#BookReview ‘The Night Gate’ by Peter May

About the book…

In a sleepy French village, the body of a man shot through the head is disinterred by the roots of a fallen tree.
A week later a famous art critic is viciously murdered in a nearby house.
The deaths occurred more than seventy years apart.
Asked by a colleague to inspect the site of the former, forensics expert Enzo Macleod quickly finds himself embroiled in the investigation of the latter.  Two extraordinary narratives are set in train – one historical, unfolding in the treacherous wartime years of Occupied France; the other contemporary, set in the autumn of 2020 as France re-enters Covid lockdown.

And Enzo’s investigations reveal an unexpected link between the murders – the Mona Lisa.

Tasked by the exiled General Charles de Gaulle to keep the world’s most famous painting out of Nazi hands after the fall of France in 1940, 28-year-old Georgette Pignal finds herself swept along by the tide of history. Following in the wake of Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa as it is moved from château to château by the Louvre, she finds herself just one step ahead of two German art experts sent to steal it for rival patrons – Hitler and Göring.

What none of them know is that the Louvre itself has taken exceptional measures to keep the painting safe, unwittingly setting in train a fatal sequence of events extending over seven decades.

Events that have led to both killings.

The Night Gate spans three generations, taking us from war-torn London, the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, Berlin and Vichy France, to the deadly enemy facing the world in 2020.  In his latest novel, Peter May shows why he is one of the great contemporary writers of crime fiction

Huge thanks to Sophie from Midas PR for the blogtour invite and Quercus for the gifted copy of ‘The Night Gate’ which is published in hardcover on 18th March.

This book uses the two threads of the timeline to pull the plot together, culminating in a breathless chase for justice and discovery for Enzo. The thing which impressed me the most about ‘The Ninth Gate’ is how the author manages to take history, mix in a fictional mystery AND a pandemic and yet not make it feel weighty and over long.

There is a tendency , sometimes, with historical fiction , for accuracy to supersede the story telling, however, this is not the case here as the reader gradually pieces together the relevance of the now, and the then. This is very much the case with real figures such as Hitler and Speer, giving them a character that is so much a part of the public consciousness breath within the pages, is such a challenge. You automatically want to boo them, praying that Georgette manages in her mission to thwart the greatest 20th century art theft by already removing priceless art from the Louvre before it could be exhibited as a war spoil.

Enzo Macleod enters the picture-excuse the pun-when asked to assist with an unusual find-a murdered Luftwaffe soldier buried where he shouldn’t be, and, therein lies the connection between the war and now, Enzo racing to prevent further deaths as , the day after the skeleton is discovered, a prominent art critic is also killed.

Has Enzo retired? Could he ever really? An interesting an unusual case will possibly always tempt that curiosity and need to set things straight back into action, age and family commitments not withstanding. He is balancing his blended family, eagerly awaiting the birth of his grandson, and yet…the shadow of the pandemic and its limits on freedom of travel prove difficult to ignore so he sets to work at speed .

I haven’t read a novel by Peter May before, I think, and the readability and immaculate plotting of ‘The Ninth Gate’ has definitely encouraged me to read more. Having two menaces in the form of Hitler, of and Covid, one whose effect will be forever felt, and the other, who really knows? This rough shaking out of the cradle of modern luxury and freedom of movement may yet be trumped by another, more virulent virus-let’s all hope that doesn’t happen-whilst novelists have the unenviable task of trying to work out whether to include the lockdowns within their fiction or not. It’s only the second time I have encountered mention of it in a fictional setting, and it adds a truthfulness to the story, which I really appreciate.

The personal details of Enzo’s life are sketched out so that this book is accessible as both a stand alone, and as part of a series, without spoiling the others-don’t you hate it when that happens? Constantly engaging and thrilling, I confess to having to read several pages over but put that down to Long Covid rather than a lack of skill on the part of the author! Definitely recommended for fans of historical fiction and thrillers, I enjoyed trying to put the pieces together and felt it was a very satisfying read!

Whilst escape beyond 5 miles around our home is impossible, let Peter take you to Scotland, France, back in time and more, with most agreeable company in tow (Enzo and his family!)

About the author…

Peter May is a Scottish crime writer, television screenwriter, novelist. He was born on December 20, 1951, in Glasgow. From a tender age, he always wanted to become a writer. However, he opted to pick a career in journalism since it was an easy way to make money through writing. At the tender age of 19 years, May made his very first serious attempt at writing a book. After completing the final draft, he sent the book to Philip Ziegler of Collins, who replied with a very encouraging rejection letter. At 21 years, he was not only named the Young Journalist of the year in Scotland, but he also won the Fraser Award. He, later on, went on to write for the Glasgow Evening Times and The Scotsman.

Links-http://www.petermay.co.uk/

Twitter @midaspr @AuthorPeterMay @QuercusBooks