The Black Loch

The Black Loch is set ten years after the events of Peter May’s popular Lewis Trilogy. Ex-Detective, Fin Macleod and his wife Marsaili, left Lewis to escape the memories of those events. Settling in Glasgow, Fin retrained to become a civilian IT consultant to the police, but recently it’s a job he’s come to hate. Fin and Marsaili’s son Fionnlagh, now thirty and a science teacher, married with a young daughter, recently returned to Lewis to teach at the Nicolson Institute, the secondary school Fin and Marsaili both attended.

When the body of an eighteen-year-old student at the school, Caitlin Black, is found washed up on the beach of An Loch Dubh (the Black Lake), Fionnlagh is charged with her murder. If the rumors are true, Fionnlagh and Caitlin were having an affair. Devastated, Fin and Marsaili reluctantly return to Lewis where Fionnlagh admits he was indeed having an affair with Caitlin but did not kill her. However, the police are satisfied they have their killer so Fin must work hard if he is to find the truth.

Caitlin was popular on the island as she and her friend Iseabail were involved in filming a program for the BBC called Canoe and Ocean, exploring little visited areas of the coastline of the islands by canoe. Both excellent swimmers and eco-warriers, they would find hidden coves and film the local marine and bird life. Naturally most of the islanders are disgusted by Fionnlagh’s affair with his student and are ready to see him convicted of her murder.

Fin’s return is also not popular with the islanders and events and relationships from his childhood also colour his feelings about Lewis. In particular, he recalls the death of his friend Iain Murray, the summer after they finished school, while they helped their friend, Niall Black, steal fish from his father’s salmon farm to sell to a poacher. Inheriting the salmon farm, Niall has modernised it to be one of the biggest in the world and he and his son live on Cyprus to avoid taxes. Awkwardly for Fin, Niall is also Caitlin’s father, although she lived with her mother after her parents divorced and was not close to her father or brother. 

May has created a dark and haunting atmosphere in the novel, perfectly evoking the rugged but beautiful island, where life is harsh and unforgiving for many. There is a strong environmental theme, championed by Caitlin and Iseabail who favor protection of the species living on the coast above the greed of large-scale commercial fishing. As the plot builds gradually, multiple layers invoking past history emerge setting the scene. The depth of background detail may seem unnecessary for those who have recently read the Lewis Trilogy, but will be useful for those of us who read it a while ago.

Fin is superbly drawn as a flawed character. Essentially a good man who has made many mistakes in his life, with some unresolved business rooted in his past. As the tension builds inexorably, the past and the present will collide in a stunning and suspenseful climax. While fans of Peter May’s will surely welcome this excellent addition to the series, it will also work well as a stand-alone for those new to his books.

With thanks to Quercus books for a copy to read.