Under The Radar Books.
the lost village by camilla sten
Synopsis.
The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten, an electrifying new voice in suspense.
Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village,” since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy, and ever since, the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left—a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn—have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened.
But there will be no turning back.
Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice:
They are not alone.
They’re looking for the truth…
But what if it finds them first?
The Review
THE LOST VILLAGE
By: Camilla Sten
Available where books are sold!
Ever wish you could escape the heat of the summer? Next time try it with a book. One summer day in 2018, I had an out-of-this-world experience reading THE DEATH OF MRS WESTAWAY by Ruth Ware all on one gloomy afternoon. I would say one sitting, but the magic that day was that it took all day. And all day, as the California sky loomed on, I explored the dark corners of gothic fiction. I will never forget that experience.
I picked up THE LOST VILLAGE in curiosity as I had certain feelings about it when I read a sampler back in October 2020. I thought the storyline was fascinating but felt the Blair Witch vibes it was trying to elicit were not very “spooky,” Gothic yes, mysterious, yes. Scary, chilly air when it’s warm outside, fingerprints in the fogged-up mirror, Midsommar, lost-in-the-forest-vibes, that’s a big NO!
So, how does the entire book compare to the sample, or shall I say the first 20 pages?
About the same….
I think it’s about a 3.5 rounded down to 3 Stars. It was fair and “moody.” Which may have been my biggest problem with it. At times I felt it lost focus, and any vibe it had going on snapped. Like someone letting the cool air in the room. It feels good but totally kills the vibe.
It is hard to keep that tenuous feeling of atmosphere. Too many descriptions can slow the plot to a crawl. Too many characters and red herrings, pov’s, and multiple storylines can send energy askew. You, as the reader, are focused on one character, wrapped up in their story, and immediately you’re with someone else, possibly somewhere else, some other time, some other story, and at times the plots are not interceding. If you make me wait too long for that intersection to happen ill lose interest. Which is what I think happened here for me. The mood must stay the same.
3 stars
Thanks to @netgalley and Minotaur Books for this gifted copy many months ago!