Coffin Road is a 2016 psychological thriller novel by British author Peter May. It is the author’s eighth stand-alone book, and over a million copies have already been sold.
Now, here’s my review of the book.
Plot
After regaining consciousness, the man found himself on the beach. But strangely, the man can’t remember anything about his past, not even his own name. With the help of an elderly woman, he was able to return to his cottage. Every part of the cottage seemed familiar to him. He even called out the dog’s name in his house, but the previous memories do not come to his mind.
He began thoroughly searching his house to see if he could find out anything about his identity and work! Searching the whole house, he found some papers and a birth certificate. According to the birth certificate, his name is Neal McLain. But he was not familiar with the information he got about his work. Strangely, he discovered that he knew about many things, but he could not remember how he knew them or what he had to do with them.
Eventually, he shared everything with one of his neighbors, Sally, and learned that he was writing a book about Flan Island. But surprisingly, he searched all over his house and every file on his computer and found no trace of his book. When he was about to go completely crazy, he decided to go to Neal McLain’s house. After extracting the address from the birth certificate found at home, he went to Neal McLain’s house, but strangely, neither his wife nor his daughter recognized him. Instead, he found out that Neil McLain had died two years ago! So who is he? Why was everyone calling him Neil McLain? How did Neil McLain’s papers come to him? And what did he do in the identity of others?
The man found a map in his cottage marked toward Coffin Road. After hearing from Sally about Coffin Road, he learns that when someone died on the east coast of Harris, they would come and bury them in the mountains to the west because the soil in the east was so hard. The more surprising information is that when the weather was bad, the coffin carriers would stop on the side of the road and dump the body, or they would bury it somewhere and make a pile of stones and mark it. But he did not understand what could he have to do with this Coffin Road. Finally, he decided to go to Coffin Road.
At the spot he had marked on Coffin Road, he discovered some beeswax that had been kept very secret. Strangely, he noticed bee bite marks on his hands as well. But it didn’t occur to him what he might have to do with bees. He heard from Sally that he often went to Flan Island. But the reason for going there is unknown to him now. He decided to go to Flan Island in case it brought back his memories. But on going to Flan Island, he discovers a dead body and is frightened and returns quickly.
While investigating the murder, the police learned that a man named Neil McLain frequented Flan Island and was there on the day of the murder. Naturally, the name of Neil McLain was added to the list of police suspects. During interrogation, the police identified bee bite marks on the hands of the corpse, along with bee bite marks on Neil’s hands. But the man named Neil could not explain it. Where did the bee bites come from? Who did the murder?
My Review
After finishing the book, I felt another great thriller had been added to my reading list. The story begins with a surprise, where a man regains consciousness and finds himself on the beach with no memory. Every part after that was full of excitement.
The author spreads one mystery after another over a long period of time. Later, at the right time, he breaks through the web of mystery and brings the truth to the fore. While reading the book, I never felt that the author was in a hurry to create one mystery after another or break through the web of mystery. Instead, I was shocked after each mystery was revealed.
The small events of the whole novel were also connected with each other; no story was suddenly incarnated here just to make the novel bigger. That’s why you never get bored while reading. Every character in the story is well-written. Each character had a specific job to do here, and they did their jobs brilliantly.
The only thing I still don’t understand is how the man lost his memory. There may be some psychological explanation for this that I am not aware of. Not just a mystery, the story had a touch of science fiction, which added another dimension to the fun. Being very curious about science facts, especially bees, I researched myself after finishing the book and found the facts to be largely accurate. Interestingly, the author has dedicated the book to bees! Readers will surely understand the reason for this after reading the book.
Price
Kindle – $6.99
Hardcover – $14.12
Paperback – $13.67
Personal Rating
9.9/10. The book is quite underrated! But after reading it, I felt that it deserves to be one of the best. It has an amazing ability to drag you to the end. Personally, I think it’s better than ‘The Silence of the Lambs’.
