I thought this was a stand alone novel and it is and it isn’t … from what I saw on a Goodreads review, Durst actually wrote this as a trilogy and the follow up novels are even written but due to some corporate acquisitions and mergers, the new publisher chose not to proceed with the series. Fortunately, I feel like it ends less on a cliff hanger as much as an ambiguous ending in that lets you assume what happens next.
As a fan of Lost and someone that quite enjoyed season 1 of From (I don’t want to pay for yet another channel for seasons 2 and 3), of course I’m going to pick up a novel about a mysterious town that people can’t leave/get stranded in. This one came out in 2014, before From, but the idea is definitely not unique to the 2 shows I mentioned. This one is much more fantasy based than either of those as well. Also, as a lover of the Toby Day series, of course I am going to love something that is the collection point for lost things since the various courts of the cats are also a gathering ground for lost things.
The main character, Lauren Chase, can’t face a conversation she knows she will have to have that evening with her mother about her mom’s cancer diagnosis. Rather than going through her day as normal, she just drives and drives and drives, until she ends up in Lost. It’s super weird, she doesn’t really understand what is going on until the next day when she just can’t leave, ending up back in Lost over and over. While Lauren would describe herself as ordinary, her arrival triggers a major change in the town: when she meets the Missing Man who is the guide and mentor to newcomers, he leaves the town, refusing to help her and neglecting his duties to everyone else.
This immediately makes Lauren an outcast in the community but she gains an odd assortment of allies- Claire, a young girl, and Peter, the Finder, himself an outcast because of his misunderstood role. To find her way out of Lost, Laura first needs to realize what she lost and find it though as she adjusts to her new surroundings, she also finds the beauty in lost things.
As I said, I do think this works as a stand alone novel though I am curious how the story would have gone if the follow on novels had been published. Sarah Beth Durst is another one of those authors that has slowly just become one of those good fall backs when I am not sure what else to read – she is always reliably good, and is very good at creating real emotions and connections, and she has a rather varied catalogue – yes, it’s all been fantasy but very different kinds of fantasy. I would also very much recommend Race the Sands as a good stand alone novel from her.