The Chessmen cover art

The Chessmen

The explosive finale in the million-selling series (The Lewis Thrillers Book 3)

 Preview

Audible Standard 30-day free trial

Try Standard free
Select 1 audiobook a month from our entire collection.
Listen to your selected audiobooks as long as you're a member.
Get unlimited access to bingeable podcasts.
Standard auto renews for £5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

The Chessmen

By: Peter May
Narrated by: Peter Forbes
Try Standard free

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £16.51

Buy Now for £16.51

About this listen

 Marilyn Stasio in The New York Times raved: "Peter May is a writer I'd follow to the ends of the earth." Among the many honors received, The Blackhouse, the first novel in May's acclaimed Lewis trilogy, won the Barry and Crime Thriller Hound awards.

In The Lewis Man, the second book of the trilogy, Fin Macleod has returned to the Isle of Lewis, the storm-tossed, wind-scoured outer Hebridean island where he was born and raised. Having left behind his adult life in Edinburgh--including his wife and his career in the police force--the former Detective Inspector is intent on repairing past relationships and restoring his parents' derelict cottage. His plans are interrupted when an unidentified corpse is recovered from a Lewis peat bog. The only clue to its identity is a DNA match to a local farmer, the now-senile Tormod Macdonald--the father of Fin's childhood sweetheart, Marsaili--a man who has claimed throughout his life to be an only child, practically an orphan. Reluctantly drawn into the investigation, Fin uncovers deep family secrets even as he draws closer to the killer who wishes to keep them hidden.

Already an international bestseller and winner of numerous awards, including France's Prix des Lecteurs du Telegramme, The Lewis Man has the lyrical verve of Ian Rankin and the gutsy risk-taking of Benjamin Black. As fascinating and forbidding as the Hebridean landscape, the book (according to The Times) "throbs with past and present passions, jealousies, suspicions and regrets; the emotional secrets of the bleak island are even deeper than its peat bog."
(P)2012 Quercus Editions Ltd©2013 Peter May Crime Thrillers Europe Fiction Great Britain International Mystery & Crime Mystery Thriller Thriller & Suspense Crime Detective Exciting Suspense

Continue the series
The Black Loch cover art
The Black Loch By: Peter May

Critic reviews

A rip-roaring thriller . . . thoroughly enjoyable
A wonderfully complex book (Peter James, on Entry Island)
The Lewis Man shone like a bright star out of this year's book lists. Lyrical, empathetic and moving (Alex Gray)
He is a terrific writer doing something different (Mark Billingham)
From the first page I knew I was in safe hands. I knew I could trust this writer (Sophie Hannah)
Wonderfully compelling (Kate Mosse)
Western France - now May's own stamping ground - is as much a character in the book as the Hebrides were in his formidable Isle of Lewis sequence
Peter May is a writer I'd follow to the ends of the earth
Instantly struck by the beauty of the descriptions of the wild island terrain as well as by the roundedness and complexity of the characterisations
One of the best regarded crime series of recent years (Boyd Tonkin, on the Lewis trilogy)
May's novels are strong on place and the wounds left by old relationships
All stars
Most relevant
An excellent thriller, in keeping with the other 2 books in this trilogy. Magnificently read. I ended up staying up til 2am in order to listen to the end - and am now sorry I did because this means it's finished!!! Highly recommended - the wait for this final book of this trilogyy was worth it.

Brilliant conclusion!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have read the other two lewis books by Peter May, but thoroughly enjoyed this audio version. Again Peter May has come up with a great storyline, with old and new characters very well written. His love for Lewis shines through.



The narration by Peter Forbes adds a great deal in terms of atmosphere, his accents are very good, and mostly fairly true to area. Strongly recommended.

Brilliant listen

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This book was a pure delight from start to finish. As I didn't know there were other books in the series and am also new to Peter May, I started with this book and, wow. I grew up in the Outer Hebridees for part of my childhood, not on Lewis, but the scenery, the people, the wind, the peat... the atmosphere - it's all there. The book is beautifully written but keeps suspense throughout with believable characters. The narration is also top notch and beautifully rendered. I can't praise this enough and am now reading the other books in the series and will definitely try more Peter May!

If I could give this six stars I would

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
We listened to this book on our way to holiday, coincidentally in the very location where the book is set. The book, like the previous ones, makes for gripping listening but, the more so, when we were able to see and 'live' the places mentioned in the book. I would certainly recommend this book.

An excellent addition to the Lewis series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I've just listened to all three books in this great trilogy and wish there were more in the series as I've become engrossed in the lives of the characters living in the Outer Isles of Scotland. Though all three books have a crime as the hook upon which the story hangs the stories are far more about human relationships and the way of life in these remote islands. Part of the pleasure is the evocation of the sometimes harsh environment with it's mercurial climate, but also the beauty of the islands and the influence of the past on life there. Any of the books can be enjoyed as stand alone stories but I think one gets more by listening in chronological order as the back-stories impinge on the the narratives that follow.
Peter Forbes is an ideal narrator as he gets the various Scottish accents just right.

Engrossing end to a fine trilogy

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews