One of the best mystery books that I have read in a long time, keeping me guessing until the last pages. What more could you want from a book of this genre?

This was my first Peter May novel, and won't be my last.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

A man is washed up on a deserted beach on the Hebridean Isle of Harris, barely alive and borderline hypothermic. He has no idea who he is or how he got there. The only clue to his identity is a map tracing a track called the Coffin Road. He does not know where it will lead him, but filled with dread, fear and uncertainty he knows he must follow it.
A detective crosses rough Atlantic seas to a remote rock twenty miles west of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. With a sense of foreboding he steps ashore where three lighthouse keepers disappeared more than a century before - a mystery that remains unsolved. But now there is a new mystery - a man found bludgeoned to death on that same rock, and DS George Gunn must find out who did it and why.
A teenage girl lies in her Edinburgh bedroom, desperate to discover the truth about her father's death. Two years after the discovery of the pioneering scientist's suicide note, Karen Fleming still cannot accept that he would wilfully abandon her. And the more she discovers about the nature of his research, the more she suspects that others were behind his disappearance.

*3.5 stars*

You know, some authors have a lot of trouble putting two story-arcs into a novel and bring them together in a satisfying way. I imagine it isn't an easy thing to do. So, when I read the blurb about this book and seeing that it had three distinct plotlines, I was both excited and concerned...could he pull it off?

Well, have no fear - he nailed this perfectly. Tying all the unravelling strings together at the end was perfect - but only because he got all the lead-up stuff right as well. And I congratulate him for that.

Also, the setting was just beautiful. Having read the Lewis Trilogy, I was happy to see Peter May return to the Outer Hebrides. The author obviously has an affinity for the place - his descriptions of the land and surrounds are just sensational.

The one thing that was a disappointment for me was the characters. While I knew nothing about the "stumbled out of the sea" guy, I had very little interest in him. Especially after that dreadful sex scene, which happens almost immediately, just made me feel like "meh, what else?" Some of the other characters - especially the ones from the Lewis Trilogy who show up - gave the story some depth, but even Karen's story didn't make me burn through the pages in intrigue and excitement.

However, I think if you haven't read Peter May before, this standalone novel would be a good jumping off point for the Lewis Trilogy.


Paul
ARH