Review of 'The Lewis Man' - Peter May

Disturbing the past can destroy the present...

The Lewis Man is an excellent read. It's a murder mystery, centring on the death of a young man found buried in a peat bog on one of the Outer Hebridean islands. The only clue to the identity of the corpse is a D.N.A. sibling match to a local farmer, an elderly man suffering from dementia. A man who has always claimed to be an only child.
 
The novel is narrated through third person chapters spliced with those related by the dementia sufferer, Tormod MacDonald. These chapters are poignant, contrasting his present-day mental confusion with his clear memories of the events of fifty years ago. His story is moving, portraying the religious bigotry souring his childhood, his harsh teenage years at the Dean Orphanage, together with his determination to keep the promise he made to his dying mother.

When the story reverts to the present day, we meet Fin MacLeod, a former policeman battling to rebuild his life after his son’s death and his subsequent divorce. Will he find the resolution to his problems in his childhood home of the bleak Lewis landscape? And how does Marsaili, his former girlfriend and mother of his other son, fit into the picture?  

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 Wild flowers, biting winds and peat bogs...

The Lewis Man is set against the backdrop of the unforgiving Hebridean weather and is richly evocative of the landscape, with May's descriptions of soft black peat,  skin-scouring winds, wild flowers and bog cotton. Peter May also details the close Hebridean community of Lewis, strongly rooted in island culture, a way of life that draws Fin MacLeod back for good when his life reaches a crisis point.

The issue of Tormond's dementia is handled with sensitivity and the novel gives a touching portrayal of the effect this condition has on those who care for dementia sufferers. Tormond's childhood, and the cruel treatment of orphans by the Church and local authorities, is also handled well, although those parts require the reader to suspend belief, given that they are narrated by an elderly man with dementia. That doesn't detract from their poignancy, though.

The novel delivers an engaging read that never fails to entertain. The twist at the end is satisfying, and the last few paragraphs are truly moving. I'll definitely be reading more from this author.  

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More about Peter May and his novels

Courtesy of Peter May's website

The Lewis Man is the second in the Lewis trilogy, all set on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides, although the book works perfectly well as a standalone novel.  The other titles are The Blackhouse and The Chessmen.

In The Blackhouse, a bloody murder on the island bears the hallmarks of a similar one in Edinburgh. Fin Macleod, still working at the time as a police detective, is sent to investigate.

The Chessmen sees Fin discovering the body of his friend, musician Roddy MacKenzie, who disappeared seventeen years previously, in the wreckage of a light aircraft. Roddy's corpse reveals that he was savagely murdered...
 
Peter May was born and raised in Scotland, and before turning to writing novels he enjoyed a successful career as a television writer and producer. He now lives in France. He has also penned the China Thrillers, featuring Beijing detective Li Yan and American forensic pathologist Margaret Campbell; the critically-acclaimed Enzo Files, set in France, featuring Scottish forensic scientist Enzo MacLeod; and several standalone books, the latest of which is I'll Keep You Safe.  You can find out more about him and his novels via his website www.petermay.co.uk.

Affiliate links have been used in this blog post.

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