Reviews with content warning for Animal cruelty - The Lamplighters

Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

32 reviews

hyuzen's review

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

A non-linear story of 3 men who disappeared from a lighthouse, and the women who loved them 20 years later. The details of what happened unfold and unfold, previous revelations take on new meaning. The characters are all well rounded. This is a tragic story of grief, mourning the loss of the men but also the events that led them to this point. Haunting and beautiful.

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yolanda_h's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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kcmg710's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I absolutely loved this book. And it’s only 4* because I’m a sucker for happy endings. AND EVEN THOUGH I went into this aware that it probably wasn’t going to be a ‘proper happy ending’ I still got my hopes up and thought there was a chance that

the ‘Truth would come out’ or they’d all reunite or something

and of course I’m absolutely gutted that it didn’t. It’s completely my fault of course but idc I apologise to the author but I just cannot wholeheartedly give it a 5* because of this fact 😂🤦🏽‍♀️

I’ll be honest I’ve not given lighthouses, as a whole, too much thought. Eg; the interior of them, the challenges for the keepers and their families, the workload, the relief, free time ect. I just kinda assumed there’s the lighthouse and in them are probably just a ladder to get up to the top and every so often somebody would go and check on it. Which now with technology and stuff might be the case but this book just opened my mind completely.

I felt like a fly on the wall watching the keepers go about their day and I LOVED IT. I am super nosy and especially the little details l, I just absolutely lapped up because I want to know every single process/action/thought ect that a character might have/do. The little details are what matter to me (personally) as a reader and I thought Stonex did a great job of that.

The characters as a whole I’m so attached to them

(except bill, f*ck bill 😑)

even the ones I didn’t really get on with, at points my heart broke for them and I was like I get it that’s why they’re f*cked, I understand. They are so well written and again I’m nosy so I loved the snippets of backstories for them all (even with how heartbreaking some of them could be).

Again the only thing I hated was the fact that Arthur died thinking Helen didn’t love him anymore and was in love with scumbag Bill and that she majorly betrayed him (she kinda did but not at the level Jenny and Arthur were convinced of) She didn’t get the chance to explain to him and work things out.

I hate how unresolved it was. Even though I knew there could be a chance it would end that way, I still hate it. And I hate the fact that bill never got found out for the scumbag he was AND FRAMED MY ARTHUR!! Unforgivable. I appreciate he got instant karma but still.
I was also super confused about how ‘they never found any evidence’ when Bill literally wiped Arthur’s fingerprints on everything?! Unless they did and trident just covered it up? Like I know they covered up some things and wasn’t open to the public or the families and it kinda alluded to Arthur having something to do with it so in that case they must’ve found the evidence but idk. Maybe I didn’t read it properly but that’s the vibes I kinda got, that part felt abit ‘up in the air’ to me.

Also the part with the ghosts/voices ect. Was never really cleared up and half of me feel like that was maybe part of their imaginations or their guilt getting to them / kinda hallucinating because of the isolation on the tower ect. But the other half was like wait are there ghosts or what? Again with the ‘Silverman’ and ‘Sid’! Who the f*ck was SID? Are Sid and the Silverman the same person or what?

There were parts that made me laugh, parts that made me sob like a baby @1.30 in the morning 🫠, parts that I was freakeddd out about

(the ghost children things)

. It just felt like there was so much going on and I had no clue about any of it pretty much the whole time 😂. I was confused but it a comfy way is the only way I know how to describe it.

My reviews are not great I’ll be honest, I mostly just ramble and occasionally make a good point. But I’d definitely give this a go and I appreciate it if you got this far 🤍

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clare_dv's review

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dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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ashyyy's review

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The mystery of it all was what pulled me through to the end, but overall it was just...fine.
The way it was written made me feel so disconnected from the characters, especially the supposed reporter who was investigating it in the 90s. I almost wish one of the wives had begun looking into it again or something to make it more impactful. Plus, there were so many vague thread points that were never tied up (e.g.

the briefcase, the childlike ghost on The Maiden, the Silver Man etc.

). I'm all for open-ended mysteries, but this felt like the author was being purposefully coy and it frustrated me. If more time was spent actually revealing and exploring the characters secrets/pasts (like

Vince's past and why he was afraid certain people were after him. This was only told in a short chapter towards the end and didn't add much to his character.

), instead of only hinting at them, I might have gotten more out of it.

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theothersideofreading's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I picked up the book as I have an interest in the Flannan Isle Lighthouse mystery. I felt satisfied with the way in which the book dealt with the mystery of three missing lighthouse keepers and I thoroughly enjoyed the resolution of the mystery.

With the nature of the book being a mystery, I found that it was occassionally difficult to keep up with the events to which the characters were alluding that were only revealed later on in the story. Now having read the book, I feel I could go back and better understand a lot of it if I were to reread it, however I don't believe I would gain much more enjoyment from it.

On a personal note, I did not enjoy reading many of Jenny and Michelle's passages, however I do not see this as a fault of the book itself and instead as a result of my own personal tastes. I thought they were interesting characters, but I found their passages dragged on.

I think having numerous narrators made it difficult to really engage with some of the storylines, as some of the passages lacked some detail that would have fleshed out the story more.

After finishing the book, I was a bit confused by one element.

The incorporation of the ghosts slightly confused me, as I felt they were a bit out of place. I understood the inclusion of Arthur's son's ghost towards the end, but I remain confused as to who the ghost that Bill saw when he was younger was supposed to be? I know he was the ghost that later appeared in the lighthouse, but that still lacks meaning to me. I would have understood it more if the ghost was meant to be Bill's father or someone else with a connection to the trio, but otherwise I felt it was out of place. I absolutely recognise that this is my own lack of understanding, but I would have appreciated more clarification. Perhaps there is something I am missing, which I am open to hearing about.

Nonetheless, I think it is an interesting story and I would definitely recommend this book for those who enjoy a good mystery with supernatural elements.

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rach22's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

Enjoyable read.
I enjoyed getting to see the story and the lives from every characters’ point of view. Well written.
I did not expect that ending.
I felt that it started to drag a wee bit near the end and then unravelled very quickly. Good setting, interesting take but I also did not completely understand the end. Sort of random but enjoyable read. Quite dark at times. Lighthouse was interesting. Bit depressing at times.

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