My grateful thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me to participate in the blog tour for The Lost by Simon Beckett. I’m delighted to share my review of The Lost today.

The Lost will be published by Orion imprint Trapeze on November 25th 2021 and is available for pre-order through the links here.

The Lost

‘A terrific thriller from one of our finest crime writers at the top of his game.’ Peter James

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…

My Review of The Lost

Jonah’s not having a good day!

I have absolutely no idea how I’ve failed to read Simon Beckett before as, if The Lost is anything to judge by, I’ve been missing out dreadfully. The Lost is an action packed, high adrenaline, fast paced thriller that kept me riveted to the pages even in those moments when I thought Jonah’s actions were fool hardy. Simon Beckett’s style of writing creates this effect so well because he understands exactly how to vary sentence length for impact, how to create an almost Dickensian atmosphere and setting, how to end chapters with hooks that compel the reader to continue, and how to provide just enough violence and gore to shock without turning the reader off from the narrative. I thought his writing was brilliant. The plotting kept me guessing, wrongfooted me and left me reeling.

Aside from the thrilling story, what I so enjoyed was the creation of Jonah Colley’s character. Jonah is the driving force in story and the tragedy in his past colours his actions. When there were times I felt he behaved unreasonably or foolishly, Simon Beckett made me understand why Jonah made the choices he did so that I cared about him. His physical injury acted as a wonderful metaphor for his emotional and intellectual pain too and Jonah is the embodiment of guilt, love and determination. His obsession with tracking down Owen Stokes and his complicated relationship with Gavin both add to the pacy story and to his character.

Whilst The Lost can be enjoyed as an entertaining thriller that would make a superb television series, there are many other layers of interest. It’s tricky to say too much without spoiling the plot but Simon Beckett explores the blurred lines between those who break, and those who enforce, the law. He considers the lengths we might go to to protect those we love. He explores natural justice, good and evil, the ability if the human mind to believe what it wants to believe regardless of the truth and so on, giving The Lost a psychological interest that I loved.

I thought The Lost was an exciting, deftly crafted thriller with vivid characters. As a result Simon Beckett has a new reader fan.

About Simon Beckett

Simon Beckett is the No.1 International Bestselling author of the David Hunter series. His books have been translated into 29 languages, appeared in the Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller lists and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. A former freelance journalist who has written for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent on Sunday and The Observer, the inspiration for the first David Hunter novel came after a visit to the world-renowned Body Farm in Tennessee introduced him to the work of forensic anthropologists.

As well as co-winning the Ripper Award in 2018/19, the largest European crime prize, Simon has won the Raymond Chandler Society’s ‘Marlowe’ Award and been short-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger, CWA Dagger in the Library and Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year.

Simon’s stand alone novel, Where There’s Smoke, was adapted into a major ITV two-part drama.

For more information, visit Simon’s website, or follow him on Twitter @BeckettSimon, Facebook and Instagram.