Reviews

The Lost Child of Lychford by Paul Cornell

vivri's review

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mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? Yes

4.0

geekwayne's review against another edition

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5.0

'The Lost Child of Lychford' by Paul Cornell is a is the second book in the Lychford series. It's also a ghost story that takes place at Christmas, so it's in good company with a lot of other Christmas ghost stories.

The English village of Lychford seems like a nice little town, but lurking on the edges things are not so nice. Protecting the village are three unlikely women: Judith, the village kook, Autumn, the owner of a witchcraft store, and Lizzie, the Reverend of St. Martin's.

Lizzie is getting ready for Christmas, with the sappy music and cynical occasional churchgoers souring her mood. She sees a young boy in the church by himself, and he appears to be a ghost. Add to that the very strange couple getting married on Christmas Eve with their very odd ceremony, and things aren't what they seem. The three women band together, but are separated and attacked. Can they band together and figure out who this ghostly young boy is?

I haven't read the first book in the series, but I felt able to follow along just fine. I really liked the main characters of this book, and I loved the Christmas setting, although that does fade as the story gets going. There is some decent humor along the way. It's got a cozy mystery feel, but don't let that fool you. There is a coldness at the core of this one. I really liked this book, and Paul Cornell is a very good writer.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Macmillan-Tor/Forge and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

caitlin_034's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious fast-paced

3.0

it was pretty good. once again compelling and an easy read and i liked the storyline 

themanfromdelmonte's review against another edition

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4.0

More shenanigans in Lychford with the priest, the empiricist and the batty old woman. There are some lovely nods to popular culture and geekdom. I hope these novellas will be collected into one or two volumes in future as they’re good fun.

spacewormy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

4.0

louloureadsbooks's review against another edition

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Having thoroughly enjoyed the first book on audio I had no hesitation getting this book. It never ocurred to me the narrator would be different.
Sent audio back as I could not bear narrator. Don't think I'll continue

qalminator's review against another edition

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4.0

More frenetic than the first book, but still extremely satisfying. We have a ghost child, a ghost husband, and an anti-love potion, as well as an extremely creepy couple who just want to get married on Christmas Eve (and arrange the church just so).

I noted that both Judith and the fairies were cut off early on, leaving Lizzie and Autumn to deal with most of the fallout, and try to find a way past the dastardly plot. They did, just in the nick of time (of course).

magratajostiernos's review against another edition

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4.0

Volvemos a Lychford, ese pueblecillo inglés en las Costwolds situado justamente en la frontera con el reino de las hadas y donde siempre hay más problemas de los que parecen en un principio.
En esta ocasión un fantasma viene arruinar las navidades de nuestras tres brujas.
Este libro es aún más breve que el anterior y tiene un tono mucho más cómico que me ha encantado, aunque no pierde esa carga un poco siniestra a veces.
Una lectura ligera y entretenida que gracias a su ambientación y personajes consigue ser especial.

beentsy's review against another edition

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4.0

Super fun book. I really like these characters and am looking forward to more of their stories.

samuelson_obi's review against another edition

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3.0

‪Magic, Christmas in an English village and the sense of looming disaster kept me riveted to the end. Emma Newman's narration was the perfect fit for this sequel, giving the three principle characters an extra dimension and adding to the overall suspense.
A solid 3 stars from me; I liked it.