In The Chessmen, the concluding part of the Lewis Man Trilogy by Peter May, we catch up with Fin Macleod on the island of Lewis. Fin is now head of security on a privately owned estate, and his first job is to investigate a spate of poaching. This brings him into direct conflict with Whistler, who was one of Fin's best friends in their teenage years. Whistler is a "for the pot" poacher, and also has been working on a large replica set of the Lewis Chessmen for the local laird. Fin gets into serious trouble one stormy night while chasing Whistler, who then rescues him. The following morning, they discover a local loch has drained, and resting in the resultant mud is a light aircraft containing a body. They both recognise the plane as being that of the infamous local musician Roddy MacKenzie, who disappeared 17 years previously. But why does Whistler seem shocked to find his body? This event triggers memories and feelings from the past that have unforeseen consequences and reveal a mystery that has been kept secret for 17 years. While all this is going on, Fin is still trying to build a life with his childhood sweetheart and his newly discovered son. This book is a really good read. Maybe it is because I am now familiar with the main characters, or maybe it as because many of the loose ends were tied up, but it felt like the best of the three. Again we find out more about Fin's back story which helps to round this character out even further, discovering that he used to roady for Roddy's band. The action switches between past and present, and also between the first and third person, but the writing is so good and tight, that this presents no difficulty to the reader. I read the audio edition narrated by the wonderful Peter Forbes whose accents are fabulous ... well, to my ear they are! Highly recommended.
My STAR rating: FOUR.
Length: 400 print pages.
Price I paid: £5.84.
Formats available: print; unabridged audio download; ebook.
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