The Lost [Mass Market Paperback]

This isn't your typical whodunit; the book starts off with a double murder committed by three teenage friends. They commit the murders because they want to see what it feels like to kill people. The rest of the story is a flash forward four years into the future. One of the teens, who evades capture by local police, is living the high life as a local drug dealer while living and working at a motel run by his parents. Despite (or perhaps because of) his vanity, his cruelty, and his sociopathic tendencies, he is able to gather around him a motley assortment of losers who follow his every order and whim.

Since we know who did the crime right from the start, we're left wondering where Ketchum is going to take us. There is no need to worry about that. Ketchum populates his novel with more than enough intriguing characters. Two of the most important characters are the cops who investigated the original killings, and who are still attempting to pin the murders on the teens. One of the cops, Ed Anderson, who retired after the killings, comes to see that he has a personal stake in catching the killers. The other cop is Charlie Schilling, who delights in harassing the suspects in an effort to get a confession.

The ringleader of the three killers is a fictional representation of real life murderer Charles Schmid. Schmid killed several women in Arizona during the 1960's. Even a cursory comparison shows that Ketchum borrowed heavily from the Schmid case in order to create his killer. Schmid excelled at gymnastics during high school, wore makeup, stuffed his boots with paper to make himself look taller, told outrageous stories to attract followers, and even walked with an unusual gait. Ketchum's killer shares every one of these traits.

This book reminded me of Ketchum's "Joyride," but this book is developed better and is more fun to read. One reason is length; Ketchum gives himself 400 pages to draw deeper characters and better atmosphere. Everyone comes across as authentic, from the teenage killers to the young ladies who may end up as victims.

What doesn't work as well here is the time frame. The book takes place in the late 1960's, but Ketchum gives only a few references to that effect. He does throw in a few references to the moon landing and the Manson murders, but there were many times that I forgot the time frame of the story. Ultimately, I think the story would have worked just as well if it had been set in modern times.

"The Lost" is one of Ketchum's better novels. I really had no idea how the story was going to end while I read the book. You do know that there is going to be some type of gruesome scenario (it is Ketchum, after all), but he hides it so well that the ending surprised me. This is a good read for those who like suspenseful books, as well as those who don't get enough Jack Ketchum in their diets.

A melee of characters in 1969 are trying to cope with something horrible that happened five years ago; the cold-blooded murder of two young female campers. You have the murderer, Ray, his two accomplices, Jen and Tim, some of their friends, the cop on the case, Charlie, and a retired cop who helped Charlie with the case five years ago, Ed. All their lives are about to crumble together as the horrors of the past event resurface to haunt them once more. Ketchum has no remorse for any of these characters; he shows to us that no one, no matter how good, is safe from a twisted mind.

Ketchum is at his affecting best with this book. His prose grabs you by the guts and never intends to let go of you until the final page. The regular Ketchum reader will recognize all the trademarks that made this author such a cult phenomenon. But new readers beware; this tale is more slow moving and nostalgic than his other books (a lot of the book was obviously inspired by old 60s music, rock icons and films). Still, with its bloody finally and believable characters, The Lost is Ketchum's best in years, and that's saying a lot!