Scan barcode
vexasaurus_rex's review
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
slow-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, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts
chalkletters's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
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
2.25
When book club nominated a book with a lighthouse on the cover, obviously I had to vote for it! The Lamplighters actually has two covers, both with lighthouses, but which give wildly different ideas of what the book is going to be like, so I was curious to see which one would prove more accurate.
Like most of the lighthouse books on this blog, The Lamplighters is historical fiction, set when lighthouses were still manned rather than automatic, but it’s more recent than most, only going back to the 1970s. What also sets it apart is that it’s about a tower lighthouse, jutting directly out of the sea, where there isn’t space for keepers to bring their wives and families with them. Perhaps that was why it was difficult to keep the threads of the marriages straight. Arthur-and-Helen and Bill-and-Jenny merged into such a shapeless muddle that I had to make a note in my reading notebook which I referred back to every time there was a chapter from one of the wives’ perspectives.
Even after finishing The Lamplighters, it’s not entirely clear what happened in a couple of of the plots. Emma Stonex was clearly keeping information back from her readers, raising questions which you’d hope would be answered by the conclusion to the story. Except, several of them weren’t. Maybe it was intentional, because real life rarely offers neatly-wrapped solutions to every question, but in a novel billing itself as a mystery, it was more frustrating than thought-provoking.
Those plots which did feel complete were enjoyable, particularly the stories of those left behind: Jenny, Helen and the novelist Dan Martin. (Michelle, despite being the most distinct of the female characters, sadly got a bit abandoned.) Bill’s storyline could have been more effectively handled, because the bare bones of it were interesting.
There was certainly a lot going on in The Lamplighters, arguably too much because no single plot or detail really got the attention and weight that it deserved. Maybe a less complex structure would’ve delivered the story with more impact. While I’ll be keeping this for lighthouse reasons, I won’t necessarily be running out to buy more books by Emma Stonex, unless one catches my interest or comes highly recommended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Blood
jesshindes's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
2.5
'The Lamplighters' tells the story of the 1972 disappearance of three keepers from a lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall, doing so through the multiple narrative perspectives not only of the keepers themselves but of the three women left behind them: two wives, and a girlfriend. The narrative also hops around in time, from the lead-up to the men's disappearance to a period twenty years later when an author writing a book on what has happened gets in touch with the women concerned to ask for their side of the story.
I had high hopes for this one, which came decorated with all the usual quotes about how gripping it was (including one from Hilary Mantel!) but for some reason it never quite grabbed me. The book pivots on the central mystery of the men's disappearance, and there's some question about whether it's supernatural or natural along with the obvious whodunnit element, but the whole thing had strong vibes to me of an ITV Sunday night thriller, maybe a three-part adaptation, a few people from Line of Duty in it, maybe Keeley Hawes, you get my drift. Which is fine, but probably goes to say that all of the characters felt a bit thin - which is a problem in a book which spent a lot of time on character work and relationships. There were some moments that I liked - some stuff about the relationships between the keepers and their wives, the bits that veered closest to the supernatural - but ultimately I felt like the whole thing was a little wishy-washy, that it didn't commit to the weirdness (unlike Our Wives Under the Sea, which does the nautical mystery thing in a much more satisfying, stranger way) and that too many of the revelations fell flat. With that said, I think on TV it might work, so if it pans out that way I will watch it!
I had high hopes for this one, which came decorated with all the usual quotes about how gripping it was (including one from Hilary Mantel!) but for some reason it never quite grabbed me. The book pivots on the central mystery of the men's disappearance, and there's some question about whether it's supernatural or natural along with the obvious whodunnit element, but the whole thing had strong vibes to me of an ITV Sunday night thriller, maybe a three-part adaptation, a few people from Line of Duty in it, maybe Keeley Hawes, you get my drift. Which is fine, but probably goes to say that all of the characters felt a bit thin - which is a problem in a book which spent a lot of time on character work and relationships. There were some moments that I liked - some stuff about the relationships between the keepers and their wives, the bits that veered closest to the supernatural - but ultimately I felt like the whole thing was a little wishy-washy, that it didn't commit to the weirdness (unlike Our Wives Under the Sea, which does the nautical mystery thing in a much more satisfying, stranger way) and that too many of the revelations fell flat. With that said, I think on TV it might work, so if it pans out that way I will watch it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity, and Stalking
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
aimsro's review
dark
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Murder
elerireads's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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
3.0
I didn't really enjoy this, but I think a solid part of that was to do with it not being to my taste rather than it not being good. I bought it on a whim and had I read the blurb more closely and thought about it a bit more I suspect I might have realised I might not enjoy it, so that's on me really. The supernatural elements pissed me off - I just found them deeply unsatisfying. Also, as I've said before, my tolerance for reading deeply traumatic things is not high, but this is definitely a problem I could have anticipated from the blurb.
What I will say is that I thought the suspense wasn't handled that well in some places. I understand the tack of dropping subtle but gradually more obvious hints about some mystery or other over the course of the book before a dramatic reveal, but (a) this wears a bit thin if you do it for every single interesting detail; and (b) the hints in this were not AT ALL subtle. It was like HERE IS AN INTERESTING THING I'M REFUSING TO TELL YOU ABOUT followed by loads of unrelated stuff. Imho that kind of mystery is much better handled with a quicker turn-around, i.e. you can make it super clear that there's something we don't know so we're left guessing for a few pages, but then the next chapter has to resolve it. Much more satisfying reading experience that way anyway, although maybe I'm just too impatient 😂
What I will say is that I thought the suspense wasn't handled that well in some places. I understand the tack of dropping subtle but gradually more obvious hints about some mystery or other over the course of the book before a dramatic reveal, but (a) this wears a bit thin if you do it for every single interesting detail; and (b) the hints in this were not AT ALL subtle. It was like HERE IS AN INTERESTING THING I'M REFUSING TO TELL YOU ABOUT followed by loads of unrelated stuff. Imho that kind of mystery is much better handled with a quicker turn-around, i.e. you can make it super clear that there's something we don't know so we're left guessing for a few pages, but then the next chapter has to resolve it. Much more satisfying reading experience that way anyway, although maybe I'm just too impatient 😂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Violence, Stalking, and Murder
nicoles_reading_corner's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
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
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