Tributes have been paid to crime writer Peter May, who died suddenly at the age of 74 after suffering a heart attack. The bestselling author died on September 25 at his home in the south of France after giving his dog ‘Daftie’ his evening walk.
Wife's tribute to her 'soulmate'
May’s wife, playwright and television screenwriter Janice Hally, 67, who met her husband of 36 years while collaborating on TV scripts, wrote on Facebook: “Peter, my soulmate, my partner, my greatest love, has died. There was no warning, we had just spent a perfect day together after giving Daftie his evening walk. Paramedics and doctors arrived quickly and fought for an hour to revive him but to no avail. I have no words to express the loss.”
His final novel, Island of the Dead, which he had already announced would be his last before retirement, will be published posthumously in January.
Crime community pays tribute
Crime writer Liam McIlvanney wrote: “Very sorry to hear that Peter May has died. A terrific writer, an absolute titan of the genre, and a top human being.”
Bloody Scotland crime festival wrote on Twitter: “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. Here he is, at the most recent of six appearances in 2024 – Sending love to Janice and the rest of his family.
May, whose novels have sold an estimated 15 million copies, was probably best known for his Lewis trilogy, set on the remote island off western Scotland. The first novel, The Blackhouse, was published in 2011 and won awards in the US and France before becoming a bestseller.
Career from journalist to novelist
May’s first book, The Reporter, published in 1976 when he was 26, was inspired by his early job as a journalist and was adapted into a TV series by the BBC, allowing him to become a television writer. During the next 15 years he became a scriptwriter and producer, with successes including Take the High Road. It was during this time that he met his future wife.
Jon Riley, May’s publisher, said: “Peter May was one of the most popular and loved writers of crime fiction of his generation. The novel which he had announced would be his last, Island of the Dead, is to be published in January 2027.”
He 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 muchloved and much-admired figure. He is irreplaceable.”
May, also a keen musician, published 26 novels and also found fame in his adopted France. During the Covid pandemic, he published Lockdown, a crime novel set in a fictional pandemic in London which he had written 15 years earlier but failed to find a publisher because it was deemed "unrealistic".
During Covid in 2020 when a reader suggested to May that he write a novel against the background of the pandemic, he recalled: "I thought about it for a minute before I realised that I've kind of already done it. I told my publisher about it and my editor just about fell out of his chair. He read the entire book overnight and the next morning he said, 'This is brilliant. We need to publish this now’.”
It was published in April 2020, with profits donated to charities supporting healthcare workers. Scottish First Minister John Swinney said: "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."
