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A Winter Grave
It is the year 2051. Warnings of climate catastrophe have been ignored, and vast areas of the planet are under water, or uninhabitably hot. A quarter of the world's population has been displaced by hunger and flooding, and immigration wars are breaking out around the globe as refugees pour into neighboring countries.
By contrast, melting ice sheets have brought the Gulf Stream to a halt and northern latitudes, including Scotland, are being hit by snow and ice storms. It is against this backdrop that Addie, a young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station, discovers the body of a man entombed in ice.
The dead man is investigative reporter, George Younger, missing for three months after vanishing during what he claimed was a hill-walking holiday. But Younger was no hill walker, and his discovery on a mountain-top near the Highland village of Kinlochleven, is inexplicable.
Cameron Brodie, a veteran Glasgow detective, volunteers to be flown north to investigate Younger's death, but he has more than a murder enquiry on his agenda. He has just been given a devastating medical prognosis by his doctor and knows the time has come to face his estranged daughter who has made her home in the remote Highland village.
Arriving during an ice storm, Brodie and pathologist Dr. Sita Roy, find themselves the sole guests at the inappropriately named International Hotel, where Younger's body has been kept refrigerated in a cake cabinet. But evidence uncovered during his autopsy places the lives of both Brodie and Roy in extreme jeopardy.
As another storm closes off communications and the possibility of escape, Brodie must face up not only to the ghosts of his past, but to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that George Younger's investigations had threatened to expose.
By contrast, melting ice sheets have brought the Gulf Stream to a halt and northern latitudes, including Scotland, are being hit by snow and ice storms. It is against this backdrop that Addie, a young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station, discovers the body of a man entombed in ice.
The dead man is investigative reporter, George Younger, missing for three months after vanishing during what he claimed was a hill-walking holiday. But Younger was no hill walker, and his discovery on a mountain-top near the Highland village of Kinlochleven, is inexplicable.
Cameron Brodie, a veteran Glasgow detective, volunteers to be flown north to investigate Younger's death, but he has more than a murder enquiry on his agenda. He has just been given a devastating medical prognosis by his doctor and knows the time has come to face his estranged daughter who has made her home in the remote Highland village.
Arriving during an ice storm, Brodie and pathologist Dr. Sita Roy, find themselves the sole guests at the inappropriately named International Hotel, where Younger's body has been kept refrigerated in a cake cabinet. But evidence uncovered during his autopsy places the lives of both Brodie and Roy in extreme jeopardy.
As another storm closes off communications and the possibility of escape, Brodie must face up not only to the ghosts of his past, but to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that George Younger's investigations had threatened to expose.
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First published January 19, 2023
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December 13, 2022
*4.5 stars*
It’s the year 2051, and the subject of climate change has been ignored for so long, and now it’s too late, with catastrophic changes taking place across the world. Huge areas of the world are under water, whilst others are too hot to be habitable.
Melting ice sheets have resulted in Scotland being constantly hit by raging snow storms and thick ice. It’s against this backdrop that we meet Addie, a meteorologist who checks mountain top weather stations in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands, but she’s unprepared for her latest discovery - the body of a man entombed in ice.
The dead man is investigative reporter George Younger, who’d been missing for three months. What he’d been doing on a mountain top is a mystery, as those who knew him said he wasn’t an experienced hill walker at all.
Glasgow detective Cameron Brodie volunteers to fly out to investigate Younger’s death, but his ulterior motive is something else all together. He’s been given the devastating news that he has only months to live, but he needs to meet up with Addie, the meteorologist first, he has something really important to tell her before it’s too late - because Addie is his estranged daughter.
Younger’s body has been kept in a refrigerated cabinet of a local hotel, and pathologist Dr Sita Roy, has uncovered some very interesting facts about him, something which puts herself and Brodie in danger. Someone is trying to conceal some extremely crucial information in this Highland village, something that cost George Younger his life. And, as yet another vicious storm closes off the village, together with all communications, Brodie will discover that Younger’s body won’t be the last!
It’s not just the weather that provides the chills in ‘A Winter Grave’ - this is a remote Scottish Highland village, cut off by extreme weather conditions, no means of communication, a killer that clearly knows the landscape, and uses it to his advantage, a rollercoaster of emotions for Brodie and Addie, lots of twists and turns, utter fear at times, and a completely gripping storyline. Highly recommended!
*Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *
It’s the year 2051, and the subject of climate change has been ignored for so long, and now it’s too late, with catastrophic changes taking place across the world. Huge areas of the world are under water, whilst others are too hot to be habitable.
Melting ice sheets have resulted in Scotland being constantly hit by raging snow storms and thick ice. It’s against this backdrop that we meet Addie, a meteorologist who checks mountain top weather stations in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands, but she’s unprepared for her latest discovery - the body of a man entombed in ice.
The dead man is investigative reporter George Younger, who’d been missing for three months. What he’d been doing on a mountain top is a mystery, as those who knew him said he wasn’t an experienced hill walker at all.
Glasgow detective Cameron Brodie volunteers to fly out to investigate Younger’s death, but his ulterior motive is something else all together. He’s been given the devastating news that he has only months to live, but he needs to meet up with Addie, the meteorologist first, he has something really important to tell her before it’s too late - because Addie is his estranged daughter.
Younger’s body has been kept in a refrigerated cabinet of a local hotel, and pathologist Dr Sita Roy, has uncovered some very interesting facts about him, something which puts herself and Brodie in danger. Someone is trying to conceal some extremely crucial information in this Highland village, something that cost George Younger his life. And, as yet another vicious storm closes off the village, together with all communications, Brodie will discover that Younger’s body won’t be the last!
It’s not just the weather that provides the chills in ‘A Winter Grave’ - this is a remote Scottish Highland village, cut off by extreme weather conditions, no means of communication, a killer that clearly knows the landscape, and uses it to his advantage, a rollercoaster of emotions for Brodie and Addie, lots of twists and turns, utter fear at times, and a completely gripping storyline. Highly recommended!
*Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review *
November 26, 2022
It’s 2051 and despite climate activists clear warnings, vast quantities of the planet are now under water with some countries having entirely disappeared resulting in refugees seeking homes wherever there is land. In Scotland the melting ice caps halt the Gulf Stream effect which means it is frequently hit by brutal snow and ice storms. Against this backdrop, Addie checks the mountain top weather station she instals above Kinlochleven in the Highlands when she notices what appears to be an ice tunnel which has created a cathedral like arch. She takes a selfie which captures her, the tunnel and, to her horror, a mans body entirely encased in the ice. Her screams echo around the valley below. The body proves to be investigative journalist Charles Younger, missing since August. DI Cameron Brodie from the Glasgow police force and pathologist Dr Sita Roy are sent to Kinlochleven to investigate.
This is another terrific, riveting read from a creative and talented author. I love the attention to detail in things such as possible advances between 2022/23 and the future and he makes it feel plausible. Equally credible is the immensely sobering climate change scenario and the political impact this could have. He makes me completely buy into it and be even more mindful and concerned.
The characters are excellent, especially the portrayal of Brodie allowing you to really understand him, his life and circumstances as the novel takes us back to 2023. There are some very good dynamics between the key characters especially Cameron and Addie with that situation being in constant flux.
This is a compelling blend of an environmental/political thriller with a puzzling mystery. There’s humour although this rightly diminishes as danger levels rise, there’s plenty of tension, excitement accompanied by a building menace and peril. There are some good plot twists that keep you hooked, the pace is fast and there are some Hollywood action movie worthy scenes which give a dystopian feel. Throughout it all there is atmosphere in abundance in the Highlands setting with cruel weather to further highlight the hazardous situations.
This is a gripping read and one I recommend to thriller fans.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Quercus Books, riverrun for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
This is another terrific, riveting read from a creative and talented author. I love the attention to detail in things such as possible advances between 2022/23 and the future and he makes it feel plausible. Equally credible is the immensely sobering climate change scenario and the political impact this could have. He makes me completely buy into it and be even more mindful and concerned.
The characters are excellent, especially the portrayal of Brodie allowing you to really understand him, his life and circumstances as the novel takes us back to 2023. There are some very good dynamics between the key characters especially Cameron and Addie with that situation being in constant flux.
This is a compelling blend of an environmental/political thriller with a puzzling mystery. There’s humour although this rightly diminishes as danger levels rise, there’s plenty of tension, excitement accompanied by a building menace and peril. There are some good plot twists that keep you hooked, the pace is fast and there are some Hollywood action movie worthy scenes which give a dystopian feel. Throughout it all there is atmosphere in abundance in the Highlands setting with cruel weather to further highlight the hazardous situations.
This is a gripping read and one I recommend to thriller fans.
With thanks to NetGalley and especially to Quercus Books, riverrun for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
February 18, 2023
EXCERPT: 'Who was it?'
'No idea. But someone was out there in the hall listening to us talking in here. I don't know how much they could hear, or why they would want to, but they ran off through the snow when I went after them with my torch.'
She stood up, a little unsteadily. 'How did they get in?'
'Through French windows in the dining room.'
'Broke in, you mean?'
Brodie shook his head. 'There didn't appear to be any damage. It couldn't have been locked.' He pursed his lips thoughtfully. 'But we'd better lock ourselves into our rooms tonight. Don't want to offer open invites to any unwanted guests.'
She lifted her bag and crossed to the fire. 'You think we're in danger?'
He shook his head. 'No. I mean, why would we be?'
She shivered, in spite of standing in front of the flames. 'I don't like this place,' she said. 'I've spent half my life with corpses. But the thought of that dead man folded into the cake cabinet in the kitchen gives me the willies.'
ABOUT 'A WINTER GRAVE': It is the year 2051. Warnings of climate catastrophe have been ignored, and vast areas of the planet are under water, or uninhabitably hot. A quarter of the world's population has been displaced by hunger and flooding, and immigration wars are breaking out around the globe as refugees pour into neighboring countries.
By contrast, melting ice sheets have brought the Gulf Stream to a halt and northern latitudes, including Scotland, are being hit by snow and ice storms. It is against this backdrop that Addie, a young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station, discovers the body of a man entombed in ice.
The dead man is investigative reporter, George Younger, missing for three months after vanishing during what he claimed was a hill-walking holiday. But Younger was no hill walker, and his discovery on a mountain-top near the Highland village of Kinlochleven, is inexplicable.
Cameron Brodie, a veteran Glasgow detective, volunteers to be flown north to investigate Younger's death, but he has more than a murder enquiry on his agenda. He has just been given a devastating medical prognosis by his doctor and knows the time has come to face his estranged daughter who has made her home in the remote Highland village.
Arriving during an ice storm, Brodie and pathologist Dr. Sita Roy, find themselves the sole guests at the inappropriately named International Hotel, where Younger's body has been kept refrigerated in a cake cabinet. But evidence uncovered during his autopsy places the lives of both Brodie and Roy in extreme jeopardy.
As another storm closes off communications and the possibility of escape, Brodie must face up not only to the ghosts of his past, but to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that George Younger's investigations had threatened to expose.
MY THOUGHTS: Chilling, in more ways than one, A Winter Grave is a riveting page-turner. A dead body encased in ice, multiple murders, and political corruption combine with addiction and a family drama that is irresistible - a one sitting read for me!
Set in 2051, so not that far in the future, the world has undergone massive climate and political change. Many areas of the world are under water; others too hot to be habitable, and if you think that there's a refugee problem now, just wait . . .
A Winter Grave takes place in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands; one that is in the grip of an ice storm. May has, as always, created the perfect atmospheric setting for his work.
Brodie has an ulterior motive for volunteering to take on this case. He has received a death sentence of his own, and has something personal he has to get out of the way before he departs this earth for good. So, in reality, he is a man with nothing to lose, and a will to live.
There are multiple twists and turns throughout the novel which kept me on the edge of my seat, and an ending I never saw coming.
Gripping, riveting and thought provoking, Peter May gets all five stars from me.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#AWinterGrave #NetGalley
I: @authorpetermay #quercusbooks
T: @authorpetermay @quercusbooks
#fivestarread #crime #detectivefiction #dystopian #familydrama #murdermystery #mystery #smalltownfiction #thriller #suspense #scottishnoir
THE AUTHOR: Peter May was born and raised in Scotland. He was an award-winning journalist at the age of twenty-one and a published novelist at twenty-six. When his first book was adapted as a major drama series for the BBC, he quit journalism and during the high-octane fifteen years that followed, became one of Scotland's most successful television dramatists. He created three prime-time drama series, presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland as script editor and producer, and worked on more than 1,000 episodes of ratings-topping drama before deciding to leave television to return to his first love, writing novels.
He has won several literature awards in France. He received the USA's Barry Award for The Blackhouse, the first in his internationally bestselling Lewis Trilogy. In 2014 Entry Island won both the Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and a CWA Dagger as the ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year.
Peter lives in South-West France with his wife, writer Janice Hally, and in 2016 both became French by naturalisation. (Peter May)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Quercus Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of A Winter Grave by Peter May for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
'No idea. But someone was out there in the hall listening to us talking in here. I don't know how much they could hear, or why they would want to, but they ran off through the snow when I went after them with my torch.'
She stood up, a little unsteadily. 'How did they get in?'
'Through French windows in the dining room.'
'Broke in, you mean?'
Brodie shook his head. 'There didn't appear to be any damage. It couldn't have been locked.' He pursed his lips thoughtfully. 'But we'd better lock ourselves into our rooms tonight. Don't want to offer open invites to any unwanted guests.'
She lifted her bag and crossed to the fire. 'You think we're in danger?'
He shook his head. 'No. I mean, why would we be?'
She shivered, in spite of standing in front of the flames. 'I don't like this place,' she said. 'I've spent half my life with corpses. But the thought of that dead man folded into the cake cabinet in the kitchen gives me the willies.'
ABOUT 'A WINTER GRAVE': It is the year 2051. Warnings of climate catastrophe have been ignored, and vast areas of the planet are under water, or uninhabitably hot. A quarter of the world's population has been displaced by hunger and flooding, and immigration wars are breaking out around the globe as refugees pour into neighboring countries.
By contrast, melting ice sheets have brought the Gulf Stream to a halt and northern latitudes, including Scotland, are being hit by snow and ice storms. It is against this backdrop that Addie, a young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station, discovers the body of a man entombed in ice.
The dead man is investigative reporter, George Younger, missing for three months after vanishing during what he claimed was a hill-walking holiday. But Younger was no hill walker, and his discovery on a mountain-top near the Highland village of Kinlochleven, is inexplicable.
Cameron Brodie, a veteran Glasgow detective, volunteers to be flown north to investigate Younger's death, but he has more than a murder enquiry on his agenda. He has just been given a devastating medical prognosis by his doctor and knows the time has come to face his estranged daughter who has made her home in the remote Highland village.
Arriving during an ice storm, Brodie and pathologist Dr. Sita Roy, find themselves the sole guests at the inappropriately named International Hotel, where Younger's body has been kept refrigerated in a cake cabinet. But evidence uncovered during his autopsy places the lives of both Brodie and Roy in extreme jeopardy.
As another storm closes off communications and the possibility of escape, Brodie must face up not only to the ghosts of his past, but to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that George Younger's investigations had threatened to expose.
MY THOUGHTS: Chilling, in more ways than one, A Winter Grave is a riveting page-turner. A dead body encased in ice, multiple murders, and political corruption combine with addiction and a family drama that is irresistible - a one sitting read for me!
Set in 2051, so not that far in the future, the world has undergone massive climate and political change. Many areas of the world are under water; others too hot to be habitable, and if you think that there's a refugee problem now, just wait . . .
A Winter Grave takes place in a remote village in the Scottish Highlands; one that is in the grip of an ice storm. May has, as always, created the perfect atmospheric setting for his work.
Brodie has an ulterior motive for volunteering to take on this case. He has received a death sentence of his own, and has something personal he has to get out of the way before he departs this earth for good. So, in reality, he is a man with nothing to lose, and a will to live.
There are multiple twists and turns throughout the novel which kept me on the edge of my seat, and an ending I never saw coming.
Gripping, riveting and thought provoking, Peter May gets all five stars from me.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
#AWinterGrave #NetGalley
I: @authorpetermay #quercusbooks
T: @authorpetermay @quercusbooks
#fivestarread #crime #detectivefiction #dystopian #familydrama #murdermystery #mystery #smalltownfiction #thriller #suspense #scottishnoir
THE AUTHOR: Peter May was born and raised in Scotland. He was an award-winning journalist at the age of twenty-one and a published novelist at twenty-six. When his first book was adapted as a major drama series for the BBC, he quit journalism and during the high-octane fifteen years that followed, became one of Scotland's most successful television dramatists. He created three prime-time drama series, presided over two of the highest-rated serials in his homeland as script editor and producer, and worked on more than 1,000 episodes of ratings-topping drama before deciding to leave television to return to his first love, writing novels.
He has won several literature awards in France. He received the USA's Barry Award for The Blackhouse, the first in his internationally bestselling Lewis Trilogy. In 2014 Entry Island won both the Scottish Crime Novel of the Year and a CWA Dagger as the ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year.
Peter lives in South-West France with his wife, writer Janice Hally, and in 2016 both became French by naturalisation. (Peter May)
DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Quercus Books via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of A Winter Grave by Peter May for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.
For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com
This review and others are also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...
May 21, 2023
This book is set in 2051 and climate catastrophe has arrived as it has long been predicted it would. The author presents a fascinating vision of things that may come - floods, famine, vast areas of land becoming unlivable, the deaths of millions of people across the globe.
In Scotland people are adjusting to a new colder, wetter way of life. Some cities have water taxis in their streets as the level of the sea rises. Glasgow detective Cameron Brodie volunteers to attend a crime scene in the mountains where a body has been discovered frozen in the ice. He has a business purpose and a personal one as the individual who discovered the body is his estranged daughter, Addie.
The book sets a fast pace and the body count is high. Brodie has much on his mind as the story progresses and his personal situation is appalling to imagine, but he never gives up. Peter May gives of his best writing and I could not put the book down. Definitely worth five stars.
In Scotland people are adjusting to a new colder, wetter way of life. Some cities have water taxis in their streets as the level of the sea rises. Glasgow detective Cameron Brodie volunteers to attend a crime scene in the mountains where a body has been discovered frozen in the ice. He has a business purpose and a personal one as the individual who discovered the body is his estranged daughter, Addie.
The book sets a fast pace and the body count is high. Brodie has much on his mind as the story progresses and his personal situation is appalling to imagine, but he never gives up. Peter May gives of his best writing and I could not put the book down. Definitely worth five stars.
January 29, 2023
The story mainly takes place in 2051, when global warming has devasted our planet. Much of the earth is underwater, with coastal regions wiped out. Elsewhere, central inland areas have become too hot to be habitable. Millions of people are on the move as refugees, trying to escape famine and flooding. Immigration is causing war and political turmoil. Melting ice has stopped the warming effect of the Gulf Stream, resulting in northern Europe, including Scotland, being hit by raging blizzards and ice storms.
Most of this gripping, thought-provoking story is set in the near future, almost 30 years from the present, in the Highlands of Scotland. It is chilling and atmospheric, where you feel the raging snow storms, darkness, and ice pellets pounding the body and buildings. There are flashbacks to the present with climate change deniers and greedy industries where profits are placed ahead of the earth's health, and the population feels helpless midst scientific warnings. The story blends climate change, political intrigue and instability, coverups, domestic troubles, and a police procedural with danger, mysteries and murder.
Cameron Brodie is a Glasgow detective. He is enduring more problems than most troubled detectives in recent books. His wife committed suicide, and his daughter, Addie, hates him and has not spoken to him for ten years. She blames Brodie for her mother's death and has not allowed him to meet his grandson. If this was not enough to cause despair, he has learned that he has only six months, perhaps less, to live.
His daughter, Addie, is a meteorologist in the remote Scottish Highlands. She has installed weather stations; her task is to take weather readings and report any changes. She discovers the body of a man encased in ice and suspended in an ice cave. He is identified as George Younger, an investigative reporter who went missing three months earlier. He said he was going hiking on a hill-walking holiday. He was never known to be a hiker or outdoorsman.
Brodie is assigned to fly to the highlands to investigate Younger's death. He travels north with pathologist Dr. Sita Roy, who will conduct the autopsy. He also hopes to reconcile with his estranged daughter and explain a misunderstanding that has caused her hatred. There are flashbacks to the present time that explore Brodie's early police career, his marriage, and family drama. We learn of significant advances in flight and wearable electronic devices.
Younger's body has been refrigerated at a creepy hotel where he and Sita are the only guests. Her findings suggest the cause of his death and other troubling evidence. What is discovered puts the lives of Sita and Brodie in extreme jeopardy and leads to several more deaths. His daughter is still rejecting Brodie, and his time to reconcile is running out. There are some intense, breathtaking actions, and a political coverup is revealed.
This was a compelling police procedural containing a worrisome warning about climate change and a devastating future that could be approaching.
Most of this gripping, thought-provoking story is set in the near future, almost 30 years from the present, in the Highlands of Scotland. It is chilling and atmospheric, where you feel the raging snow storms, darkness, and ice pellets pounding the body and buildings. There are flashbacks to the present with climate change deniers and greedy industries where profits are placed ahead of the earth's health, and the population feels helpless midst scientific warnings. The story blends climate change, political intrigue and instability, coverups, domestic troubles, and a police procedural with danger, mysteries and murder.
Cameron Brodie is a Glasgow detective. He is enduring more problems than most troubled detectives in recent books. His wife committed suicide, and his daughter, Addie, hates him and has not spoken to him for ten years. She blames Brodie for her mother's death and has not allowed him to meet his grandson. If this was not enough to cause despair, he has learned that he has only six months, perhaps less, to live.
His daughter, Addie, is a meteorologist in the remote Scottish Highlands. She has installed weather stations; her task is to take weather readings and report any changes. She discovers the body of a man encased in ice and suspended in an ice cave. He is identified as George Younger, an investigative reporter who went missing three months earlier. He said he was going hiking on a hill-walking holiday. He was never known to be a hiker or outdoorsman.
Brodie is assigned to fly to the highlands to investigate Younger's death. He travels north with pathologist Dr. Sita Roy, who will conduct the autopsy. He also hopes to reconcile with his estranged daughter and explain a misunderstanding that has caused her hatred. There are flashbacks to the present time that explore Brodie's early police career, his marriage, and family drama. We learn of significant advances in flight and wearable electronic devices.
Younger's body has been refrigerated at a creepy hotel where he and Sita are the only guests. Her findings suggest the cause of his death and other troubling evidence. What is discovered puts the lives of Sita and Brodie in extreme jeopardy and leads to several more deaths. His daughter is still rejecting Brodie, and his time to reconcile is running out. There are some intense, breathtaking actions, and a political coverup is revealed.
This was a compelling police procedural containing a worrisome warning about climate change and a devastating future that could be approaching.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 12, 2023
It was 2051 and Detective Cameron Brodie was a veteran cop out of Glasgow, when a body was discovered deeply entombed in the ice high above the little village of Kinlochleven. Cameron volunteered to investigate as he knew his estranged daughter Addie was living in Kinlochleven and he wanted to see her before it was too late. Pathologist Dr Sita Roy joined Cameron on their journey, arriving in the middle of a ferocious ice storm. But making their way through the snow and ice, the International Hotel where they were staying, loomed large. The power was out, there was no hot food or drink to be had, and the body of George Younger, which had been refrigerated in a cake cabinet, was rapidly thawing. The following day, with the assistance of the local cop, as well as Cameron, Dr Roy performed the autopsy of Mr Younger. What she found left no room for doubt that he was murdered - and immediately put herself and Cameron in intense danger...
A Winter Grave is the latest standalone thriller by prolific author Peter May, and it was intense, gritty, fast-paced and chilling (in both senses of the word!) Set almost 30 years into the future with a futuristic, automated "helicopter" controlled by the robotic "Eve", and with many other technological devices, plus the devastating effects of climate change, I found Cameron to be a great character. He and his best friend Tiny had been friends since they were young and couldn't be closer, always having each other's backs. I thoroughly enjoyed A Winter Grave and recommend it highly.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
A Winter Grave is the latest standalone thriller by prolific author Peter May, and it was intense, gritty, fast-paced and chilling (in both senses of the word!) Set almost 30 years into the future with a futuristic, automated "helicopter" controlled by the robotic "Eve", and with many other technological devices, plus the devastating effects of climate change, I found Cameron to be a great character. He and his best friend Tiny had been friends since they were young and couldn't be closer, always having each other's backs. I thoroughly enjoyed A Winter Grave and recommend it highly.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my digital ARC to read in exchange for an honest review.
May 12, 2024
I was recommended the books that comprise Peter May’s Lewis Trilogy by a friend who is, for the most part, a non-reader. This fact alone piqued my interest, and once I’d devoured the first book, I quickly gobbled up the other two. They remain, for me, amongst the best crime fiction stories I’ve read. I subsequently dabbled with some of the author’s other books and found that none matched the heights May achieved with the Lewis books. But when I glanced at the scant description for this one (‘a young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station in Kinlochleven discovers the body of a missing man entombed in ice’) it immediately reminded me of those three cherished books. I was in.
But then the strangeness began. The book opens in the near future, not a huge step forward in time, but massive changes have occurred. We’re introduced to a detective, Cameron Brodie, who has just received some very bad news. While he digests this, he is dispatched off to Kinlochleven in the Scottish Highlands, in an e-chopper, and freshly kitted out with all singing and dancing James Bond style glasses. So what is this, I thought, a science fiction novel? But now we learn that global warming has taken a dreadful toll on the planet, and wholesale changes have taken place, more changes than I could have thought possible given the length of time elapsed. Ok, so now I’m wondering if this is perhaps a piece of eco fiction? I was confused and found that I wasn’t enjoying this tale much at all - I was already considering giving up on it.
But slowly, the story settled into a now and then tale – the then being 2023 – of a romance that ended badly and the search for an answer to the body in the ice mystery. I started to warm to it. The descriptions of the lonely, beautiful place Brodie visited and of the people he met there are wonderfully described, and I was surprised to discover that I now cared about the fate of this man; I wanted him to find answers, to resolve the unresolved. Truth to tell, the James Bond glasses still grated on me and in limiting the cast to just a small number of players the author creates a place that feels somewhat unreal, a contrived space where everyone seems to hide from sight. Yet despite all this, I still found myself eagerly returning to the book ever more desperate to see how it all played out.
So, to what to make of a story that’s such a mix of parts, some that drew me in and others that pushed me away? It’s a difficult story to sum up and also a hard book to rate as I had such mixed feelings about the various elements here. The mix allows the story to develop in the way it does, but there’s also a degree of incongruity about the whole thing. In conclusion, I’m driven toward a three star rating overall.
My thanks to Quercus Books for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
But then the strangeness began. The book opens in the near future, not a huge step forward in time, but massive changes have occurred. We’re introduced to a detective, Cameron Brodie, who has just received some very bad news. While he digests this, he is dispatched off to Kinlochleven in the Scottish Highlands, in an e-chopper, and freshly kitted out with all singing and dancing James Bond style glasses. So what is this, I thought, a science fiction novel? But now we learn that global warming has taken a dreadful toll on the planet, and wholesale changes have taken place, more changes than I could have thought possible given the length of time elapsed. Ok, so now I’m wondering if this is perhaps a piece of eco fiction? I was confused and found that I wasn’t enjoying this tale much at all - I was already considering giving up on it.
But slowly, the story settled into a now and then tale – the then being 2023 – of a romance that ended badly and the search for an answer to the body in the ice mystery. I started to warm to it. The descriptions of the lonely, beautiful place Brodie visited and of the people he met there are wonderfully described, and I was surprised to discover that I now cared about the fate of this man; I wanted him to find answers, to resolve the unresolved. Truth to tell, the James Bond glasses still grated on me and in limiting the cast to just a small number of players the author creates a place that feels somewhat unreal, a contrived space where everyone seems to hide from sight. Yet despite all this, I still found myself eagerly returning to the book ever more desperate to see how it all played out.
So, to what to make of a story that’s such a mix of parts, some that drew me in and others that pushed me away? It’s a difficult story to sum up and also a hard book to rate as I had such mixed feelings about the various elements here. The mix allows the story to develop in the way it does, but there’s also a degree of incongruity about the whole thing. In conclusion, I’m driven toward a three star rating overall.
My thanks to Quercus Books for providing a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 21, 2023
In 2003 I read Firemaker, the first thriller by Peter May, and although the details are a bit fuzzy, I still remember how impressed I was with this book. And for those here on GR who read Dutch: I reviewed Firemaker, The Killing Room (De moordkamer) and Chinese Whispers (De seriemoordenaar).
A Winter Grave deserved the full five stars; I think it would do great as a movie. There are only a few characters involved: Cameron Brodie, his daughter, the journalist, the whistle blower, the pathologist, the policeman and the hotel owner. The setting is the wild and cold highlands of Scotland, made even wilder and colder due to the climate change. There is high-tech involved, and political misconduct. The story sets out with a mystery, and the mysteries keep coming, getting bigger by the page. There is also the personal background of the characters, and in the end the stories come very neatly together, although not always as the reader would hope.
There is just one thing I don’t like: when the blurb tells half the story, as is the case here. How important is it that the body of George Younger is kept in a cake cabinet? How important is it to tell that Cameron Brodie is about to die soon? How important is it that we hear Addie being Cameron’s estranged daughter? It’s good that I make a habit of trying nót to read too much information and/or reviews before I read a book myself. The three things I mentioned above were total surprises for me because I didn’t know this before I started reading and this added to my reading pleasure.
A Winter Grave is not an easy read; the near future is quite bleak so to say, in more than one meaning. It is, however, a great dystopian thriller which will set you thinking.
Thanks to Netgalley and Querces books for this review copy.
A Winter Grave deserved the full five stars; I think it would do great as a movie. There are only a few characters involved: Cameron Brodie, his daughter, the journalist, the whistle blower, the pathologist, the policeman and the hotel owner. The setting is the wild and cold highlands of Scotland, made even wilder and colder due to the climate change. There is high-tech involved, and political misconduct. The story sets out with a mystery, and the mysteries keep coming, getting bigger by the page. There is also the personal background of the characters, and in the end the stories come very neatly together, although not always as the reader would hope.
There is just one thing I don’t like: when the blurb tells half the story, as is the case here. How important is it that the body of George Younger is kept in a cake cabinet? How important is it to tell that Cameron Brodie is about to die soon? How important is it that we hear Addie being Cameron’s estranged daughter? It’s good that I make a habit of trying nót to read too much information and/or reviews before I read a book myself. The three things I mentioned above were total surprises for me because I didn’t know this before I started reading and this added to my reading pleasure.
A Winter Grave is not an easy read; the near future is quite bleak so to say, in more than one meaning. It is, however, a great dystopian thriller which will set you thinking.
Thanks to Netgalley and Querces books for this review copy.
January 16, 2023
*4.5 stars rounded up. Brrr! Bring out the hot chocolate and afghan and turn up the heat for this chill-inducing thriller! A Winter Grave is set in the Scotland of 2051 where the effects of climate change we've been warned about have become a reality. Many parts of the world are underwater or so hot as to be uninhabitable and the world's population is on the move.
But here in Scotland, a body has been found frozen in the ice near Loch Leven, that of one Charles Younger, an investigative journalist with the Scottish Herald who had been reported missing three months earlier, and Detective Inspector Cameron Brodie volunteers to travel there along with the doctor who will do the post mortem, Dr Sita Roy.
Cameron has personal reasons for wanting to take on the case and his backstory is revealed in flashbacks that begin in 2021. Here is a man haunted by his past.
This is my second book by Peter May and both have been excellent! The characters are so well-portrayed with all their human flaws. The mystery is intriguing with nicely-placed shocks as the story unfolds. The setting is so much a part of the story, making it so atmospheric. This was a thrill, from start to finish.
I received an arc from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own. I highly recommend this standalone thriller.
But here in Scotland, a body has been found frozen in the ice near Loch Leven, that of one Charles Younger, an investigative journalist with the Scottish Herald who had been reported missing three months earlier, and Detective Inspector Cameron Brodie volunteers to travel there along with the doctor who will do the post mortem, Dr Sita Roy.
Cameron has personal reasons for wanting to take on the case and his backstory is revealed in flashbacks that begin in 2021. Here is a man haunted by his past.
This is my second book by Peter May and both have been excellent! The characters are so well-portrayed with all their human flaws. The mystery is intriguing with nicely-placed shocks as the story unfolds. The setting is so much a part of the story, making it so atmospheric. This was a thrill, from start to finish.
I received an arc from the author and publisher via NetGalley. My review is voluntary and the opinions expressed are my own. I highly recommend this standalone thriller.
December 11, 2022
A standalone novel set in the year 2051 by author Peter May.
Vast areas of the world are under water or not habitable because of excessive heat due to the constant neglect of climate warnings. Because of this a quarter of the world’s population has been moved due to hunger and flooding, forcing refuges no other option but to escape into other countries. By contrast other areas such as Scotland have melting ice sheets as they are hit by snow storms. A young meteorologist named Addie is checking a mountain top weather station and discovers the body of a man encased by ice.
The dead man is investigative reporter, George Younger who has been missing for three months after going missing on a supposed walking holiday. Younger was no walker making his discovery on a mountain-top near the Highland village of Kinlochleven unexplainable.
Glasgow detective Cameron Brodie volunteers to investigate Younger’s death, but he has other plans as well as the investigation in mind. He has plans to have conversations with his estranged daughter who is based in the remote Highland village.
Younger’s body has been kept refrigerated in a cabinet and what Brodie and pathologist Dr. Sita Roy uncover during the autopsy puts both their lives in danger. Brodie must fast his past as well as a killer who is desperate to keep secret what George Younger’s investigations had threatened to expose.
A good read but I think it was more about me not getting absorbed by the novel than it not been a good book. I have always enjoyed this authors writing and even though I wasn’t fully convinced by this novel I still enjoyed it.
I would like to thank both Netgalley and Quercus books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Vast areas of the world are under water or not habitable because of excessive heat due to the constant neglect of climate warnings. Because of this a quarter of the world’s population has been moved due to hunger and flooding, forcing refuges no other option but to escape into other countries. By contrast other areas such as Scotland have melting ice sheets as they are hit by snow storms. A young meteorologist named Addie is checking a mountain top weather station and discovers the body of a man encased by ice.
The dead man is investigative reporter, George Younger who has been missing for three months after going missing on a supposed walking holiday. Younger was no walker making his discovery on a mountain-top near the Highland village of Kinlochleven unexplainable.
Glasgow detective Cameron Brodie volunteers to investigate Younger’s death, but he has other plans as well as the investigation in mind. He has plans to have conversations with his estranged daughter who is based in the remote Highland village.
Younger’s body has been kept refrigerated in a cabinet and what Brodie and pathologist Dr. Sita Roy uncover during the autopsy puts both their lives in danger. Brodie must fast his past as well as a killer who is desperate to keep secret what George Younger’s investigations had threatened to expose.
A good read but I think it was more about me not getting absorbed by the novel than it not been a good book. I have always enjoyed this authors writing and even though I wasn’t fully convinced by this novel I still enjoyed it.
I would like to thank both Netgalley and Quercus books for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
February 13, 2023
Once again, Peter May has returned to Scotland with a complex novel that combines climate apocalyptic changes, murder mystery and a domestic situation that has left a policeman’s relationship with his daughter severed for the past 10 years. As the story begins, we are in the year 2051, in a very altered Scotland and a very altered world. While the equatorial world is now too hot to sustain life, Scotland has become a country divided between rain and blizzards. Coastal areas are gone. Travel is by new evolved methods that go limited distances. But crime still exists.
Detective Inspector Cameron Brodie has a lot on his mind when asked to volunteer to travel to the West Highlands to investigate a body found in the ice, to establish whether a crime had been committed. He knows his estranged daughter, Addie, lives in the area too. Initially reluctant, he eventually does go which begins the reader’s initiation into possibilities of future travel and its dangers. It also leads to flashbacks into Brodie’s earlier life and family. We learn his family’s background.
While initially these threads may have felt a bit disparate, they came to flow well together for me, filling in aspects of the story as and when needed for the sake of all the characters involved. May is expert at creating settings of all kinds, here majestic, beautiful, threatening, and deadly. He also can devise plots that are complex but are not overdone. He cares about his characters and makes them human. The three stories, of climate, of crime, of family, work out along side each other, though the climate story really hasn’t worked out at all!
Rating 4 to 4.5*
Thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
Detective Inspector Cameron Brodie has a lot on his mind when asked to volunteer to travel to the West Highlands to investigate a body found in the ice, to establish whether a crime had been committed. He knows his estranged daughter, Addie, lives in the area too. Initially reluctant, he eventually does go which begins the reader’s initiation into possibilities of future travel and its dangers. It also leads to flashbacks into Brodie’s earlier life and family. We learn his family’s background.
While initially these threads may have felt a bit disparate, they came to flow well together for me, filling in aspects of the story as and when needed for the sake of all the characters involved. May is expert at creating settings of all kinds, here majestic, beautiful, threatening, and deadly. He also can devise plots that are complex but are not overdone. He cares about his characters and makes them human. The three stories, of climate, of crime, of family, work out along side each other, though the climate story really hasn’t worked out at all!
Rating 4 to 4.5*
Thanks to Quercus and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review.
July 29, 2023
When a body is discovered on a mountain in a remote part of Scotland detective Cameron Brodie & pathologist Dt Sita Roy are sent to investigate.
Peter May has written plenty of excellent character driven crime stories (including the brilliant Lewis trilogy) & A Winter Grave is no exception. As always May's characters are vividly brought to life, but in
this novel the author explores new territory. The story is set in 2051 when the world has been experiencing the effects of climate change. May brilliantly weaves the investigation into how things have changed in the world & gives us a future that is chillingly believable.
I usually find crime novels with detailed family backgrounds quite dull, but here they are crucial to the plot & Peter May delivers one of his best thriller so far.
Peter May has written plenty of excellent character driven crime stories (including the brilliant Lewis trilogy) & A Winter Grave is no exception. As always May's characters are vividly brought to life, but in
this novel the author explores new territory. The story is set in 2051 when the world has been experiencing the effects of climate change. May brilliantly weaves the investigation into how things have changed in the world & gives us a future that is chillingly believable.
I usually find crime novels with detailed family backgrounds quite dull, but here they are crucial to the plot & Peter May delivers one of his best thriller so far.
March 3, 2023
A discovery in frozen Scotland changes everything.
Author Peter May has a knack for taking society’s current situations and extrapolating them to the future. In 2005, May could not find a publisher for his book “Lockdown,” set in the midst of a devastating global pandemic, but it became a best seller in 2020 as readers struggled with that very issue. Now, in “A Winter Grave,” he gives readers a glimpse into life in 2053 – the good and the bad, the different and the same.
“A Winter Grave” opens with a prologue, an inciting incident that sets everything into motion. It is a winter day; the air is a crystal-clear blue; the sun spreads golden rays on the land below, and a woman is checking a weather sensors station. Then, in the frozen landscape, she finds something that changes her life forever.
Camron Brody is a Glasgow Detective. May paints a clear, poetic, and tragic picture of the wreck of a man he has become, but several things in his life are also about to change. Readers follow him as he conducts the investigation in the present and also delve deeply into his past, learning how he got to his troubled present. However, his “present” is 2051, and his “past” is 2023.
Many things are strangely different in 2051, while others are bluntly the same. May sets the story in a politically different Scotland. There are advances in technology, developments in transportation, and changes in the environment; there are also expected and unexpected complications in all areas.
May tells a superbly well-crafted story. The narrative expertly transitions back and forth in time. The plot is compelling and complex; the characters are complicated and authentic; the emotions are intricate and raw. It is uncanny and compelling in every way.
“A Winter Grave” by Peter May is now available in print, as an e-book, and on audio from independent bookstores, online booksellers, retail stores, public libraries, and anywhere you get your books.
#BookReview #PeterMay #AWinterGrave #GlasgowDetective
Author Peter May has a knack for taking society’s current situations and extrapolating them to the future. In 2005, May could not find a publisher for his book “Lockdown,” set in the midst of a devastating global pandemic, but it became a best seller in 2020 as readers struggled with that very issue. Now, in “A Winter Grave,” he gives readers a glimpse into life in 2053 – the good and the bad, the different and the same.
“A Winter Grave” opens with a prologue, an inciting incident that sets everything into motion. It is a winter day; the air is a crystal-clear blue; the sun spreads golden rays on the land below, and a woman is checking a weather sensors station. Then, in the frozen landscape, she finds something that changes her life forever.
Camron Brody is a Glasgow Detective. May paints a clear, poetic, and tragic picture of the wreck of a man he has become, but several things in his life are also about to change. Readers follow him as he conducts the investigation in the present and also delve deeply into his past, learning how he got to his troubled present. However, his “present” is 2051, and his “past” is 2023.
Many things are strangely different in 2051, while others are bluntly the same. May sets the story in a politically different Scotland. There are advances in technology, developments in transportation, and changes in the environment; there are also expected and unexpected complications in all areas.
May tells a superbly well-crafted story. The narrative expertly transitions back and forth in time. The plot is compelling and complex; the characters are complicated and authentic; the emotions are intricate and raw. It is uncanny and compelling in every way.
“A Winter Grave” by Peter May is now available in print, as an e-book, and on audio from independent bookstores, online booksellers, retail stores, public libraries, and anywhere you get your books.
#BookReview #PeterMay #AWinterGrave #GlasgowDetective
February 18, 2024
Peter May thrillers always put me in mind of that old real estate mantra: location, location, location. Each of his books (well, at least the ones I've read) feature exciting scenes in beautiful locations, often remote and frequently accompanied by weather events that enhance the dramatic tension.
This book is no exception. In this case the key variables include not only location and weather, but time as well. The setting is Glasgow and Kinlochleven in the Highlands, in the year 2051 (with flashbacks to the 2020s). The Greenland glaciers have melted, raising sea levels, and other climate changes have triggered an alteration in the Gulf Stream, which no longer reaches Scotland. Water taxis navigate a colder Glasgow, and immigration from areas of Africa and Asia that are now uninhabitable due to flooding and/or heat is a political flashpoint.
Cameron Brodie, a police detective in his 50s, is asked to investigate the circumstances of the death of a reporter found frozen in the ice in the hills near Kinlochleven. His background as a hill climber makes him the ideal candidate for this task, but at first he is reluctant to accept the assignment because the person who found the body is his estranged daughter, Addie. He has a change of heart when he receives a diagnosis of terminal cancer. There are things he needs to discuss with Addie before his life ends.
The bodies pile up as Brodie attempts to uncover what brought the reporter to that location. Repeated ice and snow storms hamper his efforts, and it's tough to know who to trust. Those flashbacks illuminate the story behind his break with Addie.
The story includes plenty of detailed political, economic and environmental commentary; May is known for thoroughly researching topics in his books, and it shows here. As does his love for the highlands. There's some pretty nifty tech as well.
I ended up enjoying this more than I had expected. May continues to be a reliable, entertaining author.
This book is no exception. In this case the key variables include not only location and weather, but time as well. The setting is Glasgow and Kinlochleven in the Highlands, in the year 2051 (with flashbacks to the 2020s). The Greenland glaciers have melted, raising sea levels, and other climate changes have triggered an alteration in the Gulf Stream, which no longer reaches Scotland. Water taxis navigate a colder Glasgow, and immigration from areas of Africa and Asia that are now uninhabitable due to flooding and/or heat is a political flashpoint.
Cameron Brodie, a police detective in his 50s, is asked to investigate the circumstances of the death of a reporter found frozen in the ice in the hills near Kinlochleven. His background as a hill climber makes him the ideal candidate for this task, but at first he is reluctant to accept the assignment because the person who found the body is his estranged daughter, Addie. He has a change of heart when he receives a diagnosis of terminal cancer. There are things he needs to discuss with Addie before his life ends.
The bodies pile up as Brodie attempts to uncover what brought the reporter to that location. Repeated ice and snow storms hamper his efforts, and it's tough to know who to trust. Those flashbacks illuminate the story behind his break with Addie.
The story includes plenty of detailed political, economic and environmental commentary; May is known for thoroughly researching topics in his books, and it shows here. As does his love for the highlands. There's some pretty nifty tech as well.
I ended up enjoying this more than I had expected. May continues to be a reliable, entertaining author.
February 19, 2024
Любопитното в новия роман на Питър Мей е, че действието от наши дни се води през 2051, а авторът въобще не е оптимист по отношение на случващото се със света. Глобалната екологична катастрофа причинява покачването на водите на Световния океан и ниските части от континентите потъват, предизвиквайки енергийни и мигрантски кризи във всички точки на планетата. На фона на тази вещаеща апокалипсиса реалност, в която и Шотландия не е пощадена, полицай Броуди разследва смъртта на известен журналист високо в планината. Сладкодумник е Мей и винаги успява да предаде по някоя съкровена човешка история, като добавка към криминалната фабула, забърквайки умело събития, поставени в настоящето и в миналото, но тук някак набързо се случи всичко, включително финалната развръзка, сторила ми се доста претупана.
June 29, 2023
This is a chilling novel – both literally and metaphorically. Set in the year 2051, after decades of politicians ignoring and denying the effects of climate change, the equatorial regions are now far too hot for human habitation, whole swathes of low-lying areas are totally submerged in the sea and, because of the destruction of the Gulf Stream, Scotland now suffers winters of stormy Arctic severity.
When the body of investigative journalist George Younger is discovered entombed in an ice tunnel in the Mamore Forest, veteran Glasgow detective Cameron Brodie volunteers to investigate. However, the investigation is just an ostensible reason; primarily he wishes to reconcile with the woman who discovered the body, his estranged daughter, Addie. The two haven’t spoken for over ten years, since the death of Brodie’s wife, Mel.
What follows is a gripping action adventure, incorporating elements of political corruption and heart wrenching family drama, set inside a dystopian projection of the future which is scaringly credible.
When the body of investigative journalist George Younger is discovered entombed in an ice tunnel in the Mamore Forest, veteran Glasgow detective Cameron Brodie volunteers to investigate. However, the investigation is just an ostensible reason; primarily he wishes to reconcile with the woman who discovered the body, his estranged daughter, Addie. The two haven’t spoken for over ten years, since the death of Brodie’s wife, Mel.
What follows is a gripping action adventure, incorporating elements of political corruption and heart wrenching family drama, set inside a dystopian projection of the future which is scaringly credible.
January 7, 2023
A Winter Grave is the ninth stand-alone novel by award-winning Scottish journalist, screenwriter and author, Peter May. The audio version is narrated by Peter Forbes. In November 2051, a young meteorologist is checking her weather station in the western Scottish Highlands when she comes across a body in a patch of ice in a corrie. Three months earlier, award-winning Scottish Herald investigative journalist, Charles Younger, the bane of corrupt politicians, went missing near Loch Leven.
Glasgow Police DI Cameron Brodie, fresh from failing to get murder conviction due to technical complications, rejects his DCI’s request to accompany the pathologist to perform a post mortem on Younger, and, noting his expertise in hill walking, examine the scene. But then he receives a diagnosis adverse enough to change his mind.
After a slightly rocky introduction, Brodie finds that he gets on quite well with police pathologist Dr Sita Roy, and both are relieved when their eVTOL (electric helicopter) sets them down safely during an ice storm, in the blacked-out village of Kinlochleven.
The following morning, despite an ongoing power failure, Sita conducts her PM and concludes that Younger was murdered, noting some anomalies about his body in her findings. The blackout prevents instant analysis of the likely killer’s DNA, as well as stopping their eVTOL being recharged, effectively grounding them.
Meanwhile, Brodie has kept to himself the fact that the woman who found the body, the wife of the local bobby, is his estranged daughter. Addie Sinclair is not best pleased to see her father, and vocal about it. But they are forced together to climb the mountain and check what is now a murder scene. But why, they both wonder, was a journalist with no hill-walking experience take the difficult trail up to a high peak?
And Brodie is determined to take what may be his last opportunity to tell his daughter what he has been silent about for the ten years since her mother’s death.
With comms and the internet still down, and the Ice storm having cut off the village, Brodie continues to investigate this puzzling murder. But certain incidents add an atmosphere of menace, and then there’s another murder, which won’t be the last before Brodie departs the Kinlochleven.
May sets his story in a near future where an independent Scotland has rejoined the EU, and climate change has significantly raised sea levels, causing widespread flooding and a huge increase in climate refugees, which exacerbates racism, and a plague of resistant German cockroaches: he paints a realistic if rather frightening picture of how the world could look if climate change is allowed to progress at the current rate.
Interspersed throughout Brodie’s narrative are flashbacks to 2023, when he first met Addie’s mother, gradually revealing what has weighed so heavily on Brodie’s conscience for a decade. May includes some interesting tech, and his characters have depth and appeal. A well-crafted plot, with action and intrigue, twists and red herrings, and a nail-biting climax, make this is another Peter May winner. Unputdownable.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus
Glasgow Police DI Cameron Brodie, fresh from failing to get murder conviction due to technical complications, rejects his DCI’s request to accompany the pathologist to perform a post mortem on Younger, and, noting his expertise in hill walking, examine the scene. But then he receives a diagnosis adverse enough to change his mind.
After a slightly rocky introduction, Brodie finds that he gets on quite well with police pathologist Dr Sita Roy, and both are relieved when their eVTOL (electric helicopter) sets them down safely during an ice storm, in the blacked-out village of Kinlochleven.
The following morning, despite an ongoing power failure, Sita conducts her PM and concludes that Younger was murdered, noting some anomalies about his body in her findings. The blackout prevents instant analysis of the likely killer’s DNA, as well as stopping their eVTOL being recharged, effectively grounding them.
Meanwhile, Brodie has kept to himself the fact that the woman who found the body, the wife of the local bobby, is his estranged daughter. Addie Sinclair is not best pleased to see her father, and vocal about it. But they are forced together to climb the mountain and check what is now a murder scene. But why, they both wonder, was a journalist with no hill-walking experience take the difficult trail up to a high peak?
And Brodie is determined to take what may be his last opportunity to tell his daughter what he has been silent about for the ten years since her mother’s death.
With comms and the internet still down, and the Ice storm having cut off the village, Brodie continues to investigate this puzzling murder. But certain incidents add an atmosphere of menace, and then there’s another murder, which won’t be the last before Brodie departs the Kinlochleven.
May sets his story in a near future where an independent Scotland has rejoined the EU, and climate change has significantly raised sea levels, causing widespread flooding and a huge increase in climate refugees, which exacerbates racism, and a plague of resistant German cockroaches: he paints a realistic if rather frightening picture of how the world could look if climate change is allowed to progress at the current rate.
Interspersed throughout Brodie’s narrative are flashbacks to 2023, when he first met Addie’s mother, gradually revealing what has weighed so heavily on Brodie’s conscience for a decade. May includes some interesting tech, and his characters have depth and appeal. A well-crafted plot, with action and intrigue, twists and red herrings, and a nail-biting climax, make this is another Peter May winner. Unputdownable.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus
September 14, 2023
Pretty poor
Predicting the world of the future is tricky stuff, and although Peter May is a good writer he didn't make a very good fist of it here. Whistleblowers and Politicians having people killed to prevent a scandal? Old, old stuff. And bringing down a government by going to a newspaper? Please. Papers are just about dead now, there's not much chance of them surviving another 30-odd years. And kids playing PlayStation 15's, and using 15g? He wasn't even trying, was he? Aside from that the story wasn't very gripping, and neither were the characters. It was all pretty tired and formulaic.
Predicting the world of the future is tricky stuff, and although Peter May is a good writer he didn't make a very good fist of it here. Whistleblowers and Politicians having people killed to prevent a scandal? Old, old stuff. And bringing down a government by going to a newspaper? Please. Papers are just about dead now, there's not much chance of them surviving another 30-odd years. And kids playing PlayStation 15's, and using 15g? He wasn't even trying, was he? Aside from that the story wasn't very gripping, and neither were the characters. It was all pretty tired and formulaic.
December 10, 2023
A murder mystery set in Scotland in the future, when climate change is ravaging the earth. Some places, such as England, have become colder because the Gulf Stream has ceased. A dying detective travels to a northern outpost to investigate the death of a man found in the snow. There is also a past timeline of how he saved his future wife from a violent drunkard. It took about half the book before it got really interesting. The different timelines supplemented each other well.
February 1, 2024
3.75 🌟
Nothing will ever top the Blackhouse series by this author, but I was pleasantly surprised how good this stand alone book was.
This was set in Scotland in 2051. A Scotland that has changed drastically due to climate change. I am not a big fan of futuristic books but this was a bit eye-opening in some ways, with the changing of coastlines and some of the new technology.
A murder with a lot of twists and an ending that I wasn’t prepared for. It was a delight to read and makes me nostalgic for Glencoe and the highlands. 🏴 👏🏻
Nothing will ever top the Blackhouse series by this author, but I was pleasantly surprised how good this stand alone book was.
This was set in Scotland in 2051. A Scotland that has changed drastically due to climate change. I am not a big fan of futuristic books but this was a bit eye-opening in some ways, with the changing of coastlines and some of the new technology.
A murder with a lot of twists and an ending that I wasn’t prepared for. It was a delight to read and makes me nostalgic for Glencoe and the highlands. 🏴 👏🏻
March 12, 2025
In 2051, a meteorologist discovers a man's body entombed in ice, which leads to a murder investigation by a Glasgow detective with a personal stake in the case.
It's been entirely too long since I read a Peter May novel, so when a monthly group challenge came about with a category that fit, it seemed like a good time to pick another one up. I haven't read many of this series but Peter May's writing and the beautiful scenery of Scotland, makes them all special.
Being a Peter May offering, it was no surprise that it was a really good story. The difference between this series and May's others is that its set in the near future...the year is 2051. We're handed a murder, a frozen corpse in a black of ice, overly despondent detective...Cameron Brodie, and his daughter Addie, who he hasn't had any contact with for 10-years. Addie is a meteorologist in a small Scottish village, a village that is now covered in recent snow and ice. While checking her weather stations, Addie discovers a body of a man, frozen in the ice. Turns out that it's the body of a news reporter. Noone knows, and everyone wonders what he had been doing in the area. Detective Inspector Cameron Brodie is soon joined by the pathologist, Dr. Sita Roy as they fly to the little village north of Glasglow, where they will meet a local police officer, Bobby. Surprise! Bobby just happens to be Addie’s husband. During the necropsy they learn that the reporter had been murdered.
Addie is more than shocked to see that her father and learn that he's handling the case, and like it or not...dealing with him and answering his questions. They have been at odds for 10-years as Addie believes that her mother committed suicide because Cameron was cheating. So, it begins...the investigation to learn what happened to the reporter.
This book was different...mainly the timeline...it takes place 2050. At first, I thought it might be too much on "sci-fi" side, which I am not a big fan of, but Peter May was able to blend in one of the major concerns taking place in the world today, with what it may yet be like 25 years from now. As always, the characters are interesting and the mystery is more than ingenious and complex, as well as constantly surprising. Glad I chose to visit again with this author.
It's been entirely too long since I read a Peter May novel, so when a monthly group challenge came about with a category that fit, it seemed like a good time to pick another one up. I haven't read many of this series but Peter May's writing and the beautiful scenery of Scotland, makes them all special.
Being a Peter May offering, it was no surprise that it was a really good story. The difference between this series and May's others is that its set in the near future...the year is 2051. We're handed a murder, a frozen corpse in a black of ice, overly despondent detective...Cameron Brodie, and his daughter Addie, who he hasn't had any contact with for 10-years. Addie is a meteorologist in a small Scottish village, a village that is now covered in recent snow and ice. While checking her weather stations, Addie discovers a body of a man, frozen in the ice. Turns out that it's the body of a news reporter. Noone knows, and everyone wonders what he had been doing in the area. Detective Inspector Cameron Brodie is soon joined by the pathologist, Dr. Sita Roy as they fly to the little village north of Glasglow, where they will meet a local police officer, Bobby. Surprise! Bobby just happens to be Addie’s husband. During the necropsy they learn that the reporter had been murdered.
Addie is more than shocked to see that her father and learn that he's handling the case, and like it or not...dealing with him and answering his questions. They have been at odds for 10-years as Addie believes that her mother committed suicide because Cameron was cheating. So, it begins...the investigation to learn what happened to the reporter.
This book was different...mainly the timeline...it takes place 2050. At first, I thought it might be too much on "sci-fi" side, which I am not a big fan of, but Peter May was able to blend in one of the major concerns taking place in the world today, with what it may yet be like 25 years from now. As always, the characters are interesting and the mystery is more than ingenious and complex, as well as constantly surprising. Glad I chose to visit again with this author.
January 11, 2025
This is a book I would never have chosen if left to my own devices, but my book club selected it. It's a very dark book, maybe what they call granite noir? It is very different from our usual fare, being set in a post-apocalyptic near future. In 2051 the climate has become all the things that we are being warned about right now: permanent flooding of coastal areas, viscous storms, desperate people looking for a new home, desperate politicians try to bar entrance to their countries.
Human dramas continue on, despite the worldwide chaos. Cameron Brodie is an old timer on the police force who has quit paying much attention to the news. He has personal issues to occupy his thoughts, namely dead wife, an estranged daughter, and six months to live due to virulent cancer. So he lies to his superior and takes a case that will take him to the little town in Scotland where his daughter lives. In fact, she is the one who discovered the corpse of a journalist frozen in an ice tunnel at the top of a mountain.
I struggled to connect to any of the characters but finally, a third of the way through, I at least developed an interest in the plot. Who killed the journalist and what were they trying to cover up? How far will they go? [Spoiler alert: pretty far.] I alternated reading and housework in order to withstand the plot tension. Nothing like doing dishes to calm me down.
In my opinion, this book skews more toward the thriller end of the spectrum than the mystery end. Brodie manages to find things out, put things together and survive mishaps that are so severe that I found my belief being stretched very thin. I will be interested in hearing what other book club members think, particularly our retired crown attorney. I hope he's there!
Human dramas continue on, despite the worldwide chaos. Cameron Brodie is an old timer on the police force who has quit paying much attention to the news. He has personal issues to occupy his thoughts, namely dead wife, an estranged daughter, and six months to live due to virulent cancer. So he lies to his superior and takes a case that will take him to the little town in Scotland where his daughter lives. In fact, she is the one who discovered the corpse of a journalist frozen in an ice tunnel at the top of a mountain.
I struggled to connect to any of the characters but finally, a third of the way through, I at least developed an interest in the plot. Who killed the journalist and what were they trying to cover up? How far will they go? [Spoiler alert: pretty far.] I alternated reading and housework in order to withstand the plot tension. Nothing like doing dishes to calm me down.
In my opinion, this book skews more toward the thriller end of the spectrum than the mystery end. Brodie manages to find things out, put things together and survive mishaps that are so severe that I found my belief being stretched very thin. I will be interested in hearing what other book club members think, particularly our retired crown attorney. I hope he's there!
January 7, 2023
3.5 stars. Set in a very different 2051 where Global Warming is causing havoc around the world. We meet Cameron Brodie a police detective who is dealing with demons of his own.
The body of a missing reporter is found in a mountain top Scottish village. For reasons of his own Brodie volunteers to take the case.
What follows is a story that take place in both 2051 and 2023 the changes in times were sometime jarring but once I got use to it I settled into the story. There were plenty of twists and turns and I was no where near guessing the ending.
What May does with out being preachy, is to get you to focus on the possible outcomes of global warming. Let me be clear this is a mystery novel with a unique setting - our possible future.
Thanks to Netgalley. the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.
The body of a missing reporter is found in a mountain top Scottish village. For reasons of his own Brodie volunteers to take the case.
What follows is a story that take place in both 2051 and 2023 the changes in times were sometime jarring but once I got use to it I settled into the story. There were plenty of twists and turns and I was no where near guessing the ending.
What May does with out being preachy, is to get you to focus on the possible outcomes of global warming. Let me be clear this is a mystery novel with a unique setting - our possible future.
Thanks to Netgalley. the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.
January 23, 2023
Narrated by Peter Forbes
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Story by Peter May
⭐⭐ 2.5
This story was just OK. I didn't particularly love it, but also didn't particularly dislike it. I just found it really hard overall to get into the story and feel any certain way towards any of the characters.
⭐⭐⭐⭐
Story by Peter May
⭐⭐ 2.5
This story was just OK. I didn't particularly love it, but also didn't particularly dislike it. I just found it really hard overall to get into the story and feel any certain way towards any of the characters.
March 11, 2023
Enjoyed this future based crime thriller based in Scotland
January 7, 2023
A Winter Grave is the ninth stand-alone novel by award-winning Scottish journalist, screenwriter and author, Peter May. In November 2051, a young meteorologist is checking her weather station in the western Scottish Highlands when she comes across a body in a patch of ice in a corrie. Three months earlier, award-winning Scottish Herald investigative journalist, Charles Younger, the bane of corrupt politicians, went missing near Loch Leven.
Glasgow Police DI Cameron Brodie, fresh from failing to get murder conviction due to technical complications, rejects his DCI’s request to accompany the pathologist to perform a post mortem on Younger, and, noting his expertise in hill walking, examine the scene. But then he receives a diagnosis adverse enough to change his mind.
After a slightly rocky introduction, Brodie finds that he gets on quite well with police pathologist Dr Sita Roy, and both are relieved when their eVTOL (electric helicopter) sets them down safely during an ice storm, in the blacked-out village of Kinlochleven.
The following morning, despite an ongoing power failure, Sita conducts her PM and concludes that Younger was murdered, noting some anomalies about his body in her findings. The blackout prevents instant analysis of the likely killer’s DNA, as well as stopping their eVTOL being recharged, effectively grounding them.
Meanwhile, Brodie has kept to himself the fact that the woman who found the body, the wife of the local bobby, is his estranged daughter. Addie Sinclair is not best pleased to see her father, and vocal about it. But they are forced together to climb the mountain and check what is now a murder scene. But why, they both wonder, was a journalist with no hill-walking experience take the difficult trail up to a high peak?
And Brodie is determined to take what may be his last opportunity to tell his daughter what he has been silent about for the ten years since her mother’s death.
With comms and the internet still down, and the Ice storm having cut off the village, Brodie continues to investigate this puzzling murder. But certain incidents add an atmosphere of menace, and then there’s another murder, which won’t be the last before Brodie departs the Kinlochleven.
May sets his story in a near future where an independent Scotland has rejoined the EU, and climate change has significantly raised sea levels, causing widespread flooding and a huge increase in climate refugees, which exacerbates racism, and a plague of resistant German cockroaches: he paints a realistic if rather frightening picture of how the world could look if climate change is allowed to progress at the current rate.
Interspersed throughout Brodie’s narrative are flashbacks to 2023, when he first met Addie’s mother, gradually revealing what has weighed so heavily on Brodie’s conscience for a decade. May includes some interesting tech, and his characters have depth and appeal. A well-crafted plot, with action and intrigue, twists and red herrings, and a nail-biting climax, make this is another Peter May winner. Unputdownable.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus
Glasgow Police DI Cameron Brodie, fresh from failing to get murder conviction due to technical complications, rejects his DCI’s request to accompany the pathologist to perform a post mortem on Younger, and, noting his expertise in hill walking, examine the scene. But then he receives a diagnosis adverse enough to change his mind.
After a slightly rocky introduction, Brodie finds that he gets on quite well with police pathologist Dr Sita Roy, and both are relieved when their eVTOL (electric helicopter) sets them down safely during an ice storm, in the blacked-out village of Kinlochleven.
The following morning, despite an ongoing power failure, Sita conducts her PM and concludes that Younger was murdered, noting some anomalies about his body in her findings. The blackout prevents instant analysis of the likely killer’s DNA, as well as stopping their eVTOL being recharged, effectively grounding them.
Meanwhile, Brodie has kept to himself the fact that the woman who found the body, the wife of the local bobby, is his estranged daughter. Addie Sinclair is not best pleased to see her father, and vocal about it. But they are forced together to climb the mountain and check what is now a murder scene. But why, they both wonder, was a journalist with no hill-walking experience take the difficult trail up to a high peak?
And Brodie is determined to take what may be his last opportunity to tell his daughter what he has been silent about for the ten years since her mother’s death.
With comms and the internet still down, and the Ice storm having cut off the village, Brodie continues to investigate this puzzling murder. But certain incidents add an atmosphere of menace, and then there’s another murder, which won’t be the last before Brodie departs the Kinlochleven.
May sets his story in a near future where an independent Scotland has rejoined the EU, and climate change has significantly raised sea levels, causing widespread flooding and a huge increase in climate refugees, which exacerbates racism, and a plague of resistant German cockroaches: he paints a realistic if rather frightening picture of how the world could look if climate change is allowed to progress at the current rate.
Interspersed throughout Brodie’s narrative are flashbacks to 2023, when he first met Addie’s mother, gradually revealing what has weighed so heavily on Brodie’s conscience for a decade. May includes some interesting tech, and his characters have depth and appeal. A well-crafted plot, with action and intrigue, twists and red herrings, and a nail-biting climax, make this is another Peter May winner. Unputdownable.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Quercus
October 26, 2023
Il mix di futuro distopico, emergenza ambientale, ambientazione in Scozia (che però è diventata tipo Venezia), detective puro e duro con passato famigliare à la Mankell, descrizione naturalistiche come sempre mozzafiato .... ha colpito ancora. Iniziato ieri sera, finito questa mattina.
Quando lo metti giù è tutto un po' incredibile (il detective Brodie è dotato di occhialetti che manco James Bond, ma il giornalista Younger stenografa), ma va bene così.
May ha la grandissima qualità di non annegare di chiacchere inutili i suoi romanzi-gialli, tirando dritto al punto, e concedendosi spazio in più solo per la descrizione della natura e dell'ambiente, che riesce sempre a restituire con tinte mozzafiato.
June 4, 2023
No offence to Peter May, but this shouldn’t have been set in the future if he wasn’t even really clear about the societal and technological state of the present day. I appreciate he wanted the climate change aspect to play a role, but I rolled my eyes every time any kind of technology popped up, and the world building was completely toothless.
People still pay with coins in 2050? I doubt it. Deepfakes are presented as a niche thing only programmers know about? Come on. Printed newspaper clippings are still a thing? Yeah, no chance. To make matters worse, in the next sentence the newspaper clippings are explained by saying only three national newspapers still exist and most people get their news from TV or social media. Mate, this is the case TODAY. Or actually, this was the case 15 years ago! Your main character was born in 1995 - chances are he never used newspapers or TV as a news source in his entire life! And you want to tell us you’re writing about 2050?
I’ve had this on my to read list for ages because the blurb promised a kind of dystopian but realistic near future murder mystery, which sounds cool af. I actually only came across this because it popped up in a list of new sci-fi, otherwise I’ve never or probably ever would’ve heard of the author; he seems to be one of those thriller authors with a lot of fans who churn out a novel per year but are basically unknown outside of that circle (sorry for the generalisation but ya know…). Genre authors branching out is super cool, but especially when they’re branching out into sci-fi it can easily derail real fast.
Here the sci-fi aspect is undercooked at best and the detective story is of the formulaic airport thriller kind. Kind of a shame. Ah well, off to the DNF pile it goes.
People still pay with coins in 2050? I doubt it. Deepfakes are presented as a niche thing only programmers know about? Come on. Printed newspaper clippings are still a thing? Yeah, no chance. To make matters worse, in the next sentence the newspaper clippings are explained by saying only three national newspapers still exist and most people get their news from TV or social media. Mate, this is the case TODAY. Or actually, this was the case 15 years ago! Your main character was born in 1995 - chances are he never used newspapers or TV as a news source in his entire life! And you want to tell us you’re writing about 2050?
I’ve had this on my to read list for ages because the blurb promised a kind of dystopian but realistic near future murder mystery, which sounds cool af. I actually only came across this because it popped up in a list of new sci-fi, otherwise I’ve never or probably ever would’ve heard of the author; he seems to be one of those thriller authors with a lot of fans who churn out a novel per year but are basically unknown outside of that circle (sorry for the generalisation but ya know…). Genre authors branching out is super cool, but especially when they’re branching out into sci-fi it can easily derail real fast.
Here the sci-fi aspect is undercooked at best and the detective story is of the formulaic airport thriller kind. Kind of a shame. Ah well, off to the DNF pile it goes.
January 19, 2023
Absolutely stunning from the scenery to the storyline and everything inbetween.
This is set in a futuristic Scotland in a world that has been ravaged by climate changes. We’re only a handful of decades ahead and the landscape and environmental narrative is all very plausible which makes it even the more chilling a possibility, pun intended.
A young meteorologist takes a work based trek up a mountain and is faced with a dead body, frozen in ice. This chance discovery leads to a rollercoaster of secrets and intrigue and the body count starts to mount in this bleak and remote landscape.
The dynamic is further tipped when the detective investigating turns out to be the young woman’s (estranged) father who has his own personal troubles and time ticking for him in more ways than one. His backstory slowly emerges as he reveals it to his daughter and it is extremely poignant and heartfelt.
The pace of the story is fast and had my heart beating to the intense rollercoaster that it is. There were twists and turns and the plot fits together perfectly and eloquently. An immensely satisfying and enjoyable read and it will stay with me for a long time to come, I’m sure.
This is set in a futuristic Scotland in a world that has been ravaged by climate changes. We’re only a handful of decades ahead and the landscape and environmental narrative is all very plausible which makes it even the more chilling a possibility, pun intended.
A young meteorologist takes a work based trek up a mountain and is faced with a dead body, frozen in ice. This chance discovery leads to a rollercoaster of secrets and intrigue and the body count starts to mount in this bleak and remote landscape.
The dynamic is further tipped when the detective investigating turns out to be the young woman’s (estranged) father who has his own personal troubles and time ticking for him in more ways than one. His backstory slowly emerges as he reveals it to his daughter and it is extremely poignant and heartfelt.
The pace of the story is fast and had my heart beating to the intense rollercoaster that it is. There were twists and turns and the plot fits together perfectly and eloquently. An immensely satisfying and enjoyable read and it will stay with me for a long time to come, I’m sure.
May 10, 2023
I wasn't keen when I started this book which is set partly in the present time and partly in 2050, a very different world where the UK is partially submerged in water and suffering from extreme weather conditions.
But as this crime novel progressed, I liked the story, some of it a bit predictable but it kept me guessing.
But as this crime novel progressed, I liked the story, some of it a bit predictable but it kept me guessing.
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