The Lost Ones Review

By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)

This review is spoiler-free.

Synopsis:

England, 1917.

Reeling from the death of her fiancé, Stella Marcham welcomes the opportunity to stay with her pregnant sister, Madeleine, at her imposing country mansion, Greyswick – but she arrives to discover a house of unease and her sister gripped by fear and suspicion.

Before long, strange incidents begin to trouble Stella – sobbing in the night, little footsteps on the stairs – and as events escalate, she finds herself drawn to the tragic history of the house. Aided by a wounded war veteran, Stella sets about uncovering Greyswick’s dark and terrible secrets – secrets the dead whisper from the other side….

I have had The Lost Ones on my Audible Wishlist for some time now, and after a few missteps with my most recent choices, I finally took the plunge and dived into Anita Frank’s debut novel.

When I first read the synopsis, the book immediately appealed to me, as I have listened to familiar-themed audiobooks before. It seems The Woman in Black is the general go-to comparison with a story of this sort, and I even retrospectively spotted this mentioned in this summary! While I do love The Woman in Black, I don’t use that as a benchmark – I know the type of story and character elements and tropes to expect, but I judge each story on its own merits. While there are plenty of familiar notes and influences, I do feel that The Lost Ones can easily stand tall on its own. The story is gripping from the off, and the blend of mystery, seasoned with a possible supernatural element works perfectly. The strength is in the well-written story, sub-plots and distinctive and fleshed-out characters. I enjoyed the fact that you are kept guessing – is this really the work of the supernatural? Or do these events of flesh and blood? This balance works perfectly and I enjoyed the back-and-forth between these two concepts, rather than just leaning into one in particular.

As good as the story is – when it comes to audiobooks, the choice of narrator can make or break it! The Lost Ones is beautifully narrated by the incredibly talented Olivia Dowd and, just like the author, this was my first time experiencing their work. Dowd’s performance aligned in perfect harmony with the chilling, supernatural mystery elements of the story. The plethora of different characters was clearly defined and distinctive from one another and I especially enjoyed the cadence within the performance.

In comparison to other similar audiobooks in the genre, The Lost Ones runs a little longer than most, and my initial worry was this would be due to unnecessary filler or needless exposition, however, I was greatly surprised to see that this was not the case. Every chapter adds more substance to the narrative and character development, and I found myself finishing the book in two sittings – time flew by! 

With the story hooking me right from the off, and with so much expectation and build-up, it’s all about the mystery reveal and the ending, and just like the rest of the story, Frank delivers a fitting ending to such an engaging story. While I guessed some elements of the ending, there was one major element that I missed, yet when I think back now, all the evidence was there, but the way everything is interweaved, it is not necessarily obvious at the time. As the audiobook came to a close, the satisfaction of the journey and the emotions I had just experienced felt well-earned and rewarding. This was truly a very enjoyable audiobook, and in comparison to its genre peers, it’s one of the best I have listened to.

I have now reviewed three audiobooks of this type – The Lost Ones, This House is Haunted and The Whistling, and while all three have similar elements, they are also very much their own thing, and luckily for me, all three have been incredible experiences! I highly recommend The Lost Ones, and think you should definitely add it to your Audible Wishlist!

Beautifully narrated and with an engrossing story, The Lost Ones is a gripping gothic supernatural mystery that will chill you to your very core. The enthralling nature of the story and its characters is eloquently written and has a rewarding ending that will leave you incredibly satisfied. One of the best in its category and well worth your time!