Scottish crime writer Peter May has died at the age of 74, announced by his French publisher Éditions du Rouergue, which had published his work in French for more than 20 years. Born on December 20, 1951, in Glasgow, May initially worked as a journalist before transitioning to television, where he created two series for the BBC and co-wrote and produced the Gaelic-language series Machair, set on the island of Lewis in northwest Scotland. He left television in 1996 to focus on literature. May's most notable work, the Lewis tetralogy, began with L'Île des chasseurs d'oiseaux (translated as The Blackhouse), which was first published in French in 2009 by Éditions du Rouergue. The novel was rejected by several British publishers before its French release and later published in English in 2011. It received critical acclaim, including the Readers' Award of the Ancres noires in 2010 and the Barry Award for best crime novel in the United States in 2013. The tetralogy includes L'Île des chasseurs d'oiseaux, L'Homme de Lewis, Le Braconnier du lac perdu, and Loch noir, which won the Grand Prix de littérature policière in 2025. In addition to the Lewis series, May wrote the Chinese series starting with Meurtres à Pékin (translated as Murders in Beijing), as well as the Enzo Macleod investigations and other standalone novels such as Les Disparus du phare (translated as The Disappeared of the Lighthouse) and Tempête sur Kinlochleven (translated as Storm Over Kinlochleven). These later works reflected his concerns about climate change and the inaction of states. May had acquired French nationality in 2016 and lived in the Lot department for many years. His work was translated into French by translators such as Jean-René Dastugue and Ariane Bataille, with many titles published by Éditions du Rouergue and later included in the "Babel noir" collection of Actes Sud. According to Éditions du Rouergue, May had also written an unpublished novel titled The Island of the Dead, which they received in August 2026. The publisher described May as a man with a "sensitive, deeply empathetic, caring, infinitely kind sensitivity," as well as a warm personality, humor, and a sense of friendship. He was also passionate about music and dedicated significant time to playing, writing, and composing songs in recent years. May is survived by his wife, Janice Hally May, a screenwriter and novelist, and his daughter Carol.