Loch Down Abbey

Ahhh! This was such a fun read! I feel a bit misled by the tagline, but that's a quibble and not the books fault. This is like a mashup of Gosford Park/Downton Abbey, a mystery, and Covid protocols. I loved it.

The pandemic stuff (here, Virulent Pernicious Malaise) isn't much except as a way to have less staff in the house, but I liked all the little hints of what we've all been through these past two-ish years - masks, food and toiletry shortages, staying home. The mystery was good but parts of it were fairly obvious, but no less enjoyable. Downton Abbey-ish, Georgina is totally Violet and I pictured much of the staff as Downton's staff. The family is more... Cazalets almost, with dynamics and affairs and whatnot, but that's good too.

I expected a sort of romance novel type mystery (fun but fluff) and I got so much more. Super fun and enjoyable read.