A MISSING CHILD
Ten years ago, the disappearance of firearms police officer Jonah Colley’s young son almost destroyed him.
A GRUESOME DISCOVERY
A plea for help from an old friend leads Jonah to Slaughter Quay, and the discovery of four bodies. Brutally attacked and left for dead, he is the only survivor.
A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH
Under suspicion himself, he uncovers a network of secrets and lies about the people he thought he knew – forcing him to question what really happened all those years ago…
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Hi and welcome to my review of The Lost! Thanks to Tracy Fenton for the invite and to Orion and NetGalley for the eARC.
Today I’m co-closing a month-long tour, so I’m sure you’ve come across a bunch of raving reviews of The Lost, as had I before I was finally able to pick it up. Those reviews from trusted bloggers, as well as my enjoyment of Simon Beckett’s previous work, meant I went in with rather high expectations, often a dangerous thing, but in this case I did not end up disappointed.
The Lost hits the ground running, taking me with it, not letting me go until I’d turned the final page. The protagonist is Sergeant Jonah Colley who gets a call from a former colleague and friend, begging him to come to Slaughter Quay at midnight. Slaughter Quay? Midnight? Seriously, about a billion alarm bells should have been ringing Jonah’s ears off, but nooo, he decides to go. (Men and their hero complex 🙄😝). Naturally, everything goes to hell in a handbasket in the blink of an eye and before he knows what’s hit him, Jonah wakes up in hospital with a busted knee, apparently the sole survivor of the night’s events at Slaughter Quay.
So here’s the conundrum to crack: what the hell happened, why did his former friend call him to Slaughter Quay, and what is the connection to the disappearance of Jonah’s son ten years ago? With the police breathing down his neck, Jonah is fighting to figure things out while also recovering from his injuries, and I have to admit, and yes I know it’s mean, but I love it when characters have to prove their innocence when the police are hellbent on proving they’re guilty. It gives me someone to root for and someone to glare at, all in one go, and it never fails to keep me invested in what I’m reading, The Lost was no exception.
Besides the mystery and the gradual discovery of the answers to my questions, I also thoroughly enjoyed the writing itself. Some scenes have such a cinematic quality about them I still feel like I watched them on TV instead of reading them.
Knowing that this is the first in a new series, I felt confident that Jonah would survive the events, one way or another, but with him put through the wringer pretty much constantly, I worried he wouldn’t make it through to the other side with all his body parts intact and in working order, and I was so worried about a few of the other characters as well. There’s a lot going on in my life right now, but The Lost made me forget about it all for a little while, which is no mean feat, so thank you, Simon Beckett!
If you’re looking for an entertaining, intricately woven, intelligent but highly readable thriller, do add The Lost to your Mount TBR and follow Jonah down the rabbit hole!
