The Man With No Face by Peter May – BLOG TOUR

I originally found Peter May as part of my TOPCWFC which you may recall was the original aim of this blog. His first novel for me was The Blackhouse, which is part of a trilogy set on the Isle of Lewis. This was an interesting novel and I went on to read the rest of the trilogy. Last year I was also privileged to be able to read I’ll Keep You Safe which was a cracking read (see review here)  However one of the downsides to there being so many great new books coming out all the time is that if you are anything like me you often don’t get the time to go back and read an author’s early works. Therefore I was excited to be given the chance to read Peter May’s latest novel The Man With No Face which is actually a re-issue of one of his early books, Hidden Faces.

The Man With No Face is set in 1970’s Brussels at the time when Britain had just committed itself to the new Europe. (You can see why this has been re-released now!) The story follows Scottish journalist Bannerman who is sent to Brussels to report on the European Union. However when he arrives in Brussels both the journalist he was meant to be staying with and a high ranking politician have been murdered. The only witness is the autistic daughter of the victim who communicates through drawings. She draws the crime scene and includes everything except the killers face. Bannerman soon starts to build a relationship with the girl as he is determined to track down the truth, whilst racing to protect the witness from a killer who doesn’t want her to finish her drawing.

I am a big fan of this author. His writing is flawless and it drags you into the story from the start. As with all of Peter May’s novels one of the standout things for me is how the settings always play as big a part as any characters. A lot of that is down to the amount of research he undertakes. The Man With No Face is no exception. May was working as a journalist himself when this was originally written, writing for The Scotsman reporting on the political and social upheaval of the time. In the late 1970’s Peter made the journey by train from Glasgow to Brussels which whilst financial necessity at the time, was perfect research for how to transport murder weapons!

The Man With No Face is a crime thriller that seems as relevant today as it was then and is a definite must read for anyone who likes their mysteries with a political backdrop and a hard hitting theme.

The Man With No Face is out on the 10th January 2019 from amazon.