Cover Image: The Castaways

The Castaways

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Member Reviews

What a thrilling read.

The Castaways follows a duel perspective and timeline story of sisters Lori and Erin who were close until an argument meant Erin missed a flight to an island retreat. The plane is then lost without a trace with Lori onboard. We follow Erin as she never gives up hope even two years later, and Lori as she gets on the plane that fateful day.

From the start I was gripped. Clarke has a great way of building up tension and the short, sharp chapters make it very readable. It's believable and engrossing with well written characters and mystery. I loved it. I will certainly be checking out more of Clarke's novels when I get a chance to.

Thanks for the opportunity to read and review this great book.

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A gripping read and once started I couldn't put it down. Sisters Lori and Erin are on their way to a holiday of a lifetime in Fiji. On the night before the final leg to the island the sisters have a massive argument and Erin storms off. The next morning with a plane to catch, Erin does not show. Lori boards the jet alone. The plane crashes on an uninhabited tropical island. Erin spends two years wondering what has happened to her sister. As an investigative journalist, she steps up her search when the pilot is found alive and living under an alias. Told in past and present, the tension is palpable and the ending is one you won't see coming.

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Wow wow wow! I’ve enjoyed The Castaways more than any book for years!
It kept me awake at night, intrigued, scared, and wondering in what direction Lucy Clarke would take the story. She made it believable (in as much as it could be) and highly thrilling. A must read, and - to turn an over used phrase - completely unputdownable!

It is set around a tiny plane crash on a remote island in the middle of the ocean, a needle in a haystack of thousands of tiny uninhabited islands. It disappears from trace leaving its five survivors stranded. The story surrounds what happens and flicks back and forth to the run up to the fated flight, and modern day when the pilot suddenly turns up, but dying from a brain tumour. The race is on for one of the passengers sisters, who should have been on the flight with her sibling, to reach the truth behind what happened to the missing plane and its passengers.

Highly recommended read indeed. I’ve devoured Lucy Clarke’s books since her first, but love that fact that she’s gone back to her travel roots of her earlier novels. This was great, and up there with my personal favourite ‘The Blue’.

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

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I love Lucy Clarke's writing so I was excited to see she had a new book out.

I was pulled in right from the start - Clarke excels in drip-feeding information and building up a sense of impending doom. The main characters were beautifully fleshed out and the relationship between the sisters felt raw and realistic. I did guess the ending about 60% of the way through but that didn't stop me from turning the pages.

Highly recommended!

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Erin and Lois are two sisters going on a holiday of a lifetime, flying to remote Fijian islands. But on the last leg of the flight, Erin doesn't turn up and Lois goes ahead without her. The flight goes missing mid-air, never to be heard of again. This is the tale of Erin's desperate search for the truth about what happened to her sister and other passengers on the ill-fated flight.
I enjoyed reading it, but it was too long for me, I felt that quite a bit could have been trimmed out without affecting the storyline, there felt like a lot of padding and personally I prefer conversational writing to descriptive passages.
So I would give this 2.5 stars rounded up to 3.
Thanks o Netgalley for the chance to read it

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Sisters Lori and Erin were inseparable until an argument on the last night of their stay in Fiji led to Erin missing the plane to their next destination. When the plane is then lost without trace, Erin cannot just accept that her sister is gone and sets out to discover what happened.

From the start I was gripped by this story. The short and fast paced chapters kept me reading late into the night, and it never seemed to lose momentum. Lucy Clarke builds up the sense of threat and tension really well. The plot balances neatly between the mystery elements of what has happened to the plane and all the people on board, and the more emotional side - dealing with grief and loss, family relationships and more.

This is a really well crafted thriller and if you have not already been introduced to Lucy Clarke's excellent novels then this is a good place to start.

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This really was an excellent read - one of the best books I have read in a long time. I really couldn't put it down and was on tenterhooks as to what would happen next - quite stressful in places.

Will definitely look out for more by this author.

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Many thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for this arc. I quite liked Last Seen by Lucy Clarke - which was full of complex characters and had emotionally hitting plot twists - so I had high expectations for this. Unfortunately The Castaways was an okay book with nothing memorable for me 🤷🏻‍♀️
This follows two narratives:
* Now follows Erin, a 30-year old journalist grappling with guilt over her sister’s disappearance. Two years ago her sister got on a plane to Fiji which vanished. Erin feels guilt because she was supposed to have been there with her. Instead the two had a fight and Erin stood Lori up. Now when it’s been discovered that the pilot of the plane has been found in Asia, Erin gets the next flight to interview him and to finally find out what happened to her sister.
* Then follows Lori who gets on a plane, which crashes onto an isolated and secluded island. She’d booked the holiday as an attempt to get over her disastrous divorce, but finds herself alone with a baby and three men. How will they escape?
This had promise. It’s a great concept. Unfortunately in the Now not much happens, there is very little suspense and I just didn’t find myself caring for the characters. I was intrigued to see what the outcome would be and to see what Lori’s fate is so kept turning the pages. On the whole an okay read.

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3.5*

The book description here was right up my street and I have read previous titles that moved between characters and time periods and really enjoyed them (for example, Lucy Foley's brilliant work) so the recipe presented here would normally be one I was guaranteed to love. Furthermore, Lucy Clarke's writing is great and made for an enjoyable reading experience.

The setup itself was exciting: an excellent premise, a hot island location (vicarious travel is much appreciated right now!), interesting characters. The middle section of the book didn't keep the pace that the beginning and end did though, from my perspective. I always knew what the outcome was going to be because there would've been a huge anticlimax otherwise, so it felt like we were taking steps towards the inevitable, rather than it being the gripping thriller I had hoped for.

I would definitely read more by this author to see whether that next work might have me tightly gripped throughout.

Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins Publishing and the author for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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What a brilliant book! I loved it. I have read a few of Lucy Clarke's books and enjoyed them all but I couldn't put this book down.
A deserted island, fresh fish and fruit, spring water and sunshine, what's not to like? It sounds ideal, like a dream but dreams can quickly become nightmares. I loved the relationship between the two sisters, the way they felt about each other. It brought a lump to my throat. I can't recommend this book enough. Read it, it is amazing.
Thanks to NetGalley and the author for the opportunity to read this amazing book.

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A totally gripping story. The perfect holiday, perfect setting, gorgeous people ... but all Is not what it seems. No spoilers here, just an encouraging review which recommends you read this for yourself. You won’t be disappointed.

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I absolutely loved this book! so cleverly told from the now and then perspectives of the two sisters, one battling for answers about her sister disappearance on a doomed flight.
In both time perspectives the tension is palpable, it is impossible to know who to trust or what any of their motivations are and as the truth slowly unfolds in both time lines the emotions ramp ever higher for all of the characters.
From start to end a great read!

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I really enjoyed ‘Castaway’.

The tension in this book was fantastic. By about 60% of the way through I couldn’t stop reading. I had intended to get an early night but I just had to know what happened to Lori! This was a really tense and addictive book which I wholeheartedly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

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After an awful break up Lori decides to treat her and sister Erin to an island holiday on a Fiji island. The night before they catch the final flight to hop over to the island they have a fight and Erin misses the plane. The plane goes missing and the investigation has no leads.

Erin’s perspective balances grief and dogged determination to find her sister. The writing is perfect at catching sadness, guilt, desperation and a need for answers.

This is a great read, especially as it isn’t heavy on the emotion and is written in a very relatable manner.

I was provided this ARC by NetGalley in return for an honest review which I’ve given. Thank you for this great read.

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As Always Lucy Clarke creates a story full of characters that you get totally invested in and a plot that's full of twists, turns and holes to fill which she does expertly.

I really loved the story being told from different perspectives and the past/present representations gave it even more of a hunting experience.

Thanks so much for the advanced copy and the chance to review.

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An absorbing multiple character viewpoint novel about a sister's search for her sibling who is missing after a plane crash. The true personalities and secrets of each character are revealed at a good pace and the plot is interesting until the end. The ending is true to the characters and believable.

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This was a really gripping book that I got through in one day, staying up late to finish it. Told from two perspectives - Erin and her sister Lori - it tells the story of a flight that completely disappears with Lori and six others on board. Erin should have been on the flight, and has spent the past two years trying to figure out the puzzle while dealing with her own feelings of guilt.

The two narratives, which eventually meet, worked brilliantly well and I found myself hooked on the action as it unfolds. Some elements were a bit unbelievable, but overall I found this the perfect piece of escapism and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

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Excellent, unique read! So well written, tense, fast paced, and unputdownable! It was absolutely bone chilling at times, twisty as a pretzel, thrilling as a roller coaster, and gasp worthy shocking! Impeccable character development, original plot, but realistic, making it impossible not to become absorbed! I highly highly recommend! Just make sure you’re ready to read it all, by more starting at bedtime and clearing schedules!

Will buzz around it up on platforms and use low amazon reviewer number on release date!

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Lucy Foley meets Agatha Christie meets a tropical island in this astonishing thriller. Sun, sand, sea, it's what we're all craving at the minute. The Castaways is a delightful mix of paradise gone wrong, when strangers find themselves stranded on a deserted island.

I absolutely loved the blend of past and present narratives. told from the perspective of two sisters, it gave the plot real tension. I found myself praying that Erin would find Lori's video diaries and find the peace she so desperately needed, a truly gripping read.

Thanks to HarperFiction and NetGalley for the ARC, very excited for this book to be out in the world!

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Loved this book so much. Completely gripping, and I loved the story of the two sisters. I also thought the ending was perfect. Shared in my newsletter.

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