The Chessmen by Peter May

Marilyn Stasio in The New York Times raved: Peter May is a writer I'd follow to the ends of the earth. Among the many honors received, The Blackhouse, the first novel in May's acclaimed Lewis trilogy, won the Barry and Crime Thriller Hound awards. Now, with The Chessmen, Peter May gives us a dramatic conclusion to his award-winning Lewis trilogy. Living again of the Isle of Lewis, the ex-Detective Inspector Fin McLeod is working as a security officer for a local landowner. While investigating illegal activity on the estate Fin encounters the elusive poacher and former childhood friend Whistler Macaskill. But while Fin catches up with Whistler, the two witness a freak natural phenomenon-a 'Bog Burst'-which spontaneously drains a loch of its water, revealing a mud-encased light aircraft with a sickeningly familiar moniker on its side. Both men immediately know that they will find inside: the body of Roddy Mackenzie, a friend whose flight disappeared more than seventeen years before. But when Whistler's face appears to register something other than shock, an icy chill of apprehension overtakes Fin. What secret has Whistler been hiding from him, and everyone else on the island? Fin is unprepared for how the truth about the past will alter the course of the future. Editorial Reviews Poetic . . . the atmosphere is altogether magical.-Kirkus Reviews May brings his acclaimed Lewis trilogy to a close with a novel that is both wrenching and hopeful . . . an utterly absorbing mystery-Booklist (Starred Review) Peter May is a writer I'd follow to the ends of the earth.-Marilyn Stasio, The New York Times [an] accomplished trilogy . . . The influence of a hidebound church is all-pervasive and all-stultifying. But this is only part of the rich texture with which May has invested these books, elevating them above most contemporary crime fiction . . . The Chessmen draws together the fascinating elements of the earlier books . . . Although all three books may be read as standalones, their cumulative effect is more powerful. This is the sort of novel that will have the reader relishing every the tendency of description and characterisation. The history and folklore of the Hebridean islands are the integuments of the book, and The Chessmen offers an almost visceral experience: we, too, are walking these windy cliffs and peat bogs with Fin. Readers will find it hard to say goodbye to him, but we have to admire May for sticking to his vision of a perfectly-formed trilogy.-Barry Forshaw, The Independent The Chessmen is well up to the high standard of its two predecessors: tightly plotted, with no skimping on either the nuances of character or the wonderfully evocative descriptions of rugged island landscapes that have made these books a true pleasure to read.-The Guardian It is that setting which anchors Glasgow-born Peter May's The Chessmen, the third in his trilogy following Fin Macleod, a detective for whom the pull of his homeland, Lewis, is too powerful to resist . . . vivid and poignant.-The Scotsman a great example of visual storytelling and a tight plot.-The Daily Record incredible . . . the series has become as store favorite, and this concluding volume makes for a perfect end-cap. This series deserves to be read.-The Mysterious Bookshop - From the Publisher 12/08/2014 The final volume of May's darkly lyrical trilogy, set largely on the remote Hebridean Isle of Lewis, works better as a standalone, given that plot threads and characters integral to its two predecessors, The Blackhouse (2012) and The Lewis Man (2014), are all but forgotten. Former Edinburgh police detective Fin Macleod, now living back in his birthplace of Lewis and working as the head of security at a sprawling estate, is tasked with stopping the widespread poaching of salmon. One local poacher happens to be a childhood friend, and he and Macleod witness a rare bog burst, where a lake drains itself dry, in a remote area of the island. At the bottom of the dried loch, they find an airplane, which a Celtic rock star and mutual friend was flying 17 years earlier when he disappeared. A story line that strains credibility coupled with a contrived ending may leave fans of the earlier installments unsatisfied. (Feb.) - Publishers Weekly 2014-11-18 Back on Lewis Island, the quiet Hebrides outpost where he was born (The Lewis Man, 2013, etc.), murder keeps stalking Fin McLeod, late of the Edinburgh CID--this time accompanied by harrowing revelations about his own early years.Emerging from a shelter where they've taken refuge from a passing storm, Fin and his childhood friend Whistler Macaskill realize that a bog burst has drained a nearby loch far enough to reveal the wreckage of a small airplane. From the insignia, they recognize the plane flown by their old friend Roddy Mackenzie, who disappeared 17 years ago. An ill-advised look into the plane's cabin tells Fin that Roddy's finally come home. The revelation of his death opens fresh wounds for the members of Amran, the band he'd played for, especially for singer Mairead Morrison, whose lovely image had been the symbol of its runaway success. The discovery means that Fin will have little time to do the job his old friend Kenny John Maclean has hired him for--rid the Red River Estate, which Kenny manages for the Wooldridge family, of the poachers who've overrun it--and even less to testify on behalf of the Rev. Donald Murray, the father of Fin's newly discovered son Fionnlagh's girlfriend, Donna, and the other grandfather to Donna's baby, Eilidh. Church elders, unhappy that Donald stalked and shot the gangsters about to execute his wife and daughter, plan to remove him from the ministry of the Crobost Free Church. If only they knew how many other locals were walking around burdened by sins all the heavier for remaining hidden. May's poetic descriptions in this final installment of his Lewis trilogy alternate with the loutish behavior of the characters, who are constantly slapping, slugging and coshing each other. The mystery--really, the mysteries--are untidy, but the atmosphere is altogether magical. - Kirkus Reviews