The Chessmen

This year has seen the publication of the final section of two fantastic trilogies that I have been enthusiastically following. The first, SANCTUS by Simon Toyne, is reviewed on Eurocrime, with the final book, THE TOWER, being reviewed this week. The second, THE BLACKHOUSE trilogy by Peter May, is also mostly reviewed on Eurocrime. The final instalment, THE CHESSMEN, is reviewed below.....



The Chessmen by Peter May. 2013. Quercus. Hardback £14.99. 383pp. ISBN 978-0-85738-223-8.

Finally. The long-awaited conclusion of The Blackhouse trilogy by this awesome author. Someone else has reviewed it for Eurocrime, so I am adding my thoughts to my own blog instead. Once again, the book is set on the Isle of Lewis and has former policeman Finn MacLeod as its main character. I love this trilogy. My Dad, whose father came from Lewis, and who has been there several times, says he loves the books too and that they portray even the tiniest details of Island life accurately. Praise indeed and well deserved, I think.

In this final installment, Finn is now living with Marsaili, his childhood love, and has a job as head of security for the local laird, who has a bit of a problem with poachers. One of these turns out to be Whistler, one of Finn's old school friends, who takes the odd fish for his own needs and doesn't see why he can't. Finn and Whistler exchange angry words and then end up out on the moor at night together, in a storm. Despite their anger with each other, Whistler saves Finn, who is not properly equipped for the conditions, and they take shelter in a small bothy, near a loch. In the morning, to their horror, the loch has disappeared and the vanishing water has exposed an old airplane. Closer inspection shows it to belong to Roddy, another old school pal, who died some 18 years before when his plane disappeared. And now here it is, complete with a body that must be Roddy. Fin is shocked. The resulting investigations shock him still more and he is pushed to the limit, both in terms of loyalty to friends, past and present, as well as having to face the truths that are finally exposed.

One of the interesting points about the book, as well as the gripping storyline, is the way it is written. Alternate chapters follow a time-shift pattern, between the present and aspects of Finn's past, as he thinks about how things used to be during his time as a roadie for Amran, an extremely popular band that had its beginnings as a group of high school students playing gigs at the weekends on the island. The parts of the story written in the present don't flow in a chronological order either, so you have to keep your wits about you in order to keep up! However, you won't be disappointed.

THE CHESSMEN is a fantastic end to an amazing trilogy. I have been totally enchanted by these books and am keen to read more by Peter May, starting with copying my Dad and reading his China series on my Kindle!

Extremely Highly Recommended.

A Higher Duty

No Exit Press very kindly sent me A HIGHER DUTY by Peter Murphy to review.
Here are my thoughts on this most excellent book...



A Higher Duty by Peter Murphy. February 2013. No Exit Press. Paperback. £7.99. 351pp. ISBN 978-1-84243-668-4.

This beautifully written book had me captivated from start to finish. It is chock-full of the language and behaviour that was expected from lawyers, barristers and their families in the 1960s. Peter Murphy is himself highly familiar with the Law, having worked as an advocate for a number of years and being involved as defense council in the Yugoslavian War Crimes tribunal at The Hague. You can sense his years of experience dripping from the pages of his book, adding authenticity and interest to the tale. A HIGHER DUTY is Murphy’s second novel, and the first of his that I have read. I am keen to get my hands on his first one, REMOVAL, now as well!

The story starts in Cambridge in 1960, at a Rugby Club dinner. As usual, too much alcohol is consumed but then the high jinks of the young men lead to the accidental death of a fellow student. In shame the guilty parties are gathered together and arrested, only to have the matter mysteriously quashed and brushed under the carpet. All is not forgotten, however, since Clive Overton, the ringleader, is subsequently sent down from Cambridge in disgrace by his outraged father. He goes to America and is ordered to stay away from England for the rest of his life.

Two years later, we join up with the activities of the successful London Chambers overseen by Bernard Wesley QC. An initially straightforward divorce case is brought forward for representation and it looks as if it will be uneventful, until the barrister given the case, Kenneth Gaskell, stupidly starts an affair with his client, Anne Dougherty, and they are found out. Making the scandal public knowledge will be the ruin of everyone who works in the chambers. Bernard, who thinks of Kenneth as his own son, is shocked beyond belief and takes refuge at home to seek an answer to the issue. Help comes in the form of a random phone call from America and the cunning plan that Bernard devises, based on the code of conduct of certain individuals, will rock the foundations of the very Bar itself.

I loved this book! Everything, from the way it is written, to the way the barristers address each other, had me interested and engaged. I could vividly imagine Bernard Wesley’s chambers and feel the ever-present importance of protocol and correct behaviour. As it says on the cover, you are a fan of TVs Silk, then you are going to just love this book. I couldn’t put it better myself!

Highly recommended.