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Peter May

ピーター・メイ

Peter May

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1951-12-20 （Glasgow, Scotland）
Nationality
Scottish, French
Languages
English
Residence History
Glasgow (birth) → France (Lot department and elsewhere)

Career

Occupations
Crime writer, Screenwriter, Novelist, Journalist
Active Years
1971-
Affiliations
Chinese Crime Writers' Association (honorary member, Beijing chapter)
Memberships
Chinese Crime Writers' Association (honorary member, Beijing chapter)
Nominations
Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year (shortlisted), Macavity Award for Best Mystery Novel (shortlisted)

Awards

Fraser Award (Scottish Young Journalist of the Year)
1973
Result: winner
Prix Intramuros
2007
Work: Snakehead
Organization: Salon Polar & Co (Cognac)
Result: winner
Cezam Prix Littéraire Inter CE (CEZAM national literature prize)
2011
Work: The Blackhouse
Organization: Cezam
Result: winner
Barry Award (Best Crime Novel)
2013
Work: The Blackhouse
Organization: Deadly Pleasures / Barry Awards
Result: winner
Grand Prix des Lecteurs du Télégramme
2012
Work: The Lewis Man
Organization: Le Télégramme (newspaper)
Result: winner
Prix des Lecteurs (Les Ancres Noires)
2010
Work: The Blackhouse
Organization: Les Ancres Noires (Le Havre readers prize)
Result: winner
Deanston's Scottish Crime Book of the Year
2014
Work: Entry Island
Organization: Bloody Scotland (award ceremony)
Result: winner
Specsavers ITV Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year
2014
Work: Entry Island
Organization: ITV (Specsavers Crime Thriller Awards)
Result: winner
Trophée 813 (Best Foreign Crime Novel)
2015
Work: Entry Island
Organization: Review 813 (magazine)
Result: winner
CWA Dagger in the Library
2021
Organization: Crime Writers' Association (CWA)
Result: winner
Palle Rosenkrantz Prize (best crime book of the year in Denmark)
2024
Organization: Danish Crime Academy
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Blackhouse

2009 Crime fiction / Mystery

A crime novel set on the Isle of Lewis; past secrets and the island landscape intertwine with an investigation.

home and the pastisolated communitiesjustice and revenge

The Lewis Man

2012 Crime fiction / Mystery

The second book in the Lewis Trilogy; the protagonist confronts past mysteries on the island.

family secretsland and history

The Chessmen

2013 Crime fiction / Mystery

The third book of the Lewis Trilogy; the island's past links to a modern crime.

tradition and the modernguilt and atonement

The Black Loch

2024 Crime fiction / Mystery

A follow-on to the Lewis Trilogy set ten years after The Chessmen, featuring returning characters.

passing timereunion and change

Entry Island

2014 Crime fiction / Mystery

A crime novel alternating between a remote Canadian island and 150 years earlier on the Isle of Lewis; critically acclaimed.

historical continuitymigration and reckoning

Coffin Road

2016 Thriller / Crime fiction

A standalone thriller set on the Isle of Harris; features ecological themes and links to pharmaceutical companies.

environmental issuesconspiracy

Runaway

2015 Crime fiction / Thriller

A crime novel inspired by May's teenage experiences; told through dual timelines in 1965 and 2015.

youth and disillusionmentmemory and redemption

The Reporter

1978 Drama / Novel

An early novel by May that was adapted as the TV series The Standard.

journalismprofessional ethics
Adaptations
  • [Television drama] The Standard (1978)

The Killing Room

2001 Crime fiction

One of the China Thrillers set in China; later adapted into a film released as Vanishing (2022).

international crimeforensic investigation
Adaptations
  • [Film] Vanishing (2022)

Bibliography

  • The Reporter (1978)
  • Fallen Hero (1979)
  • Hidden Faces (1981) / The Man With No Face (US title)
  • The Noble Path (1992)
  • The China Thrillers (1999–2004)
  • The Enzo Files (2006–2017+)
  • The Lewis Trilogy (The Blackhouse, The Lewis Man, The Chessmen)
  • Entry Island (2014)
  • Runaway (2015)
  • Coffin Road (2016)
  • I'll Keep You Safe (2018)
  • A Silent Death (2020)
  • Lockdown (written earlier, published 2020)
  • A Winter Grave (2023)
  • The Black Loch (2024)

Adaptations

  • The Reporter → The Standard (TV series, 1978)
  • The Killing Room → Vanishing (film, 2022)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
procedural, plot-driven crime writingstrong use of landscape and atmosphereclear, readable prose with brisk pacing
Recurring Motifs
isolated communitiesthe shadow of land and historyforensic science and the search for truth

Legacy

Peter May is an internationally successful crime novelist, best known for the Lewis Trilogy; he has won multiple awards, notably in France and the UK, and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

Academic Societies

  • Chinese Crime Writers' Association (Beijing chapter)

Trivia

  • Naturalised as a French citizen in April 2016 (has long ties to the Lot department).
  • Reportedly sold over two million copies in the UK and several million internationally.
  • Early novel The Reporter was adapted as the TV series The Standard.