Anna invites the Clarke family to stay on her remote Scottish island. But despite her smiles, her intentions are deadly…
The Lost Boy is a psychological thriller. Right from the start we know that Anna is intent on harming one of the Clarke boys. They are not at all likeable but surely murder is a little extreme?! The boys’ parents Rod and Penny have a fraught relationship with each other and their children which adds an extra layer of tension.
The book is written from the alternating perspectives of Anna and Penny in the third person. Their actions and feelings are explored and contrasted. Around halfway through the book, my suspicions were confirmed about the motive behind Anna’s behaviour in a huge plot twist which then changes the direction of the book.
I was completely caught up in the idea of good people doing bad things and the lengths people will go to in order to protect themselves and those they love. Penny and Anna were portrayed very authentically with flaws and vulnerability. There was also an emotional side to the characters as they deal with their experiences.
The chapters are short which drives the plot along at a speedy pace. We are thrown straight into the plot and action, aware of the danger the Clarkes face. The drama really ramps up in the second half of the book and my feelings towards the characters changed completely as secrets are revealed.
The Lost Boy is very entertaining with interesting moral dilemmas and plenty of drama.
I have previously reviewed The Stepson by Jane Renshaw.
They expected a relaxing holiday. They got a trip to hell.
The Clarke family, Penny, Rod and their two young boys, are delighted when they are offered a holiday in a high-end guest house on a remote and beautiful island.
Their hostess Anna seems like a lovely woman. But what the Clarkes don’t realise is that this is no random invitation, that Anna has carefully selected the family to satisfy her own sinister agenda.
Penny soon begins to sense there’s something off about Anna. She often speaks about her husband and son, but is it odd that they are both away? And that Anna seems perfectly content to be alone in this isolated place?
And then there’s the way she looks at Penny’s boys – as if she’s sizing up chickens for the slaughter.
Penny grows increasingly uneasy and begins to do a bit of digging, which leads to a horrifying discovery – she finally realises who Anna is, and then she knows exactly why they’ve been invited to the island.
She also knows that if she and her family are ever going to leave, they’ll have to fight for their lives… and find the answer to one terrifying question – how far would you go for the people you love?
The Lost Boy – the gripping psychological thriller from the author of The Stepson and The Child Who Never Was.
Author Bio
As a child, Jane spent a lot of time in elaborate Lego worlds populated by tiny plastic animals and people. Crime levels were high, especially after the Dragon brothers set themselves up as vets and started murdering the animals in their ‘care’. (They got away with it by propping the victims up with Plasticine and pretending they were still alive…)
As an adult, she is still playing in imaginary worlds and putting her characters through hell – but now she can call it ‘writing’ and convince herself that she is doing something sensible. In real life, she has a PhD in genetics and copy-edits scientific and medical journals.
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