If you like a locked door mystery, and a locked door mystery with a very unusual setting then this week sees the perfect book for you published. Welcome to The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex. And yet while this might appear to be a locked door mystery it is so much more!
Although this book is set across two time periods, 1972 and 1992, the inspiration for this story comes from a real life event which took place in December 1900. It was then that three lighthouse keepers disappeared from an isolated rock lighthouse in the Outer Hebrides.
Within the novel the three keepers in question are Arthur Black, Bill Walker and Vincent Bourne. All different in character, all with their own stories and secrets, all missing in the strangest of circumstances.
Fast forward 20 years and the women left behind are still no nearer to understanding what happened to the men they loved. When author Dan Sharp approaches them regarding the incident, old memories resurface and Helen, Jenny and Michelle are all forced to relive the past.
Through immaculate retelling and beautifully paced prose the story of the three keepers and their families begins to unfurl. Against the rugged background of the winter sea the voices of the missing men are finally heard and they have surprising things to say.
This is a novel told by a chorus of voices, each story layered upon the other, providing clarity and then taking it away, moving slowly towards it’s conclusion. This is story telling at it’s absolute best, building tension and empathy as it’s story moves beautifully to it’s conclusion.
It is a story with a vivid setting, where the sea is a force in it’s own right, and it’s presence is continual, relentless and essential to put understanding of what really happened to those men. Although this is a novel with a mystery at it’s heart, it is a story alive with characters, emotion, love and grief.
The Lamplighters hits the shelves this week and, believe me, it is one not to be missed.
Rachel x
Book Bound 