This is the fourth (!) in the Lewis trilogy where Fin Macleod returns to the island he grew up on.

Fin’s son is accused of murdering a pupil that he was having an affair with and is eventually charged. Fin and his wife return to the island and Fin uses his, now ex-, policing skills to find the real killer of Caitlin. This is a book that frequently dives back in time to reveal the old friendships and secrets of childhood to explore what is happening in the present day. It is also a book about fathers and sons and the bonds between them. We often have books that explore how far a mother will go to protect a child with this one gently investigating how far a father will go. It’s not deep, like the waters around the island, just present as a motif.

What May also wants to discuss in more detail is the state of salmon farming and its impact on the seascape. Many of the fish in the farm owned by Niall Black, an old friend of Fin’s, are dying and he is here with his son on the island to deal with the problem. When there are too many fish in the cages, the salmon get lice and the lice eat the fish bit by bit. It is a sign of poor management, overcrowding and warming seas and so should be a concern to us all. The way Niall and his company dealt with the problem was to remove the dead fish and take them out to a hidden cove and dump them, hoping that the winter storms would wash them away. It’s not a book that will enhance the salmon farming industry in Scotland.

We also get a beaching of a pod of whales following a mother who was struggling to give birth to her calf. I can’t remember how many times we heard about ‘if one goes, they all go in support’ just to emphasise the theme May was telling rather than showing us. The research for the book became too evident at this point in the story.

Lewis and the weather is well described even though Lewis is in the middle of a heatwave, more for the climate change theme. When the weather turns and it becomes bleak and windy, that’s when the story starts to come alive.

I devoured The Blackhouse and following books when they first came out but this one is solid at best with little suspense until the end. It is, however, in much demand at the library and so I had to read it quickly so that the next person who has reserved it can have it.