A Winter Grave

A Winter Grave is a thriller mystery set in the (relatively) near future in Scotland written by Peter May. Released 24th Jan 2023 by Hachette on their Riverrun imprint, it's 368 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. Paperback format due out from the same publisher in first quarter 2024. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. 

Peter May is a nearly peerless writer. He has impressive skill with a range of settings and stories. He does brooding and imperfect protagonists -very- well. This standalone sees him adding near-future climate dystopia to the mix. Set in the Scottish Highlands, climate change has rendered much of the earth flooded, uninhabitable, barren, or just frozen (when the Gulf Stream changed course a few decades before the book's setting in 2051). A meteorologist checking a weather station discovers the body of a journalist, frozen in the ice. 

This is a gloomy book. Decades of inaction over climate change have wrecked the planet and fundamentally changed climate and weather; much of the earth's inhabitants are displaced and seeking asylum. Unfortunately, crime doesn't stop just because everything's out of control. In addition, protagonist Brodie is haunted by his own life choices and being forced to face his own mortality sooner rather than later. 

Throughout everything, May's creative control and writing chops come through clearly. He is a wonderful writer and his prose here is commanding. Some readers will likely complain that there's too much "politics" involved, but the author's take on the timeline we're hurtling along is on the optimistic side.

Well written, engaging, and solidly researched, albeit gloomy. Recommended for fans of the author's oeuvre, as well as fans of tartan noir in general. It's not Laidlaw, but it's not far off, either. 

Four and a half stars. 

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.