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_terah_hansen_'s review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Torture, and Murder
a_big_badger's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The Lost Village handles a two timeline story as well as any book I've read that attempted it. The sense of foreboding and the mystery at its heart is compelling, pretty much up to the very end. It's ending drops the ball a bit, at least for me, as it had given me higher expectations than what ultimately resulted. The story suffers from the horror trope of people doing the dumbest option possible and not leaving a bad situation (light spoiler) which didn't ruin my reading, but may for others.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Rape
onemorepagecrew's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The Lost Village, written by Swedish author Camilla Sten and translated to English by Alexandra Fleming, helped solidify my enjoyment of Scandinavian horror and suspense novels. In this story, a documentary filmmaker returns to an abandoned mining town where her grandmother’s family disappeared from long ago. She has brought a few friends along to help make the film and while they are there, strange things begin happening and they suspect they are not alone. I don’t want to give away too much of the plot or characters, so I’ll leave it there.
This novel had the right level of suspense for me and enough mystery that I was never quite sure if I was dealing with supernatural powers, which I enjoyed. There is violence and there is suspense and I’d classify it as psychological tension more than outright fear. The author weaves in religious cults, mental health, and there is reference to suicide so read with care. My only small issue was the notion that a whole town could disappear a remain a mystery for decades and when they reveal what happened (no spoilers, promise) it seems that it would have uncovered long ago.
When researching this author I found that her mother is also an author with many published novels and Camilla herself has a new novel coming out in 2022. It’s called The Resting Place and I’m looking forward to reading it as well as perusing her prior novels. Side note – if you’re enjoying the television series Yellowjackets I think you will like this novel!
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual violence, Suicide, and Violence
mongoose's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, and Suicide attempt
creepycrawlybookworm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a great audio read, that had me hooked quickly. There were some more predictable plot points, but others that I didn't expect too! I became more invested in the characters as the story progressed, even though not all were loveable, that isn't an issue for me particularly, as I'd rather read about flawed, interesting characters, than sugar-coated ones.
There was also a good mix of creepiness and suspense amongst the characters themselves, as well as in the town, and it worked well alongside the group dynamic and documentary parts of the story.
There was also a good mix of creepiness and suspense amongst the characters themselves, as well as in the town, and it worked well alongside the group dynamic and documentary parts of the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Cursing
caidyn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
When I requested this book, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into. Just that it looked really creepy. This is a one-sitter kind of book. I read it in two because I was too tired to keep reading, but it's one that you want to binge through. It's told in two perspectives, one from Alice in the present about their investigation of a village where 900 inhabitants went missing and the second from a woman at the heart of that fateful day to show what happened.
This would have been a solid 4-star read, but I wasn't in love with the mental health rep in it. Just because someone is taking an anti-psychotic, it doesn't mean they are psychotic. I get that it's a common misconception, but it wasn't challenged in the story. Not to mention some other mental health things that were in the story.
When I requested this book, I wasn't quite sure what I was getting into. Just that it looked really creepy. This is a one-sitter kind of book. I read it in two because I was too tired to keep reading, but it's one that you want to binge through. It's told in two perspectives, one from Alice in the present about their investigation of a village where 900 inhabitants went missing and the second from a woman at the heart of that fateful day to show what happened.
This would have been a solid 4-star read, but I wasn't in love with the mental health rep in it. Just because someone is taking an anti-psychotic, it doesn't mean they are psychotic. I get that it's a common misconception, but it wasn't challenged in the story. Not to mention some other mental health things that were in the story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
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