Member Review
Review by
Steph W, Reviewer
This is billed as Downton Abbey meets Agatha Christie against a satirised pandemic backdrop, and that is exactly what you can expect to get.
There are A LOT of characters and, even with a character list in the book to keep referring back to, I ended up having to create my own Inverkillen family tree with character notes, so that I could keep straight who was who and how they were related! Occasionally the narrative point of view jumps to a different character, with no marker when it happened, so that all got quite confusing in places.
The author draws clever and witty parallels between the lockdown / Loch Down aspects of the book – mask-wearing issues and toilet paper shortages – which I found very entertaining, and adds in some romance, mystery and family drama too, so there is plenty going on and lots to enjoy here.
I did find that with so much packed in, the plot felt a little directionless shifting between class politics, family intrigue, murder, sickness, and back again, with no clear focus on any particular thread. And the ending was pretty far-fetched, in my opinion!
However, I loved the updated, where-are-they-now, character list at the end – ALL books should do this! – and found the whole book an entertaining experience when taken with a large pinch of (unrationed) salt.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
There are A LOT of characters and, even with a character list in the book to keep referring back to, I ended up having to create my own Inverkillen family tree with character notes, so that I could keep straight who was who and how they were related! Occasionally the narrative point of view jumps to a different character, with no marker when it happened, so that all got quite confusing in places.
The author draws clever and witty parallels between the lockdown / Loch Down aspects of the book – mask-wearing issues and toilet paper shortages – which I found very entertaining, and adds in some romance, mystery and family drama too, so there is plenty going on and lots to enjoy here.
I did find that with so much packed in, the plot felt a little directionless shifting between class politics, family intrigue, murder, sickness, and back again, with no clear focus on any particular thread. And the ending was pretty far-fetched, in my opinion!
However, I loved the updated, where-are-they-now, character list at the end – ALL books should do this! – and found the whole book an entertaining experience when taken with a large pinch of (unrationed) salt.
Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog
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