Coffin Road: An utterly gripping crime thriller from the author of The China Thrillers

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I thought about dnf-ing this one but then some bee stuff happened and I love bees, so I kept going and then it was too late to abort the mission. Detective Sergeant George Gunn has been assigned to investigate the discovery of a body on the Flannan Isles. He does not know the man's identity, who killed him or why, and begins an investigation that seems to have absolutely no clues.

Coffin Road by Peter May | Waterstones

Late one night, after a few drinks, a friend told me about some books he’d read. He’d admitted that he didn’t often read fiction but that during a period of recovery form an operation he’d been gifted the first in a mini-series of three and had subsequently devoured the whole set. It got my attention and I asked him the name of the author. By the next morning I’d not only forgotten the writers name but the whole conversation was lost to me too. However, some months later, whilst browsing my local bookstore, I came across a crime fiction novel and the description rang a distant bell. Could this be the fabled work that had so excited my friend, the non-reader? It turned out that it was and a few weeks later I’d repeated the feat and all three books had been consumed. The books comprise the Lewis Trilogy, written by Scottish wordsmith Peter May.That breathless realisation banishes all else. The cold, the taste of salt, the acid still burning all the way up from my stomach. How can I not know who I am? A temporary confusion, surely? But the longer I stand here, with the wind whistling around my ears, shivering almost beyond control, feeling the pain and the cold and the consternation, I realise that the only sense that has not returned to me is my sense of self. As if I inhabit the body of a stranger, in whose uncharted waters I have been washed up in blind ignorance.” Still, I read May for more than that. He can write some rip roaring mysteries. A man washes on a beach with no idea how he got there. He is freezing cold, disoriented and scared. He stumbles his way home and has no idea of his name until a neighbor calls out to him. He tries to remember who he is but the life he stumbles into is almost blank. He kept things secret before his accident. All across the USA, people are showing up dead. The deaths don't appear to be connected in any way until one particular death occurs and gets the Secretary of Defense's attention. He arranges for a task force to investigate. Coffin Road börjar bra, men blev inte riktigt den fullträff jag hade hoppas på. Men Peter Mays underbara miljöbeskrivningar och hans sätt att skriva så inlevelsefullt gör boken läsvärd!

Coffin Road | Crime Fiction Lover Coffin Road | Crime Fiction Lover

Nothing, absolutely nothing since I found myself washed up, semi-conscious, on the Traigh Losgaintir, has made sense. My memory loss. My failure to find a single clue to my identity, beyond my name, even in my own home. My affair with Sally. The book on the Flannan Isles mystery that I am not writing. Beehives on the coffin road. My missing boat. Now someone trying to kill me. And someone else stepping in to save me. The weight of it all is very nearly crushing.” I have no idea where this is. And for the first time since consciousness has returned, I am aware, with a sudden, sharp and painful stab of trepidation, that I have not the least notion of who I am. I have just finished The Lewis Trilogy, based upon your recommendation. It was such a pleasant surprise. I listened to the audiobooks, and Peter Forbes narration was stunning. I am ready to begin the Enzo series now, and I fully expect to be on the edge of my seat once again. Thanks for highlighting this in your monthly newsletter! Reply The author of a trilogy and two series, May scores here with a standout stand-alone. At its core is an eminently satisfying, multilayered mystery populated with sharply drawn characters. In an immediately engaging opening scene, a man struggles to his feet on a beach on the Isle of Harris. Shivering, confused, and disoriented, he cannot recall how he landed here. Worse, he does not know who he is, though islanders recognize him. Guided, then settled into a cottage he scarcely recognizes, he eventually reunites with Sally, a woman who recalls, and resumes, their affair. Attempting to help him recover, she walks with him up the eponymous Coffin Road, where, in a hollow, they discover several beehives. Curiously, the narrator’s hands bear evidence of bee stings. Sally also prompts the narrator, who comes to think his name is Neal, that he was writing a book about the mysterious disappearance a hundred years ago on a nearby island of three men. To jog his memory, Neal journeys to the island only to discover a corpse with its head split open. Neal fears he was the killer, and police soon think likewise. Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, the narrative follows Karen, who, in the two years following her father’s suicide, has gone “from being Daddy’s little girl to Mother’s nightmare.” Investigating her father’s suicide, Karen comes to believe he did not kill himself—that he is indeed alive. That conviction sends her into the Highlands, where she faces her own peril. The many threads of the story play out against a landscape that May, a native Scot, renders vividly. His images capture the capricious play of light and weather across the sea and the moors, matching the surprises in his tale.All 3 characters of the story eventually become interwined, and it was overall an entertaining read, and I did like the ending and came to like the characters, but a lot of the first half was slow, and it took me a while to warm to Neal, who I did like by the end, but it still didn't make up for a long first half, nonetheless its still worth a read. His life is becoming dangerous, and he has no idea whom to trust. Karen finds herself in similar dicey situations in her quest for answers as well. Nothing is as it appears. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival.

Peter May: An Exclusive Interview on Coffin Road - WHSmith Blog Peter May: An Exclusive Interview on Coffin Road - WHSmith Blog

And lastly we have Karen Fleming, a young teenage rebel who since her father's death, has gone off the rails a bit, but after discovering some alarming information, wants to investigate her father's death, as she knows something isn't right.Even when he does learn a name, it fits like borrowed clothes. The more he discovers, he starts to wonder if he really wants to know who he once was. His neighbours know him as Neal Maclean, a writer who is almost finished a book about three lighthouse keepers gone missing from the Flannan Isles in 1900. It soon becomes apparent to him that this is a cover, but for what? A boat trip to one of the Flannan Isles, Eilean Mor, leads to a discovery that explains the dread, and has him wondering if he is a murderer. This thriller series is popular for the tempestuous relationship between Chinese detective Li Yan, and acerbic American pathologist Dr. Margaret Campbell from Chicago. The China Thrillers landed Peter the only honorary membership of the Chinese Crime Writer’s Association awarded to a westerner for its vibrant portrayal of contemporary Chinese life.

Coffin Road: An utterly gripping crime thriller from the

One man is dead. A second man is presumed dead. A third man is alive but has no memory and no record of his true identity. Two of these men have bee stings. A teenaged girl wants to know more about her father and embarks, alone, on a perilous journey for answers. A non-profit director rages and threatens. A detective sergeant keeps an open mind and takes copious notes. And all the while, a squatter watches through binoculars. Coffin Road is an entertaining tale but it is sadly let down by its cliched dialogue and cardboard characters. The "us against the world" plot was a little trite and I suspect that the subject matter is something of a hobby horse for Peter May as he delivers a crusading tale about trying to save the world by ensuring the continued development of the bee species. Notice I did not resort to using the "bee in his bonnet" idiom! The scientists and bee fanciers along with Karen are responsible for the majority of the cringe-inducing dialogue, dropping in the casual swear words as May attempts to show us how "right-on" and modern they are. May explains the connections surrounding the scientific discoveries well and the theory all ties up, but I found it hard to summon up much enthusiasm or concern for the theme. That sums up how I felt through much of the book. Wet and cold! This part of the world is known for some challenging weather, so it’s no surprise that it’s a feature here. A man washes up on a beach in the Isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides and has no idea who he is. Peter May also is adept at turning out interesting characters, and his movement of them reminds me of chess pieces that are strategically and expertly placed. The main character of the novel is that of the amnesia sufferer, Neal Maclean, so readers must deal with an unreliable narrator much of the time, but one on a fascinating path. There are alternating narrators, with George Gunn and Karen Fleming taking their minor turns, but it is through Neal that readers must try to make sense of most of the twists and turns. Being a fan of the unreliable narrator when done well, I think May pulls it off quite well with the amnesia being the vehicle of unreliability. With every move towards regaining identity and memory, Neal Maclean edges towards reliability, and the story moves towards resolution.Interessante è anche il fulcro della storia: una ricerca sulle api e sulla loro sopravvivenza, per garantire un futuro sostenibile al genere umano. Uno studio ostacolato, condotto privatamente in gran segreto, i cui risultati rischiano di essere boicottati, perché la loro divulgazione desterebbe non poco scompiglio fra i colossi che speculano nel settore degli insetticidi. I wish all of my Goodreads’ friends a wonderful Holiday whether you are celebrating the Thanksgiving Day in the US or not. Best wishes to all.