The Lamplighters

Guess I'm a little slow on the uptake, because I didn't register that this book was based on real events until I had already started reading! Haa! Safe to say that makes it all the more intriguing...based on real people and events, this is a suspenseful mystery that has a crazy good sense of atmosphere. You get that sailor, lighthouse vibe the whole way through, which is a vibe I personally LOOOOVE. All that plus based on real events? Man, Stonex blew me outta the water here.

Once I am this far into a novel I rarely give up, but I'm stopping on page 195. The truth is I'm not enjoying it and life is short. There are so many other books to be read.
There is nothing to indicate that this will get better or have some sort of wild ending. In order to avoid a 2 star review, I'm dipping out now.

2⭐️ this book was disappointingly kind of boring.

Rating: 4.10 leaves out of 5-Characters: 3/5 -Cover: 3/5-Story: 3.5/5-Writing: 5/5Genre: HisFic, Mystery, Thriller-HisFic: 5/5-Mystery: 5/5-Thriller: 4/5Type: AudiobookWorth?: YesHated Disliked Meh It Was Okay Liked Really Liked LovedThe real life story of these 3 has to be one of my favorite. I really liked how Emma wrote this. She kept to the mystery all while writing a story that came from little to nothing. It was kind of slow in places and honestly fuck Bill and Helen.

I loved it, the story was gripping in how it revealed itself. Also the writing was extremely good, clear and direct, which counts for a good bit in my book.

I need more books about lighthouses in my life. This was wonderful. Being this solitary person who does everything slowly, some of the characters in the story felt relatable in their aloofness towards society. I'm trying to make sense of this, but I can't. I want more like this type of atmospheric, slow, mysterious and solitary type of stories. 

I was so ready to love this but it just didn't click with me like I thought it would and sometimes it was way too slow-paced

Absolutely loved this paranormal crime mystery thriller romance novel about love, loss, loneliness and home made chocolates. Home made chocolates, something I had completely forgotten about until I read this book. Mrs Gresley, my Nans neighbour used to make them and they always smelt of flowers and were generally unpleasant but you had to pretend to like them because being nice and all that was important, even though they tasted like devils anus. My favourite theory about what happened to the men was that they all fell in love with each other and ran off to live in one of those lovely little chalets they have at Fitties campsite in Cleethorpes, it wasn't that though. Do read this book because it's very good.

The Lamplighters was a creepy, quick read that I couldn't put down the whole way through. If you've been flicking through mystery/thrillers, enjoying them but haven't been impressed in a while, this book is a definite change of pace from most.

Firstly, the setting and original concept was a great draw. I love a locked room mystery, and the added intrigue of an isolated lighthouse made that all the more attractive. I also liked the atmosphere it lent to the book because the whole time it felt creepy and otherworldly while we remained in the lighthouse. If the whole book had focused on the men in the lighthouse I think I would have enjoyed it even more.

Unfortunately, the author looks at the mystery through the lens of an author writing a book about the tragedy, and the author gets in contact with the spouses of the men. This angle made the mystery all the more down to earth, removed a lot of the atmosphere I was enjoying so much and really began to focus the mystery through the eyes of the spouses.

‘'Today it's soundless. Jory knows loud seas and silent seas, heavy seas and mirror seas, seas where your boat feels like the last blink of humankind on a roll so determined and angry that you believe in what you don't believe in, such as the sea being that halfway thing between heaven and hell or whatever lies up there and whatever lurks down deep. A fisherman told him once about the sea having two faces.''

Cornwall, 1972. The three keepers of a formidable lighthouse vanish without a trace. The doors are locked. The table has been laid for dinner. The clocks have stopped at the same time. But Andrew, Bill and Vince are gone. 1992. A writer decides to write a book about the strange incident and conducts Helen, Jenny and Michelle, the women who were left behind. Their voices merge with the thoughts of the keepers and the truth - if there is an actual truth - is hidden behind the thick mist.

‘'The saying goes she makes a sound when the weather hits hard, like a woman crying, where the wind gets in between the rocks.''

Inspired by the actual incident that took place in 1900 in the Outer Hebrides, Emma Stonex creates a novel of superb atmosphere and tension. The reader has to discern the validity of multiple accounts, each narrator has a piece of the puzzle and brick upon brick of contradictory opinion. The story is built upon the powerful themes of loneliness, monotony, isolation. Eerie scenes and memories of the past compose a tale where nothing is what it seems. A storm may or may not have happened. A man is in love with someone else's wife and someone has committed a crime. The women have drifted apart, each one suspecting foul play against a husband. Whispers of hauntings and voices through the mists excite everyone's imagination. The quiet humming of Scarborough Fair accompanies a mother's grief...

In terms of atmosphere, this novel is top-notch. Perfect. But apart from Helen, Andrew and Bill, the characters felt problematic and I couldn't bring myself to ‘'listen'' to their call. I couldn't stand Jenny and I wasn't particularly interested in Pearl, Vince and Michelle's chapters, hence the 4 stars. In my opinion, the characterization fell flat, as if it was sacrificed on the altar of mystery and eeriness.

This is a heavily-hyped novel and I agree 100%. Had the characters been more appealing (in my opinion), this would have been one of my reading highlights of the year.

‘'The moon pale - eyes through the window. Weird moon. Weird thoughts. Moons out here so bright it hurts. Against everything else they're brighter than they should be. Imagining the moon is the sun and the whole world turned inside out.''

Many thanks to Pan MacMillan and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com/