Buy New

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
Buy Used
Used - Very Good See details
Price: £1.73

or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
   
More Buying Choices
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Colour:
Image not available

 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.

Lost [Paperback]

Lucy Wadham
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
Price: £6.99 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
Only 1 left in stock (more on the way).
Dispatched from and sold by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.
Want delivery by Friday, 24 May? Choose Express delivery at checkout. See Details

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Hardcover --  
Paperback £6.99  
Amazon.co.uk Trade-In Store
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. Learn more.

Book Description

6 May 2004

A young widow, Alice Aron arrives on a Mediterranean island with her two young sons to visit her husband's birthplace. The place is sun-drenched and barren, its people poor, subdued by corruption, longing for independence that will not come, regarding everyone with suspicion and resentment. This is no island paradise. Within hours Alice's seven year old, Sam has disappeared. No-one admits to knowing anything. The authorities are inert and impotent, except for the unpopular detective Antoine Stuart, whose main drive to find the child seems to be his obsessive desire to nail the criminal Coco Santini, a man who is a model of violence and intimidation but against whom there is not a shred of evidence.

Rumours spread that The Movement, idealistic freedom fighters turned amoral racketeers, are responsible for the abduction; or maybe Italian gangsters. In a small place ruled by ancient enmities hiding a child can be dangerous. Someone will test a loyalty too far. Lost is a riveting, tense thriller peopled with unforgettable characters in a place that comes to life before us.


Frequently Bought Together

Lost + The Secret Life of France
Price For Both: £12.92

Buy the selected items together

Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Viewed


Product details

  • Paperback: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Faber and Faber; New edition edition (6 May 2004)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0571205518
  • ISBN-13: 978-0571205516
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 12.8 x 2.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 681,147 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, and more.

Product Description

Amazon Review

Lucy Wadham's debut novel, Lost, begins simply, horribly enough. A young wealthy widow, Alice Ayron arrives on a Mediterranean island with her two small children. Within hours her oldest son, Sam, has gone missing, presumably kidnapped. The prose is acute and observational, full of light and precision, but the atmosphere is closed in, intense with emotional and physical claustrophobia. There is the island, lush with eucalyptus and heat, and there are the islanders, poor and insular, with a penchant for violence that was "no longer the simple language of grievance and revenge". There are the images of a small child being held captive: "Sam was there huddled, with fear ... like a curled fossil." And there is the mother's panic: "Each time she called his name, the knowledge of his absence seemed to deepen within her." The tension builds steadily as the morose and unpopular detective Antione Stuart begins his investigation. Like many of the characters he has lost his way, beset by the past, unequal to the future: "He would encounter memories like little pebbles in his shoes and he would have to stop and wearily bend down and retrieve the pebble and throw it away." Stuart believes Coco Santini, an island crime lord, to be responsible for the kidnapping and much of the other corruption that is part of the island's sub-culture. Lucy Wadham controls everything beautifully, giving the characters emotional resonance as the intricacies of the plot are worked through. It is a striking literary thriller, where the ache of love and loss and belonging are as important as the power play. --Eithne Farry --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Review

"'This excellent debut novel hints at the skill of past masters of the thriller genre such as Chandler and Leonard, both in its text and its texture.' The Times"

Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?


Customer Reviews

4 star
0
3 star
0
2 star
0
1 star
0
5.0 out of 5 stars
5.0 out of 5 stars
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Brilliant Holiday Novel 4 May 2003
By Atticus
Format:Paperback
The text of this book is bleached by the sun and encrusted with sand and sea water. And like any story of worth it is the contrasts that highlight the form of the narrative. We only know what we have when we have lost it, and the pure power of a parent's love for a child is most ably demonstrated when that child is gone. This book has been likened to Raymond Chandler and Elmore Leonard in it's style, but I don't think it really is ; it has a far more European feel to it and whilst it is dark and violent it does not have the nihilism of a dying empire to inspire it. I was thrilled by the tone the plot and the execution and highly recommend this - a good buy ; and good bye.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Lost in admiration! 8 Jan 2013
By Elodie
Format:Paperback
In any brief review there is always a tendency to simply regurgitate the plot which is a temptation I shall attempt to resist. Attractive widow Alice revisits her late husband's island of Corsica. Within a day her seven-year-old son Sam is kidnapped and the whole story revolves around the attempt to rescue him. Although it is set in sunny Corsica, this is a dark and brooding thriller with far more shadow than light. I have never been there but I do know that Corsica has more than its fair share of gangsters, terrorists, bandits and blood feuds and this novel brilliantly reflects that reality. There is a sad and half-expected twist at the end. Perhaps the best compliment I can pay the author is that if I hadn't spotted her name on the cover, I would really have thought that this taut, tense, rather macho thriller had been written by a man. There is no doubt whatsoever that Lucy Wadham is a born writer.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 3.5 out of 5 stars  2 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars intensity and grit... 22 Dec 2003
By JunkyardMessiah - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Paperback
Overall, LOST is a very compelling, dark thriller with real, intense characters and a few unique plot twists. The dialogue is for adults, very hard edge, and utterly lacking in quick quips. Reminiscent of COPLAND, LOST gets involved in the gritty realities of small town (or in this case small island) politics, filled with long-standing jealousies that the author does a wonderful job of illuminating. The structure is tight, though menace could be added to two of the villains in order to heighten tension.

The premise-- that a beautiful widow's child is kidnapped by thugs on a Mediterranean isle, and only a scarred police chief, who is already embroiled in a life long battle with the island mafia, can help her-is so well- conceived and executed that even the seeming cliches seem fresh and new. There are two protagonists, Stuart and Alice, and each are deeply flawed individuals who must overcome their personal demons to find Alice's son. The progression of their romantic relationship is subtle and believable though ultimately tragic. On the whole, a great read.

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars A Nuanced Thriller 7 Nov 2000
By douglas k ritter - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover
I was quite surprised that I was the first to review this title considering the favorable reviews it received in the mainstream press. (At least Ms. Wadham will have one review to read when she checks Amazon!) First, I enjoyed the book, although having grown up near Corsica, where this novel is set, adds a star to my review. The charcters are well drawn out, and the action well paced and realistic. The book is a subtle page turner that you will want to read in one sitting as it races to its conclusion. It details every parent's horror -- a child kidnapped by criminals -- in this case extremists. There is an earnest police detective and the usual assortment of village characters he deals with to solve the crime. But this isn't a detective novel. There are times when it's difficult to tell who in the book is "good or bad", but it doesn't detract from the tale. I was interested in the story because of the foreign locale and I wasn't disappointed.
Were these reviews helpful?   Let us know
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews

Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Discussion Replies Latest Post
Books that publicly embarrassed you 269 2 hours ago
Great Authors who are ignored probably because they haven't been on a reality show 56 3 hours ago
Come on - why don't we write our own book right here in the fiction forum ? I'll do the first sentence, and then jump in....hold on, here we go... 7126 5 hours ago
What are you reading now? 8064 5 hours ago
Authors - no self-promotion on this forum, please 7 9 hours ago
easy thrilling reads you just had to keep reading and couldn't put down. 75 10 hours ago
British Cosy Mysteries 101 2 days ago
Mystery/Thrillers with romantic subplots or sexual tension? 120 10 days ago
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   
Related forums


Listmania!


Look for similar items by category


Feedback


Amazon.co.uk Privacy Statement Amazon.co.uk Delivery Information Amazon.co.uk Returns & Exchanges