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sarah_bookshelf's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
slow-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
Very underwhelming; a ridiculously long-winded way of saying that people have secrets. I did enjoy the scenery descriptions, but with the plot progressing so slowly, it was hard to feel their impact. The audiobook was incredibly well narrated!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
questingnotcoasting's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-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
3.5
I was mainly drawn to this book because of the cover but luckily the plot also sounded intriguing. I often enjoy a dual timeline and I thought it worked well here as a way of gradually revealing details from the past. I enjoyed the atmospheric setting and there's some beautifully descriptive writing. So there were definitely some elements I really loved but there was also something holding me back from being fully invested which I can't put my finger on. Also a problem I often have with mystery books is finding the ending a little disappointing compared to what I've built up in my head. I did like the ending but I think I was just expecting a little more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Mental illness
Minor: Rape
alyx_d's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Moderate: Mental illness and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Blood
booksandmo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Vomit, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Cancer, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
rach59r's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Child abuse
diana_dea's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I think the way the narrative was told, through both the perspectives of the lighthouse keeper's wives after the fact, talking to a writer investigating the story, and the perspectives of the keepers themselves in the lead up to the fateful event, was perfect for this story and I really enjoyed diving into the different points of view of the same story. I also liked that figuring out the mystery of what might have happened was part of the story but necessarily its focus. Learning about life on the lighthouse as well as the lives of the keeper's families on the shore was really fascinating to me.
I listened to the audiobook for this and the narrators was amazing while the format also worked really well with the narrative style of this book.
I listened to the audiobook for this and the narrators was amazing while the format also worked really well with the narrative style of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, and Murder
foreverbookwandering's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
This book isn’t what I expected at all. The writing is very descriptive and atmospheric and that’s not really my thing but ultimately, this book is extremely slow paced. If you are looking for a page turning mystery, this ain’t it. I wanted something spooky for Halloween season and this didn’t really deliver.
The story is told from the lamplighters point of view and then their wives/girlfriend but then the last 15% or so is in third person, which is just confusing because I don’t understand why? Also speech marks are used but when it’s the women’s POV, they just talk a one sided conversation as if you are overhearing a phone call and there are no speech marks. This is clearly a narrative choice and again I didn’t understand why. The ‘clues’ in this book are few and far between so whether you are at the start of the book or halfway through, you’re not really any better off, plus at least one is an irrelevant red herring. The ending is really anticlimactic and I feel there was a huge build up for not much, like when you anticipate a massive firework and it gives a tiny spark and it’s done. If you are looking for an extremely in depth character exploration with tonnes of description, this may be for you but it fell flat for me and was a disappointing read.
Also, trigger warning for animal cruelty.
The story is told from the lamplighters point of view and then their wives/girlfriend but then the last 15% or so is in third person, which is just confusing because I don’t understand why? Also speech marks are used but when it’s the women’s POV, they just talk a one sided conversation as if you are overhearing a phone call and there are no speech marks. This is clearly a narrative choice and again I didn’t understand why. The ‘clues’ in this book are few and far between so whether you are at the start of the book or halfway through, you’re not really any better off, plus at least one is an irrelevant red herring. The ending is really anticlimactic and I feel there was a huge build up for not much, like when you anticipate a massive firework and it gives a tiny spark and it’s done. If you are looking for an extremely in depth character exploration with tonnes of description, this may be for you but it fell flat for me and was a disappointing read.
Also, trigger warning for animal cruelty.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Moderate: Child death and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Mental illness, and Rape
aliceonpaper's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Grief
Minor: Rape
abbie_'s review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
If you’re looking for a haunting, atmospheric read set at sea then look no further than The Lamplighters! It’s not haunting in the 👻 sense, but there’s a definite haunted atmosphere, the haunting of a cryptic mystery gone unsolved for too long.
.
This book draws inspiration from the disappearance of three lighthouse-keepers in the Hebrides in 1900, but this is set in Cornwall in 1972. Three keepers vanish into thin air, leaving their wives and girlfriends wondering over their fate. Those left behind have been paid well in compensation by Trident House, the lighthouse-keepers’ employers, to make sure they don’t go digging. But when a thriller writer starts writing a new book trying to solve the mystery, old ghosts are resurrected.
.
It flits back and forth between the keepers’ POVs in 1972 and the women left behind in 1992, and while I enjoyed both narratives, it was that of the present-day(ish) women that had me truly gripped. How do you move on with your life with the question of your partner’s fate constantly looming over you? How could you go on living a normal life without knowing what happened to your loved one, without any closure? Emma Stonex explores this, and the answer is - not easily!
.
I’m not sure how satisfied I was by the ending. It wasn’t bad by any means, I just didn’t have that feeling of a story wrapped up - maybe I’d even have preferred it if it weren’t wrapped up!! I do like an ambiguous ending.
.
But the writing, atmosphere and characters - I can’t fault those!
.
This book draws inspiration from the disappearance of three lighthouse-keepers in the Hebrides in 1900, but this is set in Cornwall in 1972. Three keepers vanish into thin air, leaving their wives and girlfriends wondering over their fate. Those left behind have been paid well in compensation by Trident House, the lighthouse-keepers’ employers, to make sure they don’t go digging. But when a thriller writer starts writing a new book trying to solve the mystery, old ghosts are resurrected.
.
It flits back and forth between the keepers’ POVs in 1972 and the women left behind in 1992, and while I enjoyed both narratives, it was that of the present-day(ish) women that had me truly gripped. How do you move on with your life with the question of your partner’s fate constantly looming over you? How could you go on living a normal life without knowing what happened to your loved one, without any closure? Emma Stonex explores this, and the answer is - not easily!
.
I’m not sure how satisfied I was by the ending. It wasn’t bad by any means, I just didn’t have that feeling of a story wrapped up - maybe I’d even have preferred it if it weren’t wrapped up!! I do like an ambiguous ending.
.
But the writing, atmosphere and characters - I can’t fault those!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
nialiversuch's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail