An absolute shocker.... ( )

Interesting setting and information about the weaving industry in the Scottish islands, somewhat irritating back and forth between past and present, first person and third, and a very silly ending imo. Without a spoiler, the primary motivation for murder irritated the dickens out of me.

lite - good coastal scotland wilderness descriptions ( )

Niamh and Ruairidh MacFarlane are the owners of Rannish Tweed, woven on the Isle of Lewis and a darling of fashion designers worldwide. They are in Paris when Niamh confronts Ruairidh over an anonymous email that says he is having an affair with a Russian fashion designer. He denies it and leaves, but Niamh sees him meet the woman and she tries to follow them only to see the car explode. The Paris police quickly rule out terrorism and Sylvie Braque is assigned to investigate the murders. Meanwhile, Niamh takes her husband's body back to the island where they were born and have lived all their lives.
Mr. May wrote this in the style of The Lewis Trilogy: current events are in the third person and flashbacks are written in the first person. I especially love the sections about the Outer Hebrides and gave an extra 1/2 star for the allusions to Runrig, Dunblane beach, and the Crown Inn and Narrows in Stornoway.
This is a great book with a lot of plausible suspects. I admit I didn't like it as much as The Lewis Trilogy books, but only by a slight margin. I felt the ending was a bit rushed and a few of the characters were left hanging in some respects, especially Braque who took up a substantial part of the book.
The sections about weaving were fascinating. Lewis Tweed is deservedly famous. but I didn't realize how much of the work is still a cottage industry. The other aspects of life on Lewis are just as interesting to me though I was also puzzled by the murders and why/who committed them. I'll Keep You Safe is a great book and I recommend it heartily. I'd give it 4 1/2 stars. ( )

Niamh and Ruairidh MacFarlane are the co-owners of a popular Scottish textiles company known as Ranish Tweed. The couple is in the midst of promoting their brand in Paris when Niamh receives an anonymous email telling her that Ruairidh is having an affair. Suddenly Niamh begins to suspect her husband’s strange behavior as proof of this affair and trust that this email is true. Shortly after confronting Ruairidh about the affair, she watches him flee their hotel in the car with his mistress and be killed by a car bomb.

The pair are from a small Scottish village and have known each other all their lives. They believe that fate and destiny brought them together, but now Niamh needs to know what has torn them apart. The police initially suspect Niamh of being a scorned lover who set the car bomb as an act of revenge. Niamh is able to plea her innocence, which means the killer is still on the loose. As the police and Niamh try to put the pieces together of what happened, Niamh flashes back through time by looking back on how Ruairidh and she came to be. Is Niamh’s life in danger? Who killed Ruairidh?

I’LL KEEP YOU SAFE is the story of a couple who has fought their way through many obstacles in life to not only be together, but to create and grow a successful company. I the wake of becoming a widow, Niamh takes the reader on a trip down memory road as scenes from her past are intermingled with the present murder investigation. May brings an atmospheric quality to his work unlike anyone I have read before. I felt like I was in Scotland feeling the salt water hit my face from the comfort of my couch. Despite the vivid details of this novel, the story fell short for me. It was in no way a bad story, but one that I found predictable and a little over the top at the end. I was able to not only guess the murder, but also the twist revealed in the final pages. I believe that this book would be better suited for the occasional crime fiction reader, as I think my constant fandom of the genre resulted in me guessing the ending. This is my second experience with May’s work and I will definitely be continuing to read his books. ( )