The Beasts of the Black Loch

About this book

As Independent Scottish booksellers, we write all of our descriptions personally, we hope you enjoy this one.

In fifty thousand acres of remote Scottish mountains and moor, Dorcha Hall sits among ancient forests on the shores of the Black Loch. At night, with lights at the windows and smoke rising from the chimneys, it can look almost magical. By daylight, the failing plumbing and mouldering plasterwork tell a less forgiving story.

Dr Ava Dickens has come to Dorcha to visit her godson, Alastair, whose parents’ sudden deaths have left him owner of Loch Dorcha. He and his new wife hope to turn the old hunting lodge into a hotel, but Ava, a rigorous scientist specialising in animal behaviour, is not convinced the signs point towards success.

Then a guest is found dead in bed, having drunk poisonous insect repellent instead of the whisky beside it. Ava’s knowledge of the Highland midge, Culicoides impunctatus, makes her doubt it was an accident. At Dorcha Hall, even the smallest creatures may have something to reveal.