I finally took a break from the library and started to chip away at my tbr pile of purchased or gifted books. The pile has been staring at me for a while but I have a hard time ignoring the siren song of the library. This book was from the CBR10 holiday book exchange last year (thanks kfishgirl!). Only took me five months to get to it, right? In any event, I’m glad that I did.
After the untimely death of his wife, Anthony Peardew begins a desperate search for a gift that she had given him just before she died. Spurred on by this precious “lost thing”, Anthony’s search only turns up things that others have lost along the way. Spinning vivid tales about the objects and how they came to be where he found them, Anthony catalogs these treasures and lovingly squirrels them away in his office. When Anthony dies, he bequeaths his home and assorted belongings to his assistant Laura. However, this generous gift comes with a bit of a price: Laura must find out who the items belong to and return them. With only the day and place where the items were found to guide her, Laura struggles to honor her beloved former employer’s wishes.
Unwittingly enlisting Peardew’s gardener, Freddy, and Sunshine, the unusually perceptive girl next door, Laura sets out to track down the owners of all of the lost things. A little lost themselves, these three new Keepers begin to forge a bond with one another as they try to unravel the mystery of a lost button, a chipped cup or a single wayward glove.
The story of their search is also entwined with another taking place 40 years earlier at a small publishing company. Eunice is hopelessly in love with her unattainable employer, Boomer. After devoting both her personal and professional life to him, she also finds herself in search of a very precious lost thing.
It’s a lovely modern fairytale full of richly drawn, quirky characters, which I love. The plot is a bit twisty and I want to be careful of getting too spoilery. I did a little search to see if any other Cannonballers read it and found that my review starts almost exactly the same way as Caitlin_D’s from last June. It’s just that sort of kismit that fills this book.
Definitely worth the read and perfect to take along on a relaxing summer vacation.