Tina Filby

Customer Services Assistant at Royston Library
Hebrides trilogy by Peter May

I’m quite squeamish, so tend to avoid gruesome murder novels, but the gory details in Peter May books are usually over quickly at the post-mortem stage. I started reading “The Black House”, the first book in this trilogy and was totally drawn in by descriptions of island life in the Outer Hebrides.

Fin McLeod grew up on Lewis, but left the island for University and the bright lights of Glasgow. His career in the police force has seen him move to Edinburgh and rise to the rank of Detective Inspector, but a hit and run accident injuring his wife and killing his young son overshadows his personal life. Details of his childhood on Lewis are gradually revealed and other characters introduced to create a realistic picture of living in a close-knit community, where people struggle to make a living in harsh conditions, old traditions prevail and the weather and sparse landscape add to the brooding atmosphere.