The Lamplighters
by Emma Stonex

Well this was an exceptional and extraordinary book written about along the lines a true story of the three vanishing lighthouse keepers in the 1900. The story is set on a duel timeline between 1972 and 1992 from the point of view of the men and the people they left behind-wives/girlfriend also how it affects their lives during the time and afterwards. A gripping tale of what may have happened the love grief and mysteries that lie beneath the difference a mysterious gripping page turner not my usual read but compelling and some was hat scary read.

I really enjoyed this book. It was a good historical mystery
Its tense and so atmospheric
It’s told from multiple perspectives
A very quick read

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.. Unfortunately i DNF this.

Stonex sets the scene well and gives us a lot of vibes, and the result is a solid eerie gothic -- a little baggy at times, but evocative and sharp. I look forward to more from her.

a well written intriguing story. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review.

Part history, part truth, wonderfully written, why did I wait so long to read this. Highly recommended and 5 stars without a doubt

⭐⭐⭐

In the 1970s, three lighthouse keepers disappeared without a trace from a lighthouse in Cornwall. A tower, where the only way on or off is reliant on a boat and the whim of the weather and the ocean. This book is not that story but it does serve as inspiration.

There was bravery and risk for #EmmaStonex to take on a challenge like this but for me, and here I'm in the minority, it doesn't work. The characters are all hateful, and filled with spite. They all read as caricatures of Brits at their most base stereotypes. Always maudlin. Always complaining. It made for dry, tedious reading. Full disclosure, I decided to stop reading at 60%.

The writing itself is interesting and sparse but in saying that, Stonex makes the reader work harder than they need to. Had I not read another book set in a lighthouse earlier this month, I'd not have had a clue what some of her oblique references were about.

#TheLamplighters seems a popular title going by #Goodreads but I couldn't recommend it to anyone.

Thanks to @panmacmillan and @netgalley for the free e-ARC in return for an unbiased review.

I really enjoyed this book and found the mystery extremely compelling up until the 70% mark. It was at that point that I discovered that it was centred around an incident involving the death of a child who was the same age as my own son.
I have an issue where I faint when I read or hear about things which relate to my darkest fears. I got really dizzy and although I did read to the end, being honest I wasn't able to follow the book any more. Any review that I would write would have to mention the fact that due to the child loss element, I didn't really 'get' the final section. And that would be terribly spoilerific. So I apologise - I have been wrestling with this review for some time. It's a terrific book. But not for parents of young children who are of a sensitive disposition.

This was intriguing and compelling and I really enjoyed it. I liked the writing style and the plot and thought it was a great read all round

A great read by a very good writer. Hugely enjoyable and loved the mystery. Very good sense of time and place. Evocative. Also, fantastic cover!

A true historical event as yet unsolved. This was one of the most intriguing stories I’ve read, it was truly compelling and I was hooked from the start. In 1972 three light keepers went missing with no clue as to what happened to them. In 1992 an author arrives to try and solve the mystery disappearances. A little slow at times but still engrossing. Thank you to Net Galley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly I just couldn’t get it into this book, so it was a DNF for me at around 27%.
Not every book is for everyone and unfortunately this one just wasn’t for me.

I was eager to read this after finding out it was bought about by a real life mystery. I was mesmerised from the start and enjoyed trying to piece it together throughout to try and guess the outcome of the story!

A very informative story that was interesting to know was based on a true story. A bit slow paced but good characters.

When I saw that this fiction book was based on true events I instantly wanted to know more. Three lighthouse keepers disappear without trace one day and the community is shocked to the core. This wonderfully crafted story delves into the impact the missing men have on those left behind and the secrets unearthed make you wonder if all is what not what it seemed on the Maiden.

An atmospheric, twisting story told over a split timeline of before the men go missing and the years after the event as a reporter looks to investigate the mystery. I thought the sense of place was compelling, the brooding seas and skies and the enforced distance between the families while the men were on the rock were a great plot device to show the tension between the groups.

I found the female characters harder to distinguish between, even though they were on paper very different and I enjoyed the twists offered up to the reader as the story unfolded. A poignant story.

Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this ARC

I was so excited to read this book and have since recommended it to everyone in both PB and HB format!

A story I heard as a girl whilst on a holiday in Scotland brought to life. Thankyou so much for this story!!

This book was great from the start. As a Cornish girl myself, everything felt genuine and immersive. Its historical scenery and narrative felt ernest and reflects a real, heartbreaking history of Cornish life, where the seas are simultaneously givers of livelihoods and snatchers of it, too. Its supernatural and suspenseful. A great read.

I was intrigued by the premise of this, the apparent twist on a locked room mystery. And to start with, it did keep me reading quickly... until I got distracted by the jumping of POV, and the chapters where the wives were talking to the writer as if it were a transcription of what they said. And once it started in on the affair... I started to wane. There was promise, but it didn’t quite deliver for me. What was with Vinny’s past? What was the White Rook? Did anyone else actually turn up or not? Why did [won’t say their name] act as they did at the end, what was with all the past memories of [other name]? Ultimately I found myself speed reading the last 20%, to be finished with it. It had promise, but sadly didn’t deliver for me.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

What a brilliant book! I went into this not knowing much about the book, and what a pleasant surprise it was and held so much more than I was expecting.

If it written brilliantly, almost interview like and I found that really helped you connect with the different characters. The suspense this creates too is amazing and I found myself wanting to devour this book and see what actually happened.

As well as the mystery, this book for me was quite educational as I learnt a lot about life as a lighthouse keeper and what was involved. I have great admiration for the men who did this as it really must have been a dark and isolating job at times.

Emma Stonex does an amazing job of telling the story of these lighthouse keepers and the impact their jobs have in themselves and their loved ones around them.

The Lamplighters is a locked room (lighthouse!) mystery, which had me gripped up to the last page. How could three men go missing from a tower lighthouse, with no way off back to land. There’s no boat, no-one visited them - and what’s more, the lighthouse is locked from the inside when the investigation team arrive.

This is a mystery that affects their wives and partners even 20 years later. A writer contacts the three women and asks them to cooperate with him as he writes a book about the mystery. It seems that all three women held back secrets during the original investigation - but will the uncovering of these secrets make any difference?

The Lamplighters is told in flashbacks, alternating between the present day with the women, and the lead up to the disappearance with the men in the lighthouse. The lighthouse chapters in particular are seriously atmospheric, threatening, even. I had so many ideas as to what could have happened, my opinion changing constantly as more information was revealed. I didn’t guess the actual ending though, even after I’d described the basic storyline of the book to my husband, and he got it in one (note to self: do not discuss mystery books with the husband, AKA “Dr” Poirot…)

Highly recommended.