However, there are so many characters it’s overwhelming and this means that apart from one or two they’re not well fleshed out and some seem to serve little purpose other than to baffle me. The style at times is somewhat ponderous especially at the beginning with over descriptions and explanation which slows the pace though this does improve in the second half which is much better than the first. The plot is really convoluted with so much going on it becomes bewildering and truthfully apart from recognition of our Covid reality I’m not that sure their pandemic actually adds much to the plot???? The characters have relatively little personality and are more defined by their roles than anything else. So it takes a while to sort them out and remember who is who. Those reports match up with further comments made by May earlier this year: “In the short term, we might have to reduce our travel ambitions, and we’ll have a better chance of [filming]. The Grand Tour may become a little more domestic. But it will still be us three which is the important thing. And cars."

The “illlness” part was so superficial that it didn’t add much apart from a few mentions to face masks and a shortage of toilet paper and the murder mystery and its resolution were pretty bland. Proprio per questo motivo mi sento di dire che questa lettura non è rivolta principalmente a chi è cresciuto con pane, Poirot e Miss Marple. We were taken to Scarinish Hotel. There we found out the crew members that had been in the lifeboat were in the hotel before us.” On the open seas, he did not know the fate of that third lifeboat.A family Saga, comedy, pain, love and betrayal titles plus privilege and an epademik sweeping the nation, just your average family, they have 125 rooms plus the servant parts obviously. The salvage operation was praised by Colonel Thomas: ‘The men have done an absolutely fantastic job. They moved the boat in 48 hours flat. We cannot stress how grateful we are to them.’ The captain wanted to beach her, because he knew what would happen, but the top men aboard, they shouldn’t have taken over the captain, because he’s in charge of the boat. But they’ll be wishing now they did it,” Donald Iain Kennedy told Bernie Smith and Dr John Holliday in 2012: “It cost them a fortune.” The MV Loch Seaforth submerged by Scarinish pier. Photograph: the late Angus MacLean. CalMac sent out another boat which took us from Tiree to Oban later that evening. My memories of that night were zero – probably a reaction if you are in an accident. It does not register until hours afterwards. A Tiree beach. It's the 1930s and a mysterious illness is spreading across Scotland. But the noble and ancient family of InverKillen, residents of Loch Down Abbey, are much more concerned with dwindling toilet roll supplies and who will look after the children now that Nanny has regretfully departed this life. Lord Inverkillen, Earl and head of the family, is found dead in mysterious circumstances. the Inspector declares it an accident but Mrs MacBain, the head housekeeper, isn't so convinced.

I have really mixed feelings about this book. I loved the word-play in the title and the concept of bringing current events into a fictional past. But some things just didn't work for me. If you are expecting a serious murder mystery, you may be disappointed. My general feeling is that this is meant to be a parody of 1920s/30s mysteries. You have the very large cast of characters, mysterious events and secrets, and every thing is revealed at the end. As a parody, it was well done. The references to toilet paper shortages and other circumstances familiar to all of us who have lived through 2020 were hilarious. However the mystery itself felt a little flat. Much of the plot was predictable and the characters were all pretty one-dimensional with very little done to flesh out their motives. That being said, there were a few characters who had enough personality for me to care a little about them, but not enough for me to feel attached or particularly invested in them. In many ways, this story would make a great movie- something along the lines of the 1980s Clue. But as a book, it just had something missing that I can't quite put my finger on. All in all, I did enjoy reading it, but I don't see myself revisiting it.

Featured Reviews

It was built in 1905 for Scottish textile manufacturer, historian and landscape photographer Erskine Beveridge, one of the heirs to the estate of an internationally-renowned tableware manufacturer. After his passing in 1920, the property was inherited by his son George, who drowned in 1944 while attempting to make the crossing from North Uist to Vallay at high tide. I found Loch Down Abbey in the mystery and thriller section and thought it sounded appealing - 1930s country house murder, but it’s not quite that and I didn’t find it particularly mysterious or thrilling. It is more an unraveling of family secrets than murder mystery and I found it hard to maintain my interest in a bunch of entitled aristos acting like children. I think it is intended as satire, but if so it passed me by. First and foremost, I would like to thank NetGalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the ARC of this book, the first one after a long time :)

Woo, this family has some scandalous secrets all right! Obviously, if you shove a bunch of non-observant and self-centered people together with nothing to do, most will do the wrong thing. Some of the secrets are obvious to an alert reader. Others should have been, and the clues are clear in hindsight. However, the hilarious conclusion was an unexpected surprise! I adored the ending of Loch Down Abbey, though some of the middle dragged a bit. 4 stars! I understand that this is a first novel so the author has time to refine her style. It seems to lose its way at times and some twists have no lead up, which can be a bit strange. I also think that the characterisation is uneven, for example we learn next to nothing about Mrs MacBain the supposed protagonist and too much about Cedric who has no real role to play.Fulcro centrale della storia è la famiglia Ogilvy-Sinclair con i suoi numerosi membri e i suoi scabrosi misteri. But what would have narked me most of all if I were Scottish was that my country was here busted down to an away venue for a proxy war between the US and the Soviet Union. Which of these two polities was responsible for manufacturing the worst car known to humankind, Clarkson asked. Oh, obviously the Soviets, you reply. Have you ever tried to put a Lada through hairpin? Of course you haven’t, because the Queen Mary has a tighter turning circle. It’s the 1930’s in the deep Scottish highland lies Loch down Abbey the home of Lord and lady Inverskillens and the huge number of staff. When a mysterious illness effects and staff and the nearby town. The Inverskillens are horrified when they must start caring for themselves and must deal with the Lord who is found dead. Is it an accident of was he murdered? They also must deal with the Abbey has run into debt and have the bailiffs at the door.