Author: Dee MacDonald
Expected Publication: March 3, 2025
Format: Kindle, 285 Pages
Genre: Amateur Sleuth
Source: My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.
Series: Ally McKinley Mystery #2
Blurb: Recent retiree Ally McKinley has stepped out with her puppy Flora for a walk by the loch in the tiny village of Locharran, taking a break from running the cosiest little guesthouse in the Highlands. But Ally’s peace and quiet is sunk when she and Flora find the body of a mysterious woman floating in the water…
Before she knows it, Ally finds herself wading into the middle of a new investigation. Who was the mystery woman and why was she killed? Her enquiries take her all over the from the corner shop and the nearby hotel to the turreted castle, home of local earl Hamish Sinclair where preparations are underway for his upcoming – and much gossiped about – wedding.
The body in the loch soon has the rumour mills buzzing. But then Elena, the earl’s new bride, is also found poisoned to death the morning after her marriage! With two deaths to investigate, the police appear to suspect almost everyone in Locharran, even Ally herself.
Determined to uncover the truth and clear her name, Ally finds poison at the home of one of her suspects and thinks she might be on the right path to solving both murders. But with a killer on the loose in the Scottish Highlands, can Ally unravel the clues before the next person in a watery grave is her?
My Opinion: Dee MacDonald's "Murder in the Loch" was an excruciating slog that should have been a DNF, but due to my liking of the first book in the series, Murder in the Scottish Highlands, I grudgingly pushed through. However, any hope for a rewarding read quickly evaporated.
The book crawls out of the gate with a laughably forced insta-love plotline that felt completely out of character and absurd. As if that wasn't bad enough, the middle drags on with the lifelessness of a coma. Without a single break in the tedium, the narrative was an aimless shuffle.
Revisiting every single character in the village repeatedly, paired with an unending monologue, made for an experience as monotonous as a washing machine stuck on the rinse cycle. The repetitive nature was soul-crushingly dull and had me desperate for an escape.
And then, the ending... or the final insult. The conclusion dropped in like a last-minute afterthought, providing no satisfaction. It only cemented the realization that this book was a colossal waste of time and should have been a DNF from the first chapter. All in all, "Murder in the Loch" was a severe disappointment, sorely lacking any redeeming qualities that its predecessor had.
Before she knows it, Ally finds herself wading into the middle of a new investigation. Who was the mystery woman and why was she killed? Her enquiries take her all over the from the corner shop and the nearby hotel to the turreted castle, home of local earl Hamish Sinclair where preparations are underway for his upcoming – and much gossiped about – wedding.
The body in the loch soon has the rumour mills buzzing. But then Elena, the earl’s new bride, is also found poisoned to death the morning after her marriage! With two deaths to investigate, the police appear to suspect almost everyone in Locharran, even Ally herself.
Determined to uncover the truth and clear her name, Ally finds poison at the home of one of her suspects and thinks she might be on the right path to solving both murders. But with a killer on the loose in the Scottish Highlands, can Ally unravel the clues before the next person in a watery grave is her?
My Opinion: Dee MacDonald's "Murder in the Loch" was an excruciating slog that should have been a DNF, but due to my liking of the first book in the series, Murder in the Scottish Highlands, I grudgingly pushed through. However, any hope for a rewarding read quickly evaporated.
The book crawls out of the gate with a laughably forced insta-love plotline that felt completely out of character and absurd. As if that wasn't bad enough, the middle drags on with the lifelessness of a coma. Without a single break in the tedium, the narrative was an aimless shuffle.
Revisiting every single character in the village repeatedly, paired with an unending monologue, made for an experience as monotonous as a washing machine stuck on the rinse cycle. The repetitive nature was soul-crushingly dull and had me desperate for an escape.
And then, the ending... or the final insult. The conclusion dropped in like a last-minute afterthought, providing no satisfaction. It only cemented the realization that this book was a colossal waste of time and should have been a DNF from the first chapter. All in all, "Murder in the Loch" was a severe disappointment, sorely lacking any redeeming qualities that its predecessor had.
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