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The Lewis Man: Book Two of the Lewis Trilogy [Hardcover]

Peter May (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,148 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 5 Jan 2012 | Series: Lewis Trilogy

A MAN WITH NO NAME. An unidentified corpse is recovered from a Lewis peat bog; the only clue to its identity being a DNA sibling match to a local farmer.

A MAN WITH NO MEMORY. But this islander, Tormod Macdonald - now an elderly man suffering from dementia - has always claimed to be an only child.

A MAN WITH NO CHOICE. When Tormod's family approach Fin Macleod for help, Fin feels duty-bound to solve the mystery.

Product details

  • Hardcover: 443 pages
  • Publisher: Quercus; First Edition edition (5 Jan 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0857382209
  • ISBN-13: 978-0857382207
  • Product Dimensions: 16.7 x 24.3 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,148 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 93,633 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

'In mood and texture, Peter May's novels, set on the Isle of Lewis, are essentially Nordic, and he bears comparison with some of the best writers from those cold desolate climes' The Times. 'well worth reading' The Sunday Times.

'as good as its superb predecessor, The Blackhouse ... this is not only a good mystery, but also a moving and evocative portrayal of a place where the unforgiving weather is matched only by the church's harsh patronage' Guardian.

'The depiction of the island atmosphere is as impressive as the action' The Sunday Telegraph.

'The book is gritty in a fine way ... a delight: bringing people and place alive in equal measure' Shots Mag.

'a hymn in praise of the beauties of the islands and miseries of their weather' Scotsman.

'as gripping as its predecessor ... well written, rendering almost visible the Hebridean landscapes, seascapes and customs' Literary Review.

'The Lewis Man, Peter May's sequel to last year's bestseller The Blackhouse is even more impressive than its predecessor' Big Issue Scotland. 'His landscape is authentic and, while what happens in the dark tales are things one hopes would be foreign, they become all too believable as they stream from his sharp pen' Northern Times.

'An exciting, page-turning thriller' Press Association. 'May skilfully combines pathos and the themes of identity, lost love and family ties to create an exciting, page turning thriller' Sheffield Star.

'May's thriller is gripping, atmospheric and educational' Mail on Sunday. 'a page-turning thriller' Norwich Evening News. 'Not only was this book a really good thriller, it also shed light on the trials of living with dementia and the effects on both the sufferer and their family' Stirling Observer.

From the Inside Flap

A perfectly preserved body is recovered from a peat bog on the Isle of Lewis. The male Caucasian corpse - marked by several horrific stab wounds - is initially believed by its finders to be over two-thousand years old. Until they spot the Elvis tattoo on his right arm. The body, it transpires, is not evidence of an ancient ritual killing, but of a murder committed during the latter half of the twentieth century. Meanwhile, Fin Macleod has returned to the island of his birth. Having left his wife, his life in Edinburgh and his career in the police force, the former Detective Inspector is intent on repairing past relationships and restoring his parents' derelict croft. But when DNA tests flag a familial match between the bog body and the father of Fin's childhood sweetheart, Marsaili Macdonald, Fin finds his homecoming more turbulent than expected. Tormod Macdonald, now an elderly man in the grip of dementia, had always claimed to be an only child without close family. A lie that, Fin will soon discover, Tormod has had very good reason to hide behind.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
203 of 209 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The past casts long shadows... 1 Jan 2012
By FictionFan TOP 100 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
With this second part of his Lewis trilogy (the first being The Blackhouse), Peter May has again shown that he is up there in the top rank of the current crop of Scottish crime writers.

When a preserved body is discovered in a peat bog, DNA testing shows that the victim is related to Tormod Macdonald, the father of Marsaili, Fin Macleod's childhood love. Fin has now left the police force in Edinburgh and returned to Lewis to restore his parents' house and soon gets sucked into the investigation. Tormod is suffering from dementia and although he still has flashes of memory about the events of his youth he is unable to tell the story of what happened in words. However, the reader is allowed into Tormod's mind and through a combination of his fragmentary recollections and Fin's investigations a grim and moving picture gradually develops of Tormod's childhood experiences first in an orphanage and then shipped as a 'homer' to a family in the islands. May's story-telling skills bring this shameful and little known part of Scotland's recent past vividly to life. And again, as in the first novel in the series, the long shadows of the past loom threateningly over the present day.

As always, May's research is meticulous and the picture he creates has an air of complete authenticity. For me, the Lewis novels are shaping up to be his best - it seems he has an affinity with the life and natural world of the islands which makes his descriptive writing compelling. His recurring characters are likeable and their story is further developed in this book. May's handling of Tormod's difficult childhood and present dementia is sensitive and sympathetic.... Read more ›
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44 of 46 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Peter May's "The Blackhouse" is no longer the best thing he ever wrote... 22 Mar 2012
By Bloodaxe
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I loved The Blackhouse, first book in the series. But I did wonder how the compelling past/present intertwining of the main character's story could be continued in the sequel.

Let me tell you, it can - and how. The Lewis Man is even better than the first book. A very poignant story, with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing (and guessing wrong). A fascinating insight into the mind as we grow older and the tolerance required of those around us as we age. A cracking yarn. An involving murder mystery. Events you can believe in, happening to characters you actually care about. (I believe I may even have shed a little tear at one point. Unless it was just something in my eye).

Not for nothing does this book claim its rightful place in 2012's top 10 best selling hardback works of fiction. Buy it, read it. Buy and read the first one too. And when they both finally fall from your numb fingers (because you REALLY won't be able to put either of them down), hopefully it will only be a short wait for The Chess Men, the final of the series.

(Oh, and if you've just been introduced to Peter May by this series, you might like to check out his Enzo Files books and China thrillers too.)
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74 of 79 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars moving and haunting - not (just) a thriller 22 Jan 2012
By back to basics
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a total surprise. It starts out a mystery story, it soon becomes a search to identify who perpetrated a murder from half a century ago, and it's at times over-decorated with passages of scenic description. None of these features are the point, and it's unexpectedly moving for quite different reasons.

Running throughout are retrospect chapters, the unspoken silent reminiscences of an elderly man, father of the detective's childhood sweetheart. He is connected, so DNA tests have established, to the body of a murdered man found preserved in a bog. Is he the killer? Or rather, was he the killer? Now he's suffering from dementia and can barely communicate.

What's remarkable is the extent to which this man is shown to think and to feel, and how he does in his way connect to his immediate world, even while unable to communicate that connection. He feels pain, hurt, pleasure, joy. And all this is rendered simply, cleanly, in prose of total plainness, nothing fancy, and is extraordinarily moving because it stays so plain. Usually it's been film that's given us portraits of the incapacities that can accompany degeneration of the mind - "Iris", for instance, gave us a visual portrait of Iris Murdoch in her last years that was a heart-breaking contrast with how she once had been. What's moving here, though, is something more: Peter May's Lewis Man is still lucid in his thoughts and his recollections while clumsy and helpless as he tries to communicate to the world he inhabits, to the point of unwittingly alienating his wife and many of the well-meaning people who attempt to care for him. It's very Scottish, this capacity to make words and feelings so moving by dint of not exaggerating and not decorating, and opting instead for what appears unemotional plainness.... Read more ›
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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Cold Gripping 9 Mar 2012
By Mr. E. J. Capp
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Wonderful writer feel the cold wind and the spray in your face, feel the isolation and be absorbed in the tale love the story and the way its told. I shall read all this authors books but will love his Scottish Island tales best.
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Atmospheric mystery with wonderful sense of "place" 1 Mar 2012
By Maxine Clarke TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Some months after the end of The Blackhouse, Finn MacLeod is winding up his life in Edinburgh - his marriage, his job as a police detective - and returns to his emotional home, the island of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. He plans to restore his parents' derelict croft house while living in a tent - pretty brave, considering the Scottish island climate.

Before getting very far in his task, Finn becomes embroiled in a murder case. The body of a man has been found buried in a peat bog. The victim has been killed, probably in the late 1950s or early 1960s. Finn is consulted by George Gunn, the constable on the island who worked with him on a previous case - the two men hope to find the victim's identity, and hence solve the crime, before specialist reinforcements arrive from the mainland and take over. At first, the task seems relatively simple, because a DNA test reveals that the victim is related to Tormond MacDonald, the father of Finn's childhood sweetheart Marsaili. (That's three coincidences so far, as Tormond was the only man on the island who did not request his DNA sample to be destroyed after the collection made in The Blackhouse.)

Finn cannot make progress, though, because the old man has dementia and is degenerating rapidly. Finn's gentle questioning of him throws up some clues, but not many. The author depicts Tormond very movingly, in particular his fractured internal life, in which past and present are confused. Something about Finn and Marsaili's enquiries triggers the old man's memories, and for much of the book we learn of his childhood. These sections of the book require the reader to suspend belief in the set-up in order to enjoy them, as they are written as if by an articulate, logical person and not convincing as a first-person narrative.... Read more ›
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars A well written and enjoyable read!
Excellent story with great characters based in and around a beautiful part of Scotland. The description of the primary location of the Outer Hebrides captures the isolation and... Read more
Published 4 hours ago by Bill M
3.0 out of 5 stars Enjoyed but a bit dark..
A good read, interesting with a lot of background threads on island life both the recent past and present. A little bit slow to get started.
Published 21 hours ago by JaneC
4.0 out of 5 stars A dark and compelling read
Having read the first book in the series, The Black House, I liked the descriptions of island life and the dark relentless environment that shaped so much of the characters lives. Read more
Published 1 day ago by John R.
4.0 out of 5 stars Great follow up to The Blackhouse
If you liked The Black House you'll like this. It captures the mood of the isles and super imposes a thrilling tale that has many twists and turns. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Margaret Hunter
5.0 out of 5 stars THE LEWIS TRILOGY
Fascinating book about a fascinating place. Fin is a character I'd like to read more about. Hope Peter May will write more stories about him.
Published 1 day ago by Midsomer Murders fan club
5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing
Continuing the Hebridean series and Fin's progress this novel shows moving insight into the ageing mind while weaving a complex story of a past life.
Published 1 day ago by Christine Baxter
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb
Again I endorse all previous fab reviews. I Love this writer his stories are so real. He is so descriptive about a beautiful part of the world. His characters are real. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Kenny
4.0 out of 5 stars LEWIS MAN
i enjoyed the reading of this book, the characters were well thought out and were brought to life by the author
Published 1 day ago by pauline kitchen
5.0 out of 5 stars Exceptional
I am often surprised at how good some of the low cost Kindle books are, but this one is truely exceptional. Read more
Published 1 day ago by Londoner
3.0 out of 5 stars Peat bog body
Atmospheric setting described gives great feeling of space. Very interesting idea of describing events unfolding from the bewildered point of view of the demented man with his... Read more
Published 3 days ago by David W.
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