The book was archived before our group could download it. We are sure that we would have enjoyed the book judging from the reviews it has received.

The Photographer of the Lost is a beautiful, moving novel about the search for closure in the aftermath of World War I.

Edie, whose husband Francis is missing in action, receives a mysterious photograph in the post. Through this simple object, hope blooms within her to find out what has happened to him. Francis’ brother Harry takes it upon himself to search the western front, fulfilling the last request of families with sons, brothers, and husbands lost in the war. By taking photographs of the gravesites, he hopes to uncover evidence of Francis and bring peace to those left behind.

What ensues is an epic journey full of emotion and suspense, as the story moves between Edie’s hope and Harry’s desperation to bring his brother home. At the core of it all lies a timeless, powerful love story about two people separated by war, but still determined to find each other.

Caroline Scott does an extraordinary job of bringing to life the despair, courage and resilience of a war-torn world. This is a must-read for anyone looking for an intimate and inspiring tale about loss and love.

This is very thought-provoking and not the story that you expect. I absolutely loved this book and would recommend it to anyone.

loved this book and learned a lot about WW2, Would recommend it tom anyone interested in history of WW2

This really didn't capture my attention and the pace felt off. That may be because I couldn't fully invest chunks of time to read it but I don't usually find that is a problem for me. If you can sit and read this for chunks of time then you may enjoy this a lot more.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘨𝘢𝘱𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘯, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴.

The Photographer of the Lost is the moving story of a soldier’s search for his missing brother. Harry Blythe is one of three young brothers who went off to war but sadly the only one who came home. He now spends his days in France, charged with searching out the graves of the lost and sending photos home to grieving families. He has mixed feelings about this job of his but hopes it will bring the families the closure they crave. While seeking out the graves he’s been asked to find, he’s also trying to locate the final resting place of his missing brother to help his widow move on.
Edie, our second narrator, has just received a photograph in the post that makes her question everything she thought was true. She was told her husband was missing in action but can it be that Francis isn’t actually dead? She embarks on her own journey to France to join the search for him but does she truly want to find him? And what will it mean for she and Harry if/when she does?


I’d been waiting for the right time to read The Photographer of the Lost and thought early November seemed most appropriate. I’ll admit I did find it hard to get into at first - war fiction can be a bit like that and the audio version was a little jarring for me - but once I started to read the physical copy I quickly became invested in the characters. Harry, Edie and pretty much everyone they encounter are likeable, so I was rooting for them to find closure and hopefully move on with their lives.

As a History teacher and former A-Level English Lit student I’ve read my fair share of First World War based fiction and wasn’t sure what to expect from this book. Thankfully though having now read it I’d rate it quite highly as I think it gives a fresh perspective. Most books in this genre tend to focus solely on either the fighting experience at the front or the post-war therapy of shell-shocked soldiers but this was different in its scope. As well as hearing about the soldiers’ experience via Harry’s narrative we also get to see the way in which the war affected the families of soldiers through Edie’s chapters. I feel like the lives of those left behind (during and after) is a much neglected aspect in war in fiction and it was very thought-provoking here. Scott does a good job of encompassing how far-reaching the physical effects of the war were, not just on the soldiers but on civilians and on the French landscape too. The descriptions of the ruined villages and towns the protagonists travel through are so evocative and you can really picture the scene in all it’s awful glory. Reading this really brings it home how insane it is that ‘the war to end all wars’ didn’t end up being that at all, even with all of that terrible loss and destruction.

As for the plot, once you get into the story it will keep you hooked. I was kept guessing at how it would turn out until the end which is the a mark of a good book for me. There’s only one part that confused me a little which is why I’ve only given this four stars - I’ve written a question about it above and would love to hear what others thought! But apart from that I really enjoyed it - as much as you can enjoy a piece of war fiction that is - and was happy with the conclusion. There are descriptive passages in this that will make fantastic sources in History lessons and I would definitely use it in my own classroom. Like most war fiction it’s a story that will make you sad, but it’s worth it as it’ll also open your eyes and really make you think - how can we still have had wars after all of this? All that loss and for what?

Overall it’s so detailed, incredibly cinematic, and you can really feel the great sense of loss shared by all the characters we meet. It’s a very sad, moving and thought- provoking book, and one that I certainly won’t forget quickly. If you’re looking for a good story that’ll also make you think about our history I’d definitely recommend it. And if you’re going to be reading anything around Armistice Day this should be in your list!

this was the first novel I have read by this author and I thoroughly enjoyed it .
I found the writing style excellent and the storyline beautiful and compelling to read .
This is perfect for fans of the WW1 era and is based in 1921. Caroline perfectly. enraptures what we all think we know about the times in the trenches and follows the trauma of Francis's family who have been told he is missing, believed dead. The emotions and Hope you read through he words are moving and gripping.
I couldn't put it down .
Believe in the hype and get a copy.
thanks to #netgalley for the advance copy in return for an honest review

2.5/5

I have DNF'd this book twice, so the fact that I actually managed to finish it this third time is truly a major feat. This wasn't necessarily a bad book, I just don't think it was paced very well. There are at least 5 different timelines and every single one blends into the other. It's truly a confusing read. I did enjoy reading the relationships that each character built on their respective journeys (i.e. Harry with Rachel and Gabriel; Edie with Louisa). I didn't, however, enjoy the entire concept of Harry and Edie's flirtations being 'just banter between in-laws'.

I spent most of this book confused and struggling to connect with any of the characters due to what I perceived as a very surface level story with no sense of emotional depth. The only moments where I truly felt any emotion happened around 90% and on the very last line of the book. For a book that handles such an emotional topic, this didn't quite work. I will say that the book handles grief and PTSD quite well and that comes across amazingly in the characters' internal monologues.

I didn't particularly feel as though this book brought anything new to the table. You knew exactly what was going to happen right from the start and I think Caroline Scott tries to make this a sweeping, emotional story about love during war and it just doesn't come across as sweeping because it's predictable as hell with no possible chance of the ending ever being any different. You really did want to slap the characters up the head sometimes and knock some sense into them. Also, this book is marketed as a romance when it so clearly is not. There is absolutely no romance whatsoever.

Anyway... I did not love this book, but I'm glad I did give it a chance in the end.

Content warnings: graphic war descriptions, PTSD, grief, suicide.

Thank you to Netgalley, Caroline Scott and Simon & Schuster UK for providing me with an e-copy in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

I have to DNF this book. It didn’t steal away my attention or heart- the characters were separate and the author’s decision to write in the soldiers point of view was something I couldn’t engage with.

The Photographer of the Lost by Caroline Scott isn't my usual read, but in need of some romance I picked it up and wasn't disappointed.
This is a beautifully written love story with mystery and just enough heart ache to balance it all out. The characters are so believable in their creation that you search, hope and love right alone with them. Your emotions are so tied up in their fate that it is hard to put down.
I would highly recommend this book. Grab this book for a weekend read with a glass or two of wine and a whole bunch of tissues.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read and review.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Simon and Schuster UK, and the author Caroline Scott.
This was undoubtedly a very emotional book, completely heartbreaking at times, but it was an effort to read, and progress was slow. I found it hard work, but given the subject matter, maybe that was the point.
The author has clearly done a lot of research around WW1 and the after effects of PTSD on the survivors, but maybe at the expense of the development of the characters. They just weren’t engaging enough to make this book un-put-downable. 3 stars.

A very thought provoking read, giving beautiful descriptions of a country ravaged by war and what was left behind after the war was over. It really made me think how hard it was for people after the war who had to live with what they had been through without all the help that is available today. Plus the uncertainty for the families who had been left behind, not knowing what had happened to their loved one who had fought in the war.

I thought this was a fantastic novel and I 'gobbled' it up in one reading. Set just after World War One, everyone is reeling from the horror of the war and the appalling death on the western front. Everyone with missing loved ones is searching for any word of them Perhaps they are not dead. perhaps they are injured and unable to say who they are lying in a hospital somewhere. Perhaps they have lost their memory and don't know who they are.... So Harry, grieving for his lost brother too, hires himself out to families trying to find those lost, all the while looking for signs of Harry. Edie had been told her darling husband had been killed but then a photo arrived in the post and now she is not sure. Is it possible to love again - Edie and Harry are on a path.

I absolutely loved this book and have recommended it to my friends. We all hear about WW1 and the battles but we don't hear about after the war, What about the people who did not come back, what about the war graves. Some soldiers who didn't come back, they weren't confirmed as dead just missing. How can families grieve if they don't have a grave to mourn over,

This is the story of 3 brothers who went to war and what happened after the war had ended. One brother had a wife, Edie, who had a multitude of questions that no one could answer. One brother survived, but he felt he couldn't go home, he lived with survivor guilt. He made it his job to photograph the graves of the dead so the families at least knew where their loved one had their final resting place. None of the bodies of the average soldier were brought back to England to be repatriated.

This book is recommended with 5 stars.

It was very moving, I enjoyed it greatly. Although one thing that did annoy me is I felt the writer had never actually taken a photo using any of these old cameras that her photographer would have use.

Interesting subject and idea, but I don't think it lived up to it's potential. Cute, but not really ground-breaking. Boring in parts. Probably wouldn't have finished it if I weren't reading it for a review.

I read this last year, I don’t know why it has taken me so long to post this review. I can only put it down to other factors which were going in my world at the time, but this has been languishing neglected in my drafts box all this time. Even though all this time has passed as I am reading through my notes I made for this review then, and as I get it ready to post, I am still feeling that underlining sense that I will never read another book that affected me in such a way as this one did. Even now I have the clearest image of the characters and the story in my mind and in my heart and I still feel the tingles that I felt as I read this heart-breaking book the first time last year.
Anyone who follows me and those close to me will know how much I am fascinated and drawn to this era, how much this subject is so close to my heart. Which was why I found this book to review on Netgalley I just had to read it, which I did in one go. It really spoke to me, it got under my skin and buried itself into my heart and got to me on a level that no other book – especially those set during or after the great war – have before. It is isn’t just amazing, I say that far too many times as it is, no this book is very special, it’s a remarkable look at an aspect of history that is so fraught with loss and sadness.
This book has made me into an emotional wreck, I have never read anything as exquisitely heart-breaking, and I doubt I ever will again. This era and the stories of those who lived through it and those who never returned home are very close to my heart, even more so once I learned all about my own ancestors and what they did during the war, and how much they lost. So these type of books always impact on me, but this….this broke me!
My heart broke time and time again, I never genuinely cry over a book, but this literally reduced me to tears, by the end I was a red-eyed, snivelling, broken watering can with tingles up my spine at just how breath-taking this is.
We all know the stories of those brave incredibly young men who went off to war, how they had to not only survive in the those dark, dank and exhausting trenches, only to hear that whistle which tells them to grab that tack and go over the top to cross no man’s land and to face the worst horror that a young man can ever face. Something which was the last thing some of those poor brave boys ever saw. But this book tells a different story connected to the one we know and it’s as compelling and heart-breaking and it also allows the reader to be drawn in and maybe see the war through another set of eyes, those eyes of a loved one who hopes and dreads all at the same time.
The year is 1921, this is the time when the Red Cross and other charities were starting to trace the war dead and the try to reunite prisoners of war with loved ones, this is the year that most of the survivors were being de-mobbed and started to make their way home, and trying to pick up their lives again. Families are trying to reconnect with their loved ones and then there are those whose menfolk haven’t come home yet, or at all. Such as Edie whose husband; Francis is yet to return from the front, he is said to be missing in action but when Edie receives a photograph which has been taken by her husband, she doesn’t understand the meaning of it or why she has been sent this mysterious photograph but a glimmer of hope bursts within her and she starts her search.
Francis’ brother; Harry was also a soldier at the front, he is destroyed by the thought the last things he and brother said to each other weren’t the most loving. He hopes that his brother is still alive which is one of the reasons he returns to France, as well being hired to take photographs and document the war graves for the families. Which is where Harry and Edie’s path cross as they both search desperately for the man they both love.
I hands down can not thank Caroline enough for putting pen to paper and writing this truly stunning book, I have some idea of the long hours and tireless research Caroline obviously put into writing this, I know first hand that once you begin down the research path of WW1 you become fully immersed and you put so much of your heart into the story which you want to tell. It’s obvious that Caroline has a real passion for this era and its history and the stories, her passion, sensitivity and respect for those she is writing about comes through with every turn of the page.
I completely loved it!!
This is a beautiful and poignant, long-lasting nod to all those who never returned home and to all those families who never knew what happened to their loved ones. Francis, Edie and Harry each one of them stole a part of my heart, I was in tears for all three of them and for all those just like them.
The Photographer of the Lost will go down in history as one of the greats of our time, I just know it! It is a beautifully haunting, heart-breaking, compassionate, memorable and stunning book, one that every single person should read, no matter what genre you usually read, do try this. I can guarantee even though most hardened of heart will get a lump in the throat while reading, it really is stunning!!

Beautifully written characters that come alive.Emotional heart wrenching moving.A book that Inread late into the night sorry to read the last page,#netgalley#simonschusteruk

I loved this book. You can’t read a book such as this and not think about the people who suffered in these situations in real life. My great grandfather went missing in 1915 and it made me wonder how my great grandmother would have felt, although she had a young family to look after so wasn’t in any position to go looking for him. It’s not just the photographer of the title who is lost; many other characters are ‘lost’ in their own way, and the book does make you think how many of these young men must have coped afterwards, with family expecting them to come home and just pick up where they had left off before joining up and dealing with the horrors of war.

All the best novels, particularly those based in a certain period of history, make you want to read further into the reality behind the story, and this book is no exception. I hadn’t been aware that Michelin produced guides to the battlefields and that battlefield tours were available within two years of the end of war. For me this wasn’t just a novel - but the start of a journey into the background of the time period; the war grave photographers and the search for the missing men. I thoroughly recommend it.

What a lovely, gentle, well written and absorbing book. I loved the idea of the three brothers - different but so similar. Their ‘friend’ who it would seem loved them all. I really liked the sub plots going on around the main story and although predictable the ending was satisfying. Do have a read!!