Reviews with content warning for Murder - Das Dorf der toten Seelen

The Lost Village is an eerie, atmospheric thriller with unexpected twists and turns that will have you nervous for what will come next. In 1959 the nearly 900 residents of Silvertjarn, a village in Sweden, disappeared without a trace. That is, all but 2. Left behind were a woman who had been murdered and a newborn baby. Many years later, Alice is consumed by theories of what happened to the villagers all those years ago. For her, it's personal - her grandmother's family vanished there. Now, intent on discovering some clue as to what may have happened, Alice heads to Silvertjarn to film a documentary. With so little information to go on, she knew it wouldn't be easy. But she didn't expect for things to fall apart quite so quickly. With a seemingly ghostly presence making itself known, Alice begins to question whether they're truly alone or if her mind is beginning to break. The truth isn't anything she could have possibly imagined.

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whatskatiereading's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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thrillofthepage's review against another edition

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dark 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? It's complicated

4.5

This book was everything I wanted it to be...it was creepy, atmospheric, and spine tingling. As soon as I saw the comparison to The Blair Witch Project I requested it immediately!

The Lost Village follows Alice, a documentary filmmaker, and her small crew to an old, abandoned mining village in Sweden. Alice longs to find out what happened to the almost 900 people who vanished from the village in 1959, including her great-grandmother’s entire family. Everything was left as though the townspeople would return, but 60 years later Silvertjärn stands empty. The only people left in the village were a woman tied to a pole, stoned to death, and a newborn baby.

The setting was absolutely incredible and the way Sten crafted the village made it a character itself. As soon as the crew saw the town I got goosebumps just from the anticipation of what was to come. The vivid descriptions of the homes, the church, and schoolhouse were so creepy and kept me on the edge of my seat. Books where the setting is its own character are some of my favorite and this was no exception.

The Lost Village is told through dual timelines, Then and Now. For a majority of the book I loved the Now timeline because that’s where the action was. However, the closer I got to the end the more invested I was in the past timeline. It was fascinating to witness the changes in the village and I thought the reveal was perfect.

If I had one critique it would be that I wanted a little more from the ending. I liked the ending, but it did seem a little far fetched and I did figure it out. This was the only thing that kept The Lost Village from being a five star read for me.

I loved this book and think it would make an amazing Netflix series! If you enjoy spooky, sinister stories then I highly recommend The Lost Village by Camilla Sten!

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