'The Black House' by Peter May and 'In a Dark House' by Deborah Crombie

The Black House, Peter May (3.5)

The first in a trilogy, this book claims to be a murder mystery, but is really more of a theme piece about a location. The backdrop of the Isle of Lewis (the large island in the Outer Hebrides of northern Scotland) looms large throughout the story. A murder happens similar to one in Edinburgh, so a detective returns to the island to see if there is a connection. He has not been back in many years and the narrative jumps between present day and his remembrances of childhood events. The harshness of the location, his childhood and all that makes a young man want to escape to the big city are all described in both timeframes. It was a compelling story, though I found it to be a bit emotionally overwrought. I was not surprised to learn that Mr. May writes for TV as I could envision this story as a TV show or movie.

In a Dark House, Deborah Crombie (3.5)

This is apparently the tenth book involving the two Scotland Yard detectives, Duncan Kincaid and Gemma Jones, though I found it stood on its own quite well. As with most crime fighting partnerships, their personalities and styles are different though complimentary. This story focuses on arson in a specific neighborhood in London, with a dead body found at the site of the burned factory. There are multiple good guys (firemen/women, detectives) and potential bad guys. I like murder mysteries that give enough clues for the reader to get some idea of what could have happened – though not make it too easy. My biggest beef with this story is the number of characters introduced and the fact that until DNA evidence was processed, there was absolutely no way to know who the arsonist was, who was killed or who the possible killer could be. There was a lot going on in this book and it was quite interesting – made for a good, quick summer read. Since it was #10 and written in 2004, there are plenty more like it.