French Literary Prizes – Prix Ancres Noires des Lecteurs". Lesancresnoires.com . Retrieved 20 June 2010. When a mass grave containing eighteen mutilated female corpses is discovered in Shanghai, detective Li Yan is sent from Beijing to establish if the bodies are linked to an unsolved murder in the capital. Here, Li will be working with Mei Ling, deputy head of Shanghai's serious crime squad.

Peter May has written a suspenseful and detailed story with a plethora of suspects." - New York Journal of Books Having read a number of the author’s books I think that the Lewis trilogy is by far the best as the books have gripping stories combined with a powerful evocation of the atmosphere of the Outer Herbrides, whereas, Cast Iron, set in France didn’t create any sense of the atmosphere of the country. The Enzo Files, if I’m being completely honest, is my least favourite series by Peter May. There have been some gripping moments, but I never fell for Enzo in the way I expected. There were too many things – specifically about Enzo as a character – that did not hold appeal, but I was interested in the overall storyline and wanted to see how the bet played out. For a while, this book tried to convince me my biggest fear for the series was going to play out, but it didn’t. In the end, it went for the resolution that was obvious from the start of this one. In the third thrilling instalment of the series, Enzo is running out of time in more ways than one... Will have the reader relishing every tendency of description and characterization -- Barry Forshaw * Independent *In this the final of the Enzo McLeod series, the phlegmatic Scot faces the nightmare of every parent whose offspring go missing: he has been targeted in the past and calls on the help of friends. With a superb subplot it is others who join the dots together as McLeod follows lead after lead, mostly to a dead end. Prix Ancres Noires [42] (2012) L'Homme de Lewis (The Lewis Man) winner of the Prix des Lecteurs at the Les Ancres Noires book festival, Le Havre Peter May is a master story teller he knows how to draw the reader in and keep them entertained all the way through the book, and in this case trying to see if you can work out who the culprit is before the reveal. So, when you get the twist or turn, you do not see it coming, it is like being on a rollercoaster in the dark when you cannot see what is coming up in front of you, and you certainly get the ride of your life. The fifth China thriller sees Li Yan and Margaret Campbell uncover an insidious conspiracy on the eve of the Beijing Olympics

As interesting as it was to see the details come together, this one was my least favourite of the series. There were too many cliches for me, and I found myself rolling my eyes at the pretty bow everything was wrapped in when we reached the end. I expected something bigger from the ending, something a bit more explosive. It was certainly interesting to see everything come together, but I had hoped for more. Cast Iron is the sixth book in the Enzo Macleod Investigation series by Scottish journalist, screenwriter and author, Peter May. After refreshing himself on the details of Roger Raffin’s sixth cold case with him, Enzo heads in the direction of Bordeaux to meet the parents of Lucie Martin, whose unexplained disappearance in 1989 became a murder case when a nearby lake dried up during the drought of 2003, revealing her skeleton. Starred Review. May expertly plants nicely misleading red herrings; every time the reader thinks the plot will fall into predictability, the ground shifts and the direction changes. The end comes as a satisfying surprise, built as it is on clues that were subtly in place all along." - Publishers Weekly McLeod has become a victim of his own success. His private life is shambolic, with Charlotte, mother of his infant son (or is he?) restricting access in her own bitchy way. His two daughters have their own issues but are drawn in as someone of influence wants to shut his investigation down… Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free electronic copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.A grotesquely burned corpse found in a city park is a troubling mystery for Beijing detective Li Yan. Yan, devoted to his career as a means of restoring the respect his family lost during the Cultural Revolution, needs outside help if he is to break the case.

It’s a complicated and long-winded story that finally reveals who killed the final victim and why. I don’t think the narrative built up the evidence satisfactorily and the denouement is perfunctory. I might have enjoyed the journey to get there more if I had read the previous five books. I don't think I’ll bother as some of the conclusions of earlier stories are referred to in this final book. A weeping killer deposits the unconscious body of nineteen year old Lucie Martin, her head wrapped in a blue plastic bag, into the water of a picturesque lake. I like the progress of the story, how Enzo starts off with Lucie Martin's murder, but soon realize that the case is bigger than just the one killing and the man suspected of killing Lucie, a serial killer who killed three prostitutes may or may not be Lucie's killer. The ending was really thrilling and intense. And I loved that there was a twist in the end that I did not foresee. I did think that the ending felt a bit too easy that there must be a game change and I was right, I just didn't see the one coming.

Summary

Detective Li Yan senses a conspiracy surrounding the fatalities, and finds a female athlete willing to talk. But she will only trust one person: Li's fiancée, Margaret Campbell.