The Blackhouse by Peter MayMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
When one has finished a perfectly mediocre book it’s a profound relief to find the next one a pleasure to read. ” The Black House” scores points on many levels and Peter May is an accomplished storyteller. I expected to read a classic murder mystery but this novel is much more than that. In fact, the murder investigation plays second fiddle and is merely there to enable the author to delve into his hero’s past. It’s a tale full of quiet melancholy as Finn’s reminiscences force him to see the child he was and the way fate delivered blows which made him the adult he is. I found the author adept at recreating both the happiness and angst of childhood and the inevitable nostalgia they give rise to, once the character has become a grown-up and has to think back on all the defining moments of his life when he took a path that it might have been better to avoid. The landscape is masterfully depicted and the characters utterly believable. A tale that is both moving and cruel and that won’t leave you indifferent.
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