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...
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[The brass plaque, polished so it shone like burnished gold was mounted pride of place on the chantey wall - a new, if unwelcome addition to the village church]***
(HQ, 31 October 2019, 464 pages, ebook, copy from @HQstories via # NetGalley and voluntarily reviewed)
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I love ghost stories but prefer subtle ones that revolve around hauntings and unseen things making strange noises in the night. I dislike gory, in-your-face horror. The Lost Ones is exactly the kind of ghost story that I love. This is a gripping book and I was caught up in the strange atmosphere of the house and the secrets all of the characters are hiding. This is an impressive debut. I look forward to what Franks has in store next. I found all of the characters, even Stella quite unsympathetic and nasty. However, this didn't detract from the enjoyment of the book.
