I thoroughly enjoyed Beth Cowan-Erskine's first novel, Loch Down Abbey. When requesting to read the book, I was not expecting the interesting plot twists but quickly came to appreciate Mrs. MacBain, the housekeeper, and the many challenges she and the staff face while the family mourns the death of Lord Inverkillen and the potential loss of their home. The ending took me completely by surprise but in the best way. I hope Cowan-Erksine writes some additional novels as her characters are interesting and the plot compelling. Thank you to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance copy of #LochDownAbbey.

My only wish is that this book suggested a sequel. Perfect if you loved The Thursday Murder Club, Loch Down Abbey houses the Inverkillen family. It is the 1930s and money is tight. Very tight in fact, even the toilet roll supplies are dwindling. When Lord Inverkillen is found dead in mysterious circumstances, and the police declares it an accident, it’s up to head housekeeper Mrs MacBain – who should get her own series of mysteries – to solve it. The problem is: the family is more preoccupied with Nanny’s death than the head of the family. As an illness sweeps the country, and the downstairs staff have to work cleverly to appease those upstairs, Mrs MacBain begins her own investigation into the nefarious goings-on. Beautifully written with real attention to detail, this is a joyous read that’ll stay with me for a long time.

This is a book in the familiar genre of arrogant, self entitled aristocrats who believe they should be served literally hand and foot by the lower class servants. The individuals in this family are exceedingly well portrayed with very perceptive comments on their life style which is described as ‘a sickening cacophony of privilege’. The problem is that Loch Down Abbey is in financial difficulties with death duties due and too many family members needing complete support. This is made more difficult be the spread of a serious epidemic through the servants. The family members actually have to dress themselves and run their own baths! Added to that strong storyline are the marital interests of them and the death of the Earl, Hamish Inverkillen. The amateur local police think it was an accident. The housekeeper, Mrs MacBain has other ideas which she follows up. All these strands make an interesting read. I recommend the book.

Interesting to read a book that includes a pandemic that causes a scarcity of flour and toilet paper. but this book seems a bit disorganized and confusing. Some characters are well-developed but there are so many with so many different threads. All of a sudden the wayward uncle and the gold-digging fiancé are married after a lengthy house tour ? Doug and Angus spend a great deal of time in the tennis pavilion as an obvious couple but no one notices ? Constance is the title chasing shrew but that is all we learn about her. Whose story is this? The housekeeper’s, the dowager’s, or maybe Fergus’s? I would read future titles by this author as this books shows promise but I think some careful editing needs to happe.n

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.

After the family return from the annual "Spring Ball" tragedy strikes and life will have to change and its a upstairs downstairs tale Downton Abbey but a bit more comedy. When things go wrong the family have to make plans and work out what they need to sacrifice. This family don't do change well actually not sure what they do do well but argue they are a class act there.

I really enjoyed this novel from disappearing children to gifted servants and the aristocracy there is a lot going on but all flows together seamlessly into an escape from reality into a world that has almost disappeared. The hero's take a while to stand out the twists are fantastic i loved them all. The stand out moments are brilliant. If you want to escape for a while this is definitely a good book for that.

I give it 5 stars I think you will see why and I hope you love it as well.

The more murder mysteries one reads, the tougher it gets to come across something that catches you off-guard. It’s easier to turn any expectation of a surprise into one of educated guesswork – just how long does it take you to work out the mystery plotted by the writer, and how accurate are you. It adds a degree of uncertainty to proceedings which, for no fault of theirs, have become fairly staple.

Debutant writer Beth Cowan-Erskine’s Loch Down Abbey is a book that lets the reader’s imagination runs wild, even as Cowan-Erskine builds the story around a far-off earldom in Scotland.

Set in the early 30s, the novel, described as a cross between the British soap opera Downton Abbey (two dogs in the book have a connection to the show – one is named after the family at the centre of it, and the other shares a name with a book by Downton’s creator) and the work of Agatha Christie, the book revolves around the occupiers of Loch (pronounced “Lock”) Down and their staff, whose lives take a turn when the incumbent Earl drops dead even as an illness cripples the rest of the country.

You’ll have hopefully guessed by now that the novel mimics the circumstances of the day and age we are in. The in-book virus is eerily similar to SARS-CoV-2 (that’s apparently the official name of the bugger we’ve been battling this past year). Sub-plots each deal with different things we’ve seen happen around us.

In its design, Loch Down Abbey is a work of satire that works brilliantly. Design, or craft, is an underrated aspect of novel writing. There’s more to a novel than simply arranging the events in a narrative. Cowan-Erskine uses the mystery genre as a perfect cover for social commentary. Everything within the plot is used to drive individual thoughts to form the final takeaway of the book.

Cowan-Erskine also does away with a lot of the poise normally associated with the aristocracy. What we get is a family that squabbles like any other, and people whose designs are no less than those of career criminals. Contrast this with the relative calm below stairs as the housekeeper Mrs MacBain undertakes an unofficial investigation into the death that has rocked the Abbey, and there is plenty of fun to be had.

A novel that takes care to reward its readers has my admiration, and Loch Down Abbey does that, giving the reader ample opportunity to solve the mysteries hidden in its pages.

I thank publishers Hodder & Stoughton and NetGalley for sending me an advance copy of the novel in exchange for a review.

Loch Down Abbey is a very frolicsome caper full of slapstick humor taking place in Scotland sometimes in the 30s. The story centers around the Inverkillen, an aristocratic but penniless Scottish family and the mayhem that ensues after the accidental death (or is it murder?) of the current Lord. Suffice to say that the family is mostly composed of a large number of obnoxious, selfish, overbearing dimwits running a wheel short of a full set, a family that would definitely be unable to survive one single minute without the faithful dedication and goodwill of their numerous and very efficient staff. And yes before I forget, a nasty virus called VPM (virulent, pernicious, mauvaise) is spreading around the land and threatening to wreck havoc in Loch Down Abbey.....
Cleverly plotted, peopled with a cast of unforgettable characters and written with an uproarious mix of Anglo-American humor, this very funny and unputdownable novel is a sure winner from start to finish! To be enjoyed without moderation.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Hodder & Stoughton for the opportunity to read this wonderful book and for the laughter

I really enjoyed this fun book. The storyline and characters are equally absurd, but I found it hard to put down, and it certainly made me chuckle. I found the large number of characters difficult to keep track of (but not horrendously so) and my only real criticism is the spelling errors - e.g. Wedgewood. I would thoroughly recommend this as a light-hearted read.

I enjoyed this before book and new to me author. At first I was very confused and overwhelmed due to the large number of characters, names, and titles. I did have to reread some sections and go back and forth before I got the hang of who’s who. I really liked the whole upstairs/downstairs point of views. It made the book more interesting and appealing. I never got bored and found myself wanting to read just one more chapter. All in all excellent writing and a fun and crafty plot! I highly recommend and can’t wait to read more from this author.

1930s Scotland.

The servants at Loch Down Abbey are dropping like flies from a mystery debilitating virus, but above stairs the family are more concerned with the lack of bathroom tissues and feral children (since Nanny has so inconveniently popped her clogs).

But then Lord Inverkillen is found dead in suspicious circumstances. The useless Inspector declares it an accident, but redoubtable housekeeper Mrs MacBain isn't so sure. Since the house is in lockdown, only someone on the inside can be the culprit. And with the family doing who knows what all day,. Mrs MacB (in the face of dwindling staff numbers and increasing workload) goes digging.

It's amazing what secrets are hidden....

Excellent :)

In this quick and delightful read, Beth Cowan-Erskine takes elements of our current pandemic (the isolation, the quarantining), gives them a surprisingly playful spin and a 1930s setting, and introduces readers to the Ogilvy-Sinclair family, which is holed up at the family estate in rural Scotland, being attended to be their band of faithful (?) servants. With elements of Downtown Abbey, Gosford Park, and Clue, this novel takes the classics upstairs-downstairs trope and livens it up with details of family squabbles, pandemic, and murder most foul!

While I enjoyed most of this work, I do have to say that I had one major problem, especially early on - the large cast of characters. While a guide is provided at the beginning of the book (which, in hindsight, was also a warnings of sort of the large cast to come), keeping aristocratic titles and unusual names straight was a task. While it didn't put me off the task of reading Loch Down Abbey, mileage may vary by reader.