Scottish crime writer and screenwriter Peter May, best known for his Lewis trilogy, died September 25, the Scotsman reported. He was 74. May's books have sold 15 million copies around the world. Scotland's First Minister John Swinney said: "Very sorry to hear this news. I have hugely enjoyed Peter May's evocative books set in the Hebrides. His description of events in some of the most precious places in our landscape was so stunning. I extend my sympathy to his family."
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May was a journalist before publishing his first novel, The Reporter (1976), at 26. The book was adapted as a BBC drama series, prompting him to leave journalism for television. Over the next 15 years, he became a successful scriptwriter and producer on two series, Take the High Road and the Gaelic-language Machair, set on the Isle of Lewis. It was while working on location for Machair that his love for the Hebrides was sparked.
He returned to fiction with a series of thrillers set in China, followed by the Enzo Files, set in France, but it was the publication of The Blackhouse (2011), the first in the Lewis Trilogy, that brought international fame. May published a bestseller almost every year between The Blackhouse and his most recent title, The Black Loch (2024).
Noting that May "was one of the most popular, and loved writers of crime fiction of his generation," Jon Riley, his longtime publisher and friend, said: "Peter was a talented musician, and in 2025 he released a CD, Towards the Light, which reflected in song many of his interests as a novelist. Although he had announced his retirement, which he was looking forward to sharing with his beloved wife, the writer Janice Hally, May found there was one more novel in him, and he delivered Island of the Dead in July this year. He was preparing for a farewell tour of Scotland and Lewis to coincide with publication in January 2027."
Riley added: "Peter May was not only one of the best writers of crime fiction we had, but he inspired enormous affection in his readers and in those lucky enough to work with him. His kindness, generosity and largeness of spirit, loyalty, engagement with life, and the world, made him a much-loved, as well as much-admired figure. He is irreplaceable."
A spokesperson for crime writing festival Bloody Scotland said: "We're very sad to hear of the death of Peter May. He was a wonderful writer and a generous and gracious presence at the festival over the years. Sending love to Janice and the rest of his family. He will be missed."
May's French publisher, Editions du Rouergue, paid tribute to him as an "immensely creative man.... Peter May was a man of raw sensitivity, profoundly empathetic, considerate, and endlessly kind."