Today I’m pleased to share my thoughts about The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex. Thank you to Picador, Viking Books and Pan MacMillan for a digital review copy via NetGalley.
Synopsis:
Cornwall, 1972. Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The Principal Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear all week.
What happened to those three men, out on the tower? The heavy sea whispers their names. The tide shifts beneath the swell, drowning ghosts. Can their secrets ever be recovered from the waves?
Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still struggling to move on. Helen, Jenny and Michelle should have been united by the tragedy, but instead it drove them apart. And then a writer approaches them. He wants to give them a chance to tell their side of the story. But only in confronting their darkest fears can the truth begin to surface . . .
Inspired by real events, The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex is an intoxicating and suspenseful mystery, an unforgettable story of love and grief that explores the way our fears blur the line between the real and the imagined.
My thoughts:
Having seen great reviews for this debut book, I was pleased to be able to start reading it myself. Very quickly we start to discover more about the men who vanished and the thoughts of the women they left behind. As the secrets and stories are slowly revealed the reader starts to find out what happened over the last few weeks before the men disappeared.
The suspense in the book builds beautifully and the writing created a story that I didn’t want to put down. The book brings to life the lifestyle of the lighthouse keepers, the daily routines and the difficulties of coping with being back in the ‘real world’. There are many elements to the story and I was kept guessing until the end.
A fascinating story that I’m happy to recommend. I look forward to reading more by Emma Stonex in the future.
Karen K is reading 