Cover Image: The Ness Deception

The Ness Deception

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Member Reviews

This is an Advanced Reader Copy Review from NetGalley

This is the perfect book for cryptid and non cryptid lovers

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This book was very good and well-written. The fact that you can explore further makes it doubly so. A lot of his story is based on fact, not fiction. I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

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An entertaining and compelling read about the Loch Ness mystery. I liked it, it's well plotted and well researched.
WAnt to read other in this series.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

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Another cracking read. I love this series and can’t wait for number 3. I started reading these books because there aren’t many set on the Outer Hebrides and it’s a place I love and is steeped in history. Book 1 drew me in but I also love Loch Ness and thoroughly enjoyed the balance of gruesome murder with the mystery of Nessy and the use of modern technology to prove/disprove a theory. I’m still left with the mystery intact. I’m pleased this is the full package. Some tragedy, mixed with romance and strong characters. Another success. If you like Scotland and love a murder mystery, this is for you.

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I loved this book. I don't know that I was able to download the copy from this site, but I did avail myself with a copy of this book through Kindle Unlimited and loved it. Stayed up all night reading it. The characters have great appeal and the storyline is breathtakingly engaging as more is learned about Loch Ness and anticipation builds slowly and then with great speed as geological forces make themselves felt.

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This is the second in a series and while it's not necessary to read the first one, I hope you do. I know I will! I've always been interested in the story of the Loch Ness Monster and this book hits the spot. It's got a little bit of everything: science, myth, action, and suspense. First, a strange carcass washes up on the shore that has biologists and Nessie (they call her Lucy) believers. Then a fishing boat disappears and when it's found, the damage is bizarre and the crew is missing. Oh, and a small mountain has been shrinking. A lot.

I'll admit, it does start off a bit slowly and takes a little while to get to the point where I didn't want to stop reading. But at several points, I knew things before the characters did, which was a lot of fun. Stick with the book. It really does pick up in the second half. If you love Scotland, cryptozoology, science, myth and a great mystery, this is the book to read!

I'm going back for Book 1 and will read whatever comes next in this fascinating series!

Thank you, NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review this book. All opinions expressed are mine and freely given.

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Well researched fun read. Part of a series set in Scotland. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book

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The Loch's great secret revealed; another great scientific adventure🌊

4.5🌟 stars
Tormod Cockburn did a fantastic job mixing action, suspense, science and myth in this novel. The title caught my attention right away; the stories of strange creature sightings on Loch Ness have captured the imagination and Cockburn provides a fictional solution that seems incredible but yet is it?

It took a significant number of chapters to bring the focus of the action to Loch Ness. As an editor and reporter for a Scottish mysteries monthly periodiical, Gil, the main character is always looking for a good story for his next issue. I must admit the science went over my head on occasion, but that did not detract from the thrill and a sense of impending urgency and doom for Gil and marine scientist Salina as they work together investigating anomalies currently occurring around Scotland. A mountain that's on the move, the waters off the coast churning and destroying boats, strange sea creature remains beaching ... and then there's "Lucy", Loch Ness's elusive resident monster. The search for her seems to have unleashed an obsession powerful enough to kill.

The climax is high octane excitement of the heart-in-the-throat variety . I found the story got more focused in the second half. And, though it's easily read as a standalone, there's a slight window of anticipation left open regarding Gil's personal life, with his attraction to Salina and his father Gordon's mental decline. Definitely good reasons to look for the next story in the series.

Thanks to the author, Mys.Scot Media and NetGalley for sharing a complimentary advance copy of the book. (I bought it for my library anyway😊). This is my voluntary and honest opinion.

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I looked forward to reading this one as it did sound like a book I would enjoy. It did start promisingly, but then somehow lost its way, or it did to me. So, it was a case of put to the side and move onto something new.. I might go back to it, but in the meantime, there are more promising titles whose pages are waiting to be turned.

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The Ness Deception offers a good explanation to the Ness myth. Looking forward to more from this author.

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411 pages

5 stars

I cannot praise this book enough.

This was my introduction to the “Mysterious Scotland” series. I was very pleased to read this book. I immediately went to Amazon and ordered the other two books in the series.

Gill McArdle is an archeologist and editor of the magazine nicknamed “Mys.Scot.” He travels Scotland looking for stories for the magazine. He is a scientist, so he debunks various myths, but also launches a serious scientific investigation into the story.

In this story, he hears rumors that something mysterious is going on at Loch Ness. He reluctantly travels there while rolling his eyes at the “Nessie” myth. It has recently been renamed as “Lucy.”

He meets a marine biologist named Salina Ahmed who has access to a DSV. When they go on a dive, a near tragedy occurs.

Gill discovers that there is indeed something strange going on at Loch Ness. Is it supernatural? The government? He learns that a previous archeologist surveyed the shoreline and instituted a dig. He supposedly found some bones. Gill hires his friend and fellow archeologist, Fiona, to re-open the sites. Bones are discovered - and a recent human body!

Gill meets with other scientists and locals who all have their own stories to tell. Meanwhile, he is trying to care for his father who is slowly slipping into dementia.

What is going on at Loch Ness?

And I cannot wait to learn more about Salina, and her “dreams.”

Mr. Cockburn is a new talent to me. I was immediately entranced with his writing and the characters in his book. The main protagonists are fully fleshed out so that they feel like familiar friends. I liked the people in this novel, even the deluded “bad guys.”

I want to thank NetGalley and BooksGoSocial for forwarding to me a copy of this wonderful book for me to read, enjoy and review. The opinions stated in this review are solely my own.

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I had enjoyed the first book in the Mysterious Scotland series and was glad that the series was continuing. I love the idea of a mystery series in Scotland and glad that this book with Loch Ness wasn't a typical read. The characters worked with what I was hoping for and did more what I was expecting. I enjoyed getting to know the characters again and was invested in what was going on. I can't wait to read more from Tormod Cockburn.

"Fiona peered through the gap in the rocky foreshore to peer across the opposite bank over a mile away. ‘So, a silt fall on the loch walls beneath the opposite shore was enough to toss up a wave, five to eight metres high?’ Gill nodded. ‘It’s shallower here than the rest of the loch, which will have emphasised the height of the wave. But, a surge big enough to spill this silt across the loch must have been quite a deluge."

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