Walter witnesses a tragedy as a young boy at the side of the loch, close to his home. It haunts him, throughout his life, even though he could do nothing to stop it. Years later, his family gather at the loch, and once again it is the scene of a tragic event, this time personal, and he wonders if it is his fault and if his family will ever recover.

The setting is beautiful, yet unforgiving, an addiction for Walter, that threatens everything he holds dear.

A multi-generational story, Walter recalls his younger days, his marriage to Jean and their lives at the loch. Addiction and mental health issues irrevocably alter the family, and their effects resonate across the generations. The story's ethos is predominately sad, but at its conclusion, there is a reckoning, a chance for redemption and a way forward for those left.

The characters are flawed, and therefore believable. Some are self-destructive, but whether the root cause is from nature or nurture, or both is part of what this story explores. The plot is complex, hiding its secrets until the end, The story is engaging and draws you into the family, how they interact and what it means to keep a family together.

Forgiveness, justice and understanding are all important themes. The emotional journey, the characters travel is poignant and often filled with a sense of hopelessness. Ultimately, it is the courage, love and tenacity of the family members, that gets them through the darkness, to survive and make the family stronger.

I received a copy of this book from John Murray Press - Two Roads via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I really enjoyed Kirsty Wark’s debut novel The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle a few years ago and her second is just as good. I must admit I wasn’t sure at first though, as it starts off rather slowly and did take a while to engage me.

The House on the Loch is a family saga set over two timeframes. In the 1960s Walter meets Jean and is swept away by her vivacious and slightly dangerous personality. Jean came from a troubled family and finds solace in steady, kind-hearted Walter, who takes her away from her family and busy life in Ayr to live in his family’s cottage on a remote loch. In the present day Walter has built two cabins on the loch for his adult children in a bid to spend more time with his grandchildren. However this idyllic arrangement is torn apart by a tragic and truly heartbreaking event which means that the families lives will never be the same again.

I really enjoyed this thoughtful and perceptive chronicle of one family’s loves, losses and resurrection. The descriptions of the beautiful lakeside setting are rich and evocative and the family’s raw grief is portrayed in a sensitive and compassionate manner, so that what could have been a depressing or mawkish tale of misery and anger turned out to be a warmhearted, poignant and ultimately uplifting read.

This is the first book I have read of Kirsty's I was intrigued by what a well known journalist and broadcaster would make of being an author. I was not disappointed and it was not a story I was expecting.

This is the story of a family, a family from the past and the present and also how they are going to evolve into the future.

Walter MacMillian, falls madly in love with Jean and they marry, Patrick and Fiona are their children. Whilst there is no specific time period given you get the sense of it being the Fifties, references are made to the war and Walter witness a well known event when he was a small boy.

Living in the house by the loch is everything that Walter wants and Jean thinks it is what she needs to stabilise her own life. However, the demons are not far away and Walter begins to worry about her and the children. Has he done the right thing by bringing her to the house.

Years later, Jean is dead and Walter still lives near the house and has left a piece of land to each of his children where lodges have been built for them. Now his children, Patrick and Fiona bring their respective children, Carson, Iona and Pete to the same place they grew up as children.

The loch seems to be a draw for them all until one fateful weekend when tragedy strikes.

Told through flashbacks, which fit seamlessly into the present story of the novel, you start to unpick the real truth about this family and the events that have happened.

I was intrigued by this novel which kept me reading, it some ways slow paced as I had no idea where the story was going or if it was ever going to get there (it did). One of the major catalysts in the story was in the middle of the novel and was so heart wrenching I cried. If that was what we were building to what on earth was the rest of the book going to be like. Therefore I had to keep reading to unpick the tale and bring it all back together in some ways just like the family were doing.

A seriously addictive novel and well written which took me straight to the Scottish Highlands and into the middle of a family in crisis. Better than a soap opera any day!

This was my first book by Kirsty Wark, and I was not disappointed. It is a gentle family saga set in Galloway, very much character driven, the characterisation of all the main players strong and rounded. This area of Scotland is vividly described, giving the reader a good sense of place, and how this family dynamic has evolved.
The only jarring note for me is trivial - the name of Carson for one of the two daughters of Patrick and Elinor, seems a strange choice, especially since throughout the book she is addressed as ‘Car’ by everyone who knows her, including her parents and grandfather. I found that a bit odd.
That does not detract from an interesting and intriguing family story, flipping back and forward between 1950s and the present time. It illustrates beautifully how being a young adult in the 50s is so very different to the life experienced now. This was particularly so for young women, who just like Jean, were expected to give up all thoughts of a career and devote themselves to homemaking and bringing up their children as soon as they were married. There were no child care facilities back then, apart from willing grannies and aunties.
Grandad Walter is a pivotal character in the narrative, as a young boy, as a newly wed young man, and as a grandfather to his three precious grandchildren. The tragedy which rocks all their worlds becomes central to the second half of the book. The very different ways each of them is affected, and how they deal with it, is where the momentum was lost a little for me.
The conclusion of Walter’s early life story was completely unexpected, and the description of how each of his family handled it, brought this reader to tears. That does not happen often.
I will certainly read more of Kirsty Wark’s fiction. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for my advance copy of this book.
I highly recommend it.

Seeking to keep his family close, loving father and grandfather Walter MacMillan gifts his two adult children adjacent cabins by the shores of a remote Galloway loch.

A smooth, atmospheric, family saga with triumphs and tragedies. Very well written, the action moves easily between past and present. A good story very well told. I enjoyed the book and found it compelling.

Family secrets unravel in a remote Scottish setting.

This atmospheric story is set, as the title suggests, on a remote loch in Scotland, which is beautifully described.

Walter MacMillan has lived by Loch Doon all his life. Now, his children and grandchildren join him for their holidays. With a series of flashbacks, we begin to piece together a complicated family story. Past events emerge that seem to dominate their present lives.

In the 1950s Walter MacMillan had fallen in love with a clever and beautiful woman, only to find out she was deeply troubled. His life now revolves around his children and adored grandchildren, and the problems of his marriage have remained hidden and kept secret, until one fateful weekend when three generations meet up. His children also have their problems, but all their lives are shattered by a terrible tragedy and the skeletons, long hidden, start to come out of the cupboard.

The second half of the book is devoted to a family dealing with grief and the unravelling of past events until, finally, an admission from Walter starts to make sense of it all.

Kirsty Wark’s book holds the attention, particularly the first half, which is full of well-described family tension. The problem with this story is that the principal, dramatic event, takes place halfway through. The rest of the book deals with the slow unravelling of the past, and this is something of an anti-climax. Too much time is then spent on rather ordinary people trying to sort out their lives, and my attention was lost, and I felt inclined to skip to the final chapter.

The first half of this book is well written, and those who love family sagas will want to persevere to the end.

Jane

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of this book to review.

A beautifully written and easy to read story of family life with all its ups and downs. The McMillan family are like many others, son Patrick, his wife Elinor and two daughters, teenage Carson and young Iona; his sister Fiona with her well off English husband Roland and their teenage sone Pete. They gather at the Loch where their father, Walter still lives. Patrick and his family come to their cabin from their home in Ayr most weekends and are very happy there and content in Walter's company. Fiona's family come less regularly from London, they have just finished rebuilding their cabin into a state of the art loch house. Fiona is drinking heavily, unhappy in her marriage. We learn of family dynamics, and much of the story comes from Walter's reminiscences of his courtship and marriage with wife Jean. We learn family secrets, and when a tragedy hits the family, we are with them as they gather together and try to rebuild their lives. I read this at one sitting (I was ill in bed), and will be recommending to our book club. I smiled, laughed, cheered and cried. #netgalley #housebytheloch

This is a lovely, slow-burn of a novel with memorable characters. It’s beautifully written and made me want to book a holiday to Scotland. At the beginning, I enjoyed the descriptions of the countryside the most but the pace picked up and then I was lost in the story too, willing everything to improve for the family. I particularly felt for Walter and his granddaughter Carson. I don’t want to give too much away so won’t go into the storyline here but this is such a good book and it will stay with me for a long time. The author handles the switches between the past and present beautifully. A top read!

I really enjoyed this book. Set on the shores of a Scottish loch, it's the story of the MacMillan family. Parts of the book go back to the early relationship and marriage of Walter and his late wife Jean. In the present day, Walter's 2 children and their families also have properties on the loch. When tragedy strikes the family they have to learn to put their lives back together and move on. This is a sad but uplifting story of family life. Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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The House by the Loch by Kirsty Wark
This novel is a saga of family life set near Loch Doon in Ayrshire. The book opens with a young boy, Walter, witnessing a Spitfire crashing into the loch in 1941. This incident has a profound effect upon him and also resonates with future events. We encounter three different generations in this book and it is possible to see the emotional impact that actions in the past can have upon the family.
The main character who holds the story together is Walter and his relationship with his wife is dealt with in detail. The younger characters are well described but I found that their parents, Walter’s children, were not described in as much depth, particularly Patrick.
Descriptions of the countryside and the Loch are beautiful and there is a strong sense of place. This is the first novel I have read by this author and on the basis of this book would like to read The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle. Many thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

A beautiful read!

I haven’t yet read Kirsty Wark’s first novel, but based on this, I will now be seeking it out.

The House by the Loch is the location of a number of tragic events, all impacting heavily on the lives and futures of those involved.

Walter brings his new wife Jean to live by the loch, where they raise two children – but is it the desolate location which leads to her alcoholism, or is the dysfunctional parenting she’s been brought up with?

Present day, Walter’s grandchildren love the loch, but their lives are torn apart one day by a tragic accident. Gradually, gradually things move on, years pass, and the loch remains a constant.

A story of love, loss and family – Kirsty Wark writes beautifully. The story gripped me so much I read the book in just one day – tired out from late night reading!! Highly recommended.

Walter can't believe his luck when the glamourous Jean agrees to marry him, but dark secrets from her background have repercussions right through to the present day. Powerful, atmospheric family saga.

My book group read Kirsty Wark's first book, The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle and we really enjoyed it. I was hopeful that The House by the Loch would be as good. I wasn't disappointed. I actually think it was better. I didn't want to put it down. The characters and the location were beautifully written, I was actually there, in Scotland, looking at the Loch.
Set in two time frames, the 1950s and currently, it explains the family history and it's impact on the present in a way that intrigued and held me. I felt for so many of the characters and Kirsty Wark shows an incredible understanding of family and loss. I was in tears a number of times, on one occasion I was actually sobbing.
I couldn't recommend this book more, and I will be insisting our book club read it when it comes out in paperback.
Thank you so much to the publishers and #NetGalley for the opportunity to read #TheHousebytheLoch by #KirstyWark I loved it.

I hovered between three and four stars on this. The pen portraits of a family with both overt tensions and underlying tensions that nobody really understands are beautifully done. Kirsty Wark really is an excellent descriptive writer. I felt the plot meandered a lot, and as a personal preference I would’ve liked a slightly pacier book, hence my rating. But if rich description is your bag, you may well love it.

This book left me aching for more. I wanted to know more about the family and to know everything about them. I wanted to meet Walter and listen to his stories, to see the graves, to walk beside the loch and to just be with the family

The characters were so alive. Carson, a beautiful character with the world on her shoulders and finding it hard to cope with life after what happened but also a character that you fell in love with and wanted to succeed. Iona, a beauty cut before she found her path in life or maybe, that was her path in life. Elinor, so troubled and so scared to live again, scared that by moving on, she would shatter the memories that she held so tight. Patrick, troubled and scared to say or do the wrong thing and shake the family even more than it had already.

The is a story that you could read over again and never be tired of it.

When Walter MacMillan falls for the glamorous Jean Thompson he can't believe his luck when she agrees to marry him. But living on the shores of Loch Doon is not a recipe for happiness. A dark secret will have repercussions for the family several decades later.

An easy read with beautiful descriptions of Scotland.

The House by the Loch is a fantastic and emotive novel written in a sensitive and captivating style. It brought tears to my eyes several times and I found it impossible to put down. The story centres around Walter, his marriage as a younger man to the damaged Jean and his present relationship with his adult children and adolescent grandchildren. Kirsty Wark creates remarkable characters and takes the reader on a journey exploring how families cope through times of tragedy and adversity. The book loops through time and we learn how difficult situations change us and affect the decisions we make going forward.

Grandfather Walter Macmillan lives in Loch Doon,Galloway with his family.
The story goes back to the 1950's and his life with wife Jean and the present day with his current family
A tragic accident rocks the family and stirs up old bad feelings then letters found in an old handbag bring more revelations to the fore.
Can the family pull together get over their grief and remain living by the Loch?

Lovely atmospheric family saga.
Which deals with all aspects of human emotions from undying love to hatred and hidden secrets which have dire consequences on all members of the family both young and old.
Beautiful read which grips you from the very first page and is very different to put down .

A beautifully written family saga. There is a lot to this story. It is set over 4 generations and there are many lies and secrets in this family. Overall it was a good read. My only problem with it is that I felt it was too long and dragged out in places.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.