The Lewis Trilogy

I am just about to start The Lewis Man, second in the Lewis trilogy by Peter Mays. I’ll post a review of Blackhouse (1st in series) in May for a Group Review, as we have it assigned for this month.

I will say, though, that I liked Blackhouse enough to put aside something I had just started reading and download The Lewis Man instead. I’m already a bit won over as it takes place on a Scottish island. It’s got that same dark, brooding, and tough atmosphere as do novels set in Sweden and Norway. But it somehow seems a bit closer to home, more grounded maybe. Perhaps because I briefly lived in Edinburgh, the Isle of Lewis seems more real to me than far off Scandinanvia.

I’ve just finished reading Camilla Läckberg’s The Drowning, set in Sweden. Prior to that I read Peter May’s Blackhouse, so I’ve alternated between an urban yet stormy setting to just as stormy but more rural life. Both are similar in feel to Ann Cleeves Shetland Island series. The differences outweigh the similarities, but I feel compelled to drink hot tea and cuddle under a blanket reading each one. And, I’ll crawl into bed and read and read and read until I can’t read anymore. All three have that ability to pull me in and hold onto me until the very last page!