The only clue is a well-thumbed Ordnance Survey map of Harris, with a route sketched out in marker pen. Locals call it the Coffin Road and Neal and his neighbour Sally follow it the next day. The hidden beehives they discover seem familiar to Neal – but what are they doing there? And do they have any bearing on his past life? He has apparently been posing as an author, writing a book about the nearby Flannan Isles, but a search of Neal’s laptop unearths a Word document containing no words whatsoever. What on earth is he doing in this remote spot? This thriller starts with a man washed up on a beach. As he struggles along the adjacent road, he is recognized by a resident as James McLean and the older woman with her dog walks him to his cottage. McLean doesn't remember who he is or what happened to him. He is greeted by his dog, Bran, is only companion. Later other neighbors drop by and he is able to piece together a bit more. Searching his cottage yields few clues to his identity, and he keeps his amnesia a secret.

best recent thrillers – reviews roundup - The Guardian The best recent thrillers – reviews roundup - The Guardian

When Detective George Gunn was summonsed to cross the Atlantic to the Flannan Isles where a long standing mystery was still unsolved, his sense of unease was great. The ensuing discovery of a man’s body with no identification meant Gunn had to find his killer, as well as a motive – and he wasn’t sure he was up to the task. Neal sleeps a long time and is awakened by a visit from the couple from next door. He tries to fudge his way through a conversation about the book he is supposedly writing, and a little later there’s a surprising romantic interlude which is even more confusing, but welcome and relaxing. He finds a map with a route along Coffin Road marked, so he figures he might was well go to the end of the mark and see what’s there. His lady friend offers to drive him. Even when he does learn a name, it fits like borrowed clothes. The more he discovers, he starts to wonder if he really wants to know who he once was. Another sweltering month in Charlotte, another boatload of mysteries past and present for overworked, overstressed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan.Neal sees bills in his name and various documents, including a map which someone had marked the word Coffin Road, which was on the table, but Neal had no idea what it meant. As the story unfolds so do the twists, turns and intrigue. Then you have Neal’s lover. Now who is she? And what are all those bee stings about? Why, let’s have some excruciating exposition to explain and how a Swiss agribusiness is ruining the world for future tattooed, multiply pierced, dyed hair, promiscuous, ignorant wee lasses. Neal’s memory loss seems a clever clue for what’s to come. Did you set out to draw a comparison in this way? [spoiler]

Book review: Coffin Road by Peter May - Debbish Book review: Coffin Road by Peter May - Debbish

His latest novel, Coffin Road came as a bit of a surprise as it grabbed me from the get-go. Coffin Road Coffin Road is the eighth stand-alone novel by British author, Peter May. A man wakes, washed up on a beach on the isle of Harris in the Outer Hebrides: he doesn’t know who he is, where he is, or how he got there, but he has an overpowering feeling of dread about something that has happened. Instinctively, he does not reveal his amnesia to those around him, relying on the information he gleans from conversations and from items in his cottage to gain knowledge of who he is.Still, I read May for more than that. He can write some rip roaring mysteries. A man washes on a beach with no idea how he got there. He is freezing cold, disoriented and scared. He stumbles his way home and has no idea of his name until a neighbor calls out to him. He tries to remember who he is but the life he stumbles into is almost blank. He kept things secret before his accident.