
Wow! Peter May, one of the biggest crime and thriller writers there is, has a new novel out! Tell me more…
This is what is apparently called “cli-fi,” which is a new term to me, but if this is what it’s like, sign me up for more!
The novel itself is absolutely packed with twists, turns, thrills, and action, not to mention shocking revelations. There’s also the very, very scary element of what the future could look like, according to the research May has done – and this is a writer who’s a stickler for doing his research! It’s set in the near future, in 2051 – so within the lifespans of many alive today. Be afraid, younger people, be very afraid…
So what kind of world are we looking at?
Well, in the West of Scotland the two main things that have changed are climate and technology. The melting ice caps have naturally seen the seas rise dramatically, and “water taxis” (boats as taxis) are a necessity to negotiate your way around the centre of Glasgow. The ground floors of many buildings are unuseable. Police Scotland have new headquarters at Pacific Quay, and Cameron Brodie, a detective in his mid-50s, is summoned there as a body has been found encased in an icy grave near Kinlochleven, a village at the head of Loch Leven. It’s a popular destination for hillwalkers, and an experienced policeman is required to investigate whether the death is suspicious, with the aid of a pathologist who he’ll pick up en route. As Brodie enjoys hillwalking and is capable on the hills, he’s asked to go along. Despite initially refusing due to an urgent medical appointment, after receiving a grim prognosis he reluctantly decides a visit to that particular village is about due – as there’s someone he hopes to see there before it’s too late.
And throughout the book there are flashbacks which fill in Cameron’s background?
That’s right, and both strands are equally gripping, which I don’t always find to be the case. Brodie travels by what are essentially mini-helicopters, first to Tobermory on Mull (the island where I grew up and my family still live), to pick up the pathologist, Dr Sita Roy, and her equipment. Then it’s onto their ultimate destination, and en route we learn something of his past – about his wife Mel, and the unusual circumstances of their meeting, and his estranged adult daughter, Addie, as well as what happened between him and Mel, and the reason for his daughter’s refusal to acknowledge him.
The entirety of it is gripping – it really is the hardest book to put down I’ve read for a long while. Cameron’s personal life and its events are totally intriguing, and then when we get to the Highlands…well, it’s absolutely action-packed, and will knock your socks off!
This sounds thrilling!
Believe me, it’s one drama after another – all of them unexpected. An ice storm knocks out all power to the village, despite there being recently constructed nuclear power stations just along the glen, which provide employment to the village, and guaranteed electricity to all of Scotland – something of a coup for the fictional Scottish Democratic Party and its leader Sally Mack, as no other country has continual power (weather permitting, naturally!) The internet is also down, which prevents Dr Roy and Cameron from reporting back to police headquarters, and confirming they’re dealing with the murder of investigative reporter Charles Younger. Then there’s another murder, and, finding the helicopter sabotaged so that even when power returns, he still can’t leave, Cameron knows he’s a sitting duck for a ruthless killer – who could be anywhere in the village…
There’s also the very big question of what a journalist who had no interest in hillwalking was doing in the village, where the notes for the story he was writing are, and why he would possibly be in possession of a Geiger counter…Was this story so important that people might be prepared to kill to prevent it getting out?
Plus he has something important from the past to deal with, too – and that just might be the hardest thing of all…
There’s so much going on in this book!
Absolutely – and in the best possible way, in that you cannot put it down. I haven’t read all of Peter’s considerable output, but I’d say this the best book of his I have read – even the wonderful Lewis trilogy, which shot him to fame.
I love the way he uses traditional Scots words like “dwam” and “trauchling” (a favourite of my late mother’s.) We see huge change, through ecological disasters and technological advances. However, people and families don’t change at all, and that’s so perfectly illustrated.
All in all, it’s something of a masterpiece. It’s only January and I’ve a couple of candidates for “Best of 2023” already!
Join me tomorrow when I ask Peter a few questions about what prompted him to look into the future, and write A Winter Grave.
A Winter Grave is published by Quercus and is out now in hardback priced £22.
Don’t miss this one!
I’d like to thank Ransom PR for kindly inviting me to participate in the Blog Tour, and to Quercus for the ARC. This is an honest review.

Author Peter May

Check out what some of the other fabulous bloggers on the tour thought!
BLURB: From the twelve-million copy bestselling author of the Lewis trilogy comes a chilling new mystery set in the isolated Scottish Highlands.
A TOMB OF ICE
A young meteorologist checking a mountain top weather station in Kinlochleven discovers the body of a missing man entombed in ice.
A DYING DETECTIVE
Cameron Brodie, a Glasgow detective, sets out on a hazardous journey to the isolated and ice-bound village. He has his own reasons for wanting to investigate a murder case so far from his beat.
AN AGONIZING RECKONING
Brodie must face up to the ghosts of his past and to a killer determined to bury forever the chilling secret that his investigation threatens to expose.
Set against a backdrop of a frighteningly plausible near-future, A WINTER GRAVE is Peter May at his page-turning, passionate and provocative best.