BLOG TOUR: The Black Loch - Peter May

THE RETURN OF FIN MACLEOD, PETER MAY'S MUCH-LOVED HERO OF THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING LEWIS TRILOGY.

A MURDER

The body of eighteen-year-old TV personality Caitlin is found abandoned on a remote beach at the head of An Loch Dubh - the Black Loch - on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. A swimmer and canoeist, it is inconceivable that she could have drowned.

A SECRET

Fin Macleod left the island ten years earlier to escape its memories. When he learns that his married son Fionnlagh had been having a clandestine affair with the dead girl and is suspected of her murder, he and Marsaili return to try and clear his name.

A RECKONING

But nothing is as it seems, and the truth of the murder lies in a past that Fin would rather forget, and a tragedy at the cages of a salmon farm on East Loch Roag, where the tense climax of the story finds its resolution.

The Black Loch takes us on a journey through family ties, hidden relationships and unforgiving landscapes, where suspense, violent revenge and revelation converge in the shadow of the Black Loch.

 

What did I think?

I love Peter May books but I haven't read the The Lewis Trilogy (yet) so I can say for definite that you can read The Black Loch as a standalone as I absolutely loved it.

Fin Macleod could never have imagined that he would return to the Isle of Lewis under such disturbing circumstances: his son is suspected of murdering a young girl with whom he was having an affair.  A tangled web of deceit and lies leads Fin to unofficially investigate who really murdered Caitlin and he uncovers a link to a long buried secret in his own past.

There's a lot going on in the book and it's clear that Fin has a lot of history on the island but I didn't feel that I was at a disadvantage at all, having not read The Lewis Trilogy.  It has certainly made me want to read the trilogy as soon as possible to revisit these wonderfully drawn characters and the stunning setting.   

What I love about Peter May's books, apart from the fantastic storylines of course, is the level of research and highlighting of unexpectedly thought-provoking subjects.  My heart was breaking as I read about the salmon farm because this part of the story isn't fiction.  I do like to eat salmon but it's certainly made me think more about where it's come from.

Hugely atmospheric, impeccably researched and flawlessly written, The Black Loch is an outstanding twisty mystery that captivated me from start to finish.  Unputdownable and unmissable - very highly recommended.

I received an ARC to read and review for the blog tour and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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BLOG TOUR: The Storm - Amanda Jennings

Doesn't every marriage have a dark side?

To the outside world Hannah married the perfect man. Behind the closed doors of their imposing home it’s a very different story. Nathan controls everything Hannah does. He chooses her clothes, checks her receipts, and keeps her passport locked away. But why does she let him?

Years before, in the midst of a relentless storm, the tragic events of one night changed everything. And Hannah has been living with the consequences ever since. Keeping Nathan happy. Doing as she’s told.

But the past is about to catch up with them.

Set against the unforgiving backdrop of a Cornish fishing port in the ‘90s, this is a devastating exploration of the power of coercive control in a marriage where nothing is quite as it seems…

What did I think?

The Storm is a dark, disturbing and exceptional story from the fabulous wordsmith, Amanda Jennings.  Not only is there a storm in the book of the same name, but it's almost as if a storm has been written into the book itself.  The atmosphere is so charged and the tension is palpable that you really do need to brace yourself for the inevitable boom of thunder that heralds the peak of the storm.  

Something terrible happened after the storm that saw a Cornish fishing boat lucky to return to port; sometimes it's more dangerous on land than at sea.  The storm caused more destruction than it planned as it changed Hannah's life forever and drove her into the arms of Nathan.  Nathan is an repulsive man; he's handsome, successful and rich on the outside but psychotic, controlling and completely unstable underneath.  Hannah is trapped in the marriage as Nathan holds something over her that he threatens to reveal when he thinks she has stepped out of line.  Hannah succumbs to Nathan's control to protect their son, Alex, but now he is a teenager he's starting to answer back and this causes Nathan's temper to flare even more.

Oh Hannah, what have you done?  I couldn't understand her marrying Nathan after such a short space of time but it all becomes clear through the flashbacks to that fateful night in 1998.  Nathan is a bully and an abuser, hiding it all under the banner of love in his twisted little mind.  My heart really went out to Hannah who was just about to start a relationship with fisherman, Cameron Stewart before the storm blew her into the path of rich lawyer, Nathan Cardew.  It really felt like Nathan was holding Hannah underwater and only letting her up for air now and again in order to keep her alive; that's no way to live and Hannah has no life to speak of.  I don't know how she didn't poison his hotpot, is all I can say!

The Storm is a dark and brooding tale from the immensely talented wordsmith, Amanda Jennings.  It's a compelling read and so very difficult to put down that you just need to ride the waves until the storm has unleashed its fury.  An absolutely outstanding novel and highly recommended.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

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Death of a Mermaid - Lesley Thomson

When Freddy Power was eighteen, her father threw her out. Her sin had been to fall in love with a woman. Freddy waited for two decades to be invited back into the family. The summons never came.

But now, in the wake of her parents' death, Freddy feels the call of home like a siren's song. The ferry from France emerging out of the mist. Fisherman unloading trawlers down at the harbour. Her childhood friends, Mags and Toni, walking on the cliffs at sunset.

Yet when she arrives in Newhaven, she finds that time has not stood still. After twenty-two years of silence, her brothers exclude her, and Mags and Toni feel like strangers. But then Mags goes missing, and old secrets – and old passions – are reignited. Freddy is determined to lead the hunt for the woman who was her first love. Even if it means confronting the past, and facing up to the truth about her family.

What did I think?

Death of a Mermaid is my first Lesley Thomson book and what a cracker it is!  Death comes to Newhaven, a channel ferry port in East Sussex, so put on your Sou'wester and travel to this south coast fishing town with Lesley Thomson.

A bone chilling prologue sets the scene for a very dark and menacing story that gripped me by the throat and refused to let go until I had turned the final page.  I almost forgot to breathe towards the end as I let out a shaky breath I didn't realise I had been holding.  That is how gripped by the story I was.  Lesley Thomson drew me in with her mesmerising words and captured me in her net, resigned to my fate of not being able to put the book down until this outstanding story had concluded.

Freddy Power as a schoolgirl was a member of a group called the Mermaids; a trio of friends who were obsessed with the film The Little Mermaid.  The group broke up suddenly when Freddy unexpectedly left home and lost contact with her friends and family.  When Freddy returns for a family funeral, it's not exactly a joyous reunion with fellow Mermaids, Mags and Toni, and even Freddy's brothers don't want her there.  When Mags goes missing, after a suspicious double death in the town, Freddy decides to stay in Newhaven rather than return to her controlling partner in Liverpool.  Freddy is determined to prise all of the secrets from the town's icy grip and she must confront her past before she can finally be free.

What a book!  The storyline is absolutely superb; it's tense, menacing and completely gripping.  I loved The Little Mermaid thread running through it, from ornaments in a fish tank to the disc in the dvd player; it oozed a sense of nostalgia that kept me anchored when my brain wanted to sail away on the story.  I love books filled with secrets and Death of a Mermaid has enough secrets to blow your socks off.

Death of a Mermaid is atmospheric, compelling and moving and I can't recommend it highly enough. 

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion.

My rating:

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Herring Girl - Debbie Taylor

Set in a Tyneside fishing village, Herring Girl moves effortlessly between 1898 and 2007 as twelve-year-old Ben finds himself the unlikely conduit for Annie, a herring girl who lived – and died – a century earlier. As Ben tries to unravel the puzzle of Annie’s death, he is drawn irresistibly into her long-vanished world.

Bringing the startling story of Annie’s life and curious death vividly to life, this brilliantly realised historical mystery introduces a cast of unforgettable characters, and reveals how the secrets of our past are never too far away.

What did I think?

I saw a write up about this book in one of those free supermarket magazines a while ago and thought the reincarnation story sounded really interesting.  I added it to my wishlist then spotted it in the library so snatched it off the shelf and rushed to the desk, naturally picking up another book along the way!

Unfortunately it was the hardback edition of the book so I found it a bit cumbersome to read for long periods but I did thoroughly enjoy the story.  There are a lot of issues covered in the book including homophobia, trans-gender operations, broken families and past lives. Ben is a lovely young boy but he believes he should be a girl and feels trapped in his body, but perhaps it is his previous incarnation, Annie, who is trapped inside his body and trying to get her story heard.  Ben's mother has moved to New Zealand to start a new life and a new family, so Ben lives with his Dad who is most definitely a man's man and can't understand what Ben is going through.

Ben looks for support elsewhere and finds Laura, who runs the local cafe and Dr Mary Charlton who hypnotises him to extract Annie's story.  I absolutely loved Annie's story, although sometimes I found the language hard to understand and I am from this area!  I have no doubt it was authentic local dialect but I think perhaps a glossary in the back might have assisted some readers.

The whole subject matter was fascinating to me - not just reincarnation but the possibility that groups of souls reincarnate and find each other in their next life.  I loved the way the book was written from both Ben's and Annie's perspectives with both stories bringing tears to my eyes.

Wonderfully researched, with a host of fascinating characters spread across the decades, this is a book that is well worth reading.

My rating:

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