh is also the son of Fin and Marsaili Macleod, who have been living in Glasgow since the events in the last book, The Chessmen. On hearing that their son has been arrested on suspicion of murder, they rush back to the island, where Fin will use his old skills and contacts from his days as a policeman in a desperate bid to prove Fionnlagh’s innocence, despite all the evidence against him.

It’s twelve years since The Chessmen was published as the supposedly final volume in the Lewis Trilogy, so it is a bit of a surprise to find May returning to these characters after so long. A good surprise, though! It’s not essential to have read the first three books since the plot of this works as a standalone. However, this fourth book makes many references to the previous books, which I felt might baffle a reader who hadn’t read them and, indeed, had me straining to remember the previous plots after so long.

In recent years, May has written a few books that fall more or less into the category of eco-thriller, and he has merged that aspect into the plot of this one, with a look at some of the worst practices and outcomes of salmon-farming, which has become huge business in Scottish waters over the last few decades with farmed salmon being one of our top exports. I must admit I felt he exaggerated pretty dramatically by tacitly suggesting that the salmon farm in the book was typical. There are, of course, bad practices in some salmon farms, but on the whole Scottish standards are considered to be high in terms of international comparisons, with due regard to welfare issues. This is always my problem with eco-thrillers – they take the worst and extrapolate out to suggest that that worst is the norm. May also included a mass whale beaching, which didn’t have anything to do with the plot and felt tacked on simply to harrow the poor reader further. I skipped all the sections relating to the whales and missed nothing by it, except some unnecessary distress.

That’s the negatives out of the way – happily they are outweighed by the positives! The plot is good and, as always, May depicts the Lewis setting brilliantly, giving the reader a real feel for the landscape of this wind and rain lashed island; and for its culture, slowly changing to come more in line with the modern world, but still heavily influenced by the strict version of religion practised there. We get to meet up with some of the characters from the past, including Detective Sergeant George Gunn, always one of my favourites.

The main plot is the mystery of what happened to Caitlin, but almost as important is seeing what has happened to Fin and his family since we last met them. Fin and Marsaili are still together, but each is wondering if this is more out of habit now than love. Fin is no longer a police officer, but he has been working as a civilian forensic analyst for the police, which has involved him in reviewing thousands of distressing images downloaded from the dark web. This has left him increasingly traumatised and depressed, and that in turn is affecting his relationship with Marsaili. While both refuse to believe that Fionnlagh could have murdered Caitlin, they are shocked by the undeniable fact that he had been having an adulterous sexual relationship with one of his pupils, even if she was technically above the age of consent. This has them wondering how well they really know their son. There is a feeling that this sudden crisis in their lives will either prove to be the catalyst that ends their marriage, or it may bring them closer together again. This is as much a part of the tension in the book as the mystery element.

The plot itself takes us back into the pasts of the various characters, since Caitlin’s parents had been classmates and friends of Fin and Marsaili in their schooldays. I wouldn’t describe this as a dual timeline novel, but there are frequent flashbacks to those earlier times, and they add to what we already knew about their early relationship and why they split up for so long. I will admit that I had a pretty good idea of the whodunit aspect from a reasonably early point, but there was still plenty of other stuff going on to hold my interest. And the ending, I felt, leaves it open for this to become a five-book trilogy at some time in the future – hopefully we won’t have to wait twelve years for the next instalment. (And hopefully the publishers will have stopped calling it a trilogy by then… 😉 ) 4½ stars for me, so rounded up.

NB This book was provided for review by the publisher, Quercus via NetGalley.

www.fictionfanblog.wordpress.com

[Graeme Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Gaelic names make this hard work to get through. BTW read thee previous novels. I didn't .