Book Review of The Loch by Fran Dorricott

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A gripping mystery with several twists and a shocking but redemptive conclusion.

This review was based on a free review Epub from the publisher via Net Galley UK

 

Set in Scotland over a bitingly cold holiday weekend (Dear readers, you’re identifying with this already, aren’t you?) three female graduates from the University of Leicester are trying to maintain their friendship now that they have (or have just lost) different jobs in different fields. One of them wonders just who she is and what her roots are, because all her adoptive parents have been able to tell her is that she was left outside a police station as a baby. The holiday arrangements and bookings are in the hands of a friend who’s secretly plotting to help her find out the truth about herself, which turns out to be the most dangerous plan possible. (Actually, we all learn much faster by doing dangerous things than we do by being sensible and keeping things safe.)

The underlying themes are love and courage rather than blame and “justice.” Both the least culpable and the most culpable adult characters spend their final moments trying to protect someone else. Even the reckless plan which places the three young women in danger, is born out of love. It is not a cosy read (the characters don’t manage to heat their holiday home effectively or even feed themselves) but it is an intellectually and morally engaging one.

The Loch by Fran Dorricott is published in the UK by Avon Books on 16/3/2023.