Entry Island by Peter May
| Press reviews | Buy the book | Have your say |
Blurb: When Detective Sime Mackenzie is sent from Montreal to investigate a murder on the remote Entry Island, 850 miles from the Canadian mainland, he leaves behind him a life of sleeplessness and regret. But what had initially seemed an open-and-shut case takes on a disturbing dimension when he meets the prime suspect, the victim’s wife, and is convinced that he knows her – even though they have never met. (Quercus, January 2014)
Geoffrey Wansell, The Daily Mail
“Told with exceptional clarity and a fine eye for the claustrophobia of island life, it weaves a hypnotic spell as it jumps between generations and proves that May is a writer to be cherished.”
Marcel Berlins, The Times
“Mackenzie’s historical quest merges rivetingly with his 21st-century police work.”
The Independent on Sunday
“The inside of Mackenzie’s head, struggling as it does to grasp what precisely it is about the murder that does not fit, would be sufficiently claustrophobic even without the sleeplessness casting a neon-lit, migraine-inducing glare. To this, May adds a saga of families forced from their homes for a new life of supposed opportunity in the New World. Both lines weave together, as elegantly as any Celtic knot, until May ties both ends off. The final result is a fascinating glimpse into a shameful and frequently overlooked aspect of British history. ”
Barry Forshaw, The Independent on Sunday
“If the premise makes it sound like May is treading familiar water, nothing could be further from the truth. Apart from the customarily vivid, often poetic passages of description (“A crescent of silver sand curls away towards the cemetery and the standing stones on the rise”), Entry Island is shot through with the dark legacy of history. The quotidian details of the murder case, and the all-too-familiar squabbling detectives, are counterpointed with the difficult existence of the island’s crofters, eking out a living while their landlords enjoy a very different lifestyle.”
Viv Watts, The Daily Express
“May is the master of painting a vivid picture of his chosen landscapes and weaving a fascinating plot. The research he has packed in to this well-paced dual tale is impressive. If there is one niggle at all it is that the characters sometimes appear unsympathetic. Kirsty’s fear and resignation often render her so colourless it is hard to whip up concern for her fate, while the reader, anxious to see the killer unmasked, can feel like shaking Sime and telling him to pull himself together.”
Buy the book
Amazon | Foyles | Hive | Waterstones
OMNISCORE:
