Peter May, the Scottish crime writer best known for the Lewis Trilogy, has died at the age of 74. His publisher, riverrun, confirmed that he died on Friday night, September 25, at his holiday home in the south of France.
May’s books sold around 15 million copies worldwide. His death comes ahead of the publication of his final novel, Island of the Dead, which is scheduled for January 2027, according to The Bookseller’s report of the publisher’s announcement.
For readers discovering his work through this news, May leaves a substantial collection of mysteries, including the Lewis Trilogy, the China Thrillers and the Enzo Files.
Peter May Remembered by His Wife and Publisher
May’s wife, the writer Janice Hally, shared the news on September 28 alongside a tribute from his longtime publisher and friend, Jon Riley.
In the statement reproduced by We Love Stornoway, Riley remembered May’s generosity, warmth and the affection he inspired among readers and colleagues. He described the author as “irreplaceable.”
The statement also revealed that May had delivered Island of the Dead in July. He had been preparing for a farewell tour of Scotland and Lewis to accompany its publication.
The Lewis Trilogy Brought Readers to the Outer Hebrides
May’s most recognizable series centers on Fin Macleod and the Isle of Lewis in Scotland’s Outer Hebrides. The original trilogy should be read in this order:
The publisher’s collected edition of the Lewis Trilogy brings together those three novels.
In The Blackhouse, Detective Inspector Fin Macleod returns from Edinburgh to the island where he grew up to investigate a killing. The case forces him to confront people and memories from his childhood. As Hachette’s description of the opening novel explains, the investigation becomes a journey into his own past.
That premise offers a clear starting point for readers interested in mysteries where the detective has personal ties to the community under investigation. Fin’s return home puts the murder inquiry alongside a reckoning with his earlier life.
May later revisited Fin in The Black Loch, published in 2024. In his own announcement of the book’s UK tour, he described it as a follow-up to the Lewis Trilogy. Readers beginning the series should therefore save it until after the original three books.
A Career That Spanned Journalism, Television and Crime Fiction
Before becoming internationally known for his novels, May worked in journalism and television. Hachette’s author biography records that he was an award-winning journalist at 21 and subsequently worked on more than 1,000 episodes of television drama.
His fiction career earned recognition in several countries. The Blackhouse received the American Barry Award, while Entry Island won the ITV Specsavers Crime Thriller Book Club Best Read of the Year award in 2014. In 2021, May received the Crime Writers’ Association’s Dagger in the Library award.
France played a particularly significant role in his success. As ActuaLitté’s account of his career explains, The Blackhousewas initially rejected by British publishers and appeared in French in 2009 before its English-language publication in 2011. May became a French citizen in 2016.
Peter May’s Final Novel Arrives in January 2027
Island of the Dead will give readers one final new novel from May. Hachette’s UK listing currently gives a publication date of January 14, 2027.
The thriller follows Ethan MacGregor as he returns to Skarav, an island west of the Hebrides, after fourteen years away. His return forces him to confront the death of his first love, Donna Gillies, who fell from a cliff as a teenager.
The publisher’s synopsis promises a story involving old loyalties, family trauma, faith and guilt. It introduces Ethan as its central character; readers should not assume it is another Fin Macleod installment.
For anyone who has yet to read Peter May, The Blackhouse offers a natural introduction. Beginning there allows readers to follow the original Lewis Trilogy before moving on to The Black Loch and, next year, the final novel of a widely read crime-writing career.
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