The Lewis Man

After his divorce and his decision to leave the police force, Fin McLeod returns to the Isle of Lewis where he spent his childhood. He decides to rebuild his parents' home which has not been used since their death in a car accident many years previously. However he also needs time to reconnect with his son, Fionnlagh, plus Marsaili with whom he has a long history. Then his plans are disrupted when a body is found buried in the peat on the shore. Who was this man and what is his connection with Tormod Macdonald, Marsaili's father? This is another crime novel by Peter May where the setting and the people are just as important as solving the crime.

As this is a cold case the police in Edinburgh will take time to arrive on the island to investigate so Fin and Detective George Gunn work on solving the mystery. Tormod Macdonald has dementia so we learn some of the story via his occasional, often jumbled, memories of his past. Gradually some of  the clues finally begin to fall into place but Tormod's story becomes further complicated when it becomes apparent that he is not the person everyone thinks he is.

As in The Black House, the reader learns much about the present and past life of the inhabitants of the islands that form part of the Outer Hebrides off the Scotland coast. Divisions between religious groups is important particularly in the mid-twentieth century when some of the events in this story occur. A major theme is the treatment (often mistreatment) of orphaned children who must learn to exist in a world without parental love. The understanding and care of older relatives is another theme as is the evolution of friendships formed many years ago. But it is the story of solving the crime committed in the mid 1950s that weaves the sections of the novel together. Another book difficult to put down.