As bleak and dour as the shack in Carnsore to which Lindy and Aunt Bell have been exiled by the cruel Granda Morris, The Saint of Lost Things is a meditation on the depths of dysfunction, generational trauma, and secret keeping that haunt families left to their own devices. The book, though set in contemporary Northern Ireland, feels out of time - the story could just as well have happened at nearly any point in the last 200 years. I would issue a content warning for self harm, suicidal ideation, and domestic violence. Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for access to this digital ARC.

Unfortunately this one wasn't for me as I struggled to get it to it. I thank the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity of the advanced copy.

i loved tish delaney's first book and this had the same slow-burn, quiet, intense feel to it, surrounding a family ireland caught up in their past. it hurt my heart a lot but i cared for them and couldn't stop reading

Lindy Morris lives in Donegal with her Auntie Bell. Lindy's mother disappeared when she was young, and although Lindy had a brief spell in London trying to chase her dreams, she's now back living with Bell and trying to avoid Granda Morris, who, to put it frankly, hates women, after having twin daughters instead of the sons he always wanted. But one day, Lindy has some unexpected contact from her past which has the potential to put her in Granda's good books. Is this her chance to finally build her relationship with him?

The Saint of Lost Things is Tish Delaney's second offering; her debut, Before My Actual Heart Breaks was a bookstagram favourite, and fans of her debut are sure to enjoy The Saint of Lost Things too. A gloomy storyline with nuanced, troubled characters, Delaney certainly has a formula, and that formula certainly works. 

My only gripe was that it was perhaps slightly too long, and in spite of the length the ending seemed somewhat rushed. Overall, though, I really enjoyed the time I spent with these characters, and this book proves that Delaney will (hopefully) be sticking around as an author for a while longer. Bring on the next set of troubled characters!

Set during the time of the troubles in Northern Ireland. Written about a unloving cold and complicated family,

I struggled to get into this book. But once the storylines began to unravel I was hooked.

Thank you to Random House UK, Cornerstone, Hutchinson Heinemann via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of The Saint of Lost Things by Tish Delaney for review. All opinions expressed in this
review are entirely my own personal opinions.
Exquisitely written, this novel is beautiful, sad and bleak; tales of hopes dashed and crushed, but with perhaps a little redemption in the end. The characterisation is superb. I have no doubt that Tish Delaney is a writer of unmatched talent although this book a bit too long, and would’ve been more impactful if it were shorter.
But it was still a superb book that I will likely revisit in the future.

Lindy Morris lives with her Auntie Bell on the edge of Donegal, in a bungalow on Granda Morris's land, although she did once escape to London and lived a full and exciting life. For a while.
Granda Morris is a complicated man, a farmer who wanted sons but got two daughters -Auntie Bell and Lindy's mother, Babs, who disappeared long ago.
Now, Lindy and Bell live the smallest of lives, in a bungalow filled with unfulfilled dreams.
But when secrets that have been kept for thirty years emerge, the family’s past, and future, is rewritten…

This was my first ever Tish Delanay novel, and it absolutely blew my socks off.
It is written with real insight and understanding, and Delaney has created characters with such a depth of realisation that they shine and glitter in their vividness and humanity - these aren’t cliched cyphers, these are living, breathing, flawed individuals, with frailties and traits that you love and have real compassion for, sitting side by side with many that you don’t.

The psychology in the development of these characters is immense and complex: an aunt and niece who share a mutual interconnectedness, irritation, resentment and antagonism, forced to live cheek by jowl in Granda Morris’ jerry-built bungalow, and jostling daily for the upper hand in the balance of power within their complicated relationship.

The prose of the novel is lyrical and evocative, and it can turn on a sixpence, making you laugh out loud one minute and gasp with shock or sadness the next. Lindy’s first-person narrative just reels you in with its immediacy and intensity, its meandering almost stream of consciousness style, and her wonderfully dry and acerbic wit and observations.

This is matched by the level of observation, making you think that here is a writer who loves to people watch - the Saturday morning tea and cake catch-ups are so well observed and drawn that you feel that you are sat at the same table and itching with discomfort.

TSOLT will make you laugh and will make you cry; it will shock and surprise you; you will run the full gamut of emotions before you get to the wondrous, oh so satisfying ending; and it will definitely live on in your head once you have finished it.

This is one the best books I have read this year - I cannot wait to read Tish Dalaney’s first novel, Before My Actual Heart Breaks, and I will be looking out any future offerings with great eagerness. Do yourself a favour and read this novel immediately!

I was so delighted to get a copy of the book, I loved Tish Delaney's first novel Before My Actual Heart Breaks, unfortunately I just couldn't get into this novel, there was something lacking, I struggled to determine the tone of the novel.

I would love to come back and give this novel another shot in a few months time, make sure it wasn't me, but this just doesn't feel as polished as her last novel, maybe there was a rush to get it out and capitalised on the magnificent novel that was Before My Actual Heart Breaks.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book. I have chosen to write this honest review voluntarily and it reflects my personal opinion.
I read 50% of this book which describes the sad life of Lindy and her family. I believe this book presents an accurate picture of life in a small Irish village during the 1970s when Lindy was young. I was a qualified nurse in the 1980s and I believe the picture of nursing delivered in Lindy's hospital is inaccurate (from wearing large earrings on duty to swaddling an aggressive patient for hours at a time, and locking the nurses' home door at midnight). I didn't like the language used or the political inferences in this book.
The author has conveyed the feelings and suffering of the characters very well but I thought the story crawled along until I couldn't bring myself to read any more through lack of interest.

Emotional and sensitive, a great read.

Thanks so much to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

The saint of lost things
A great story. Set in Northern Ireland during the troubles, this book is amazing. It tells the story of a young girl, Lindy who was unfortunate enough to be born out of wedlock. She is the result of a relationship her mother had with a local gypsy. As if that wasn’t trouble enough she had the misfortune of being female. Her grandfather the misogynistic evil Granda Morris has no time for women and feels hard done by because he’s got no male progeny. So strong are his feelings on this that he builds a separate home on the very edge of his farmland for the women in his family to live. Following the death of her mother, this is where Lindy lives, with her mothers twin sister, Belle for company.
As soon as she is old enough Lindy heads for the bright lights of London where she starts work as a trainee nurse. It’s here she starts to live and enjoy her life but it’s not long before circumstances dictate that she must return to Donegal.
This is quite a dark story but the author manages to let the some light shine through and there are some genuinely touching moments here. I loved this book and would not hesitate to give it 5⭐️

Many thanks to #NetGalley and publishers Random House UK. Cornerstone for my Advanced copy of this book.

I started this book expecting to love it but, unfortunately it just didn’t do it for me. Perhaps I just chose the wrong book on this occasion.

Not for me.

I hate it when I choose a book and discover that the blurb gives an outstanding view of what the book is going to be and then start reading and just know within the few pages that it’s not going to be to my taste.

I’m glad to see on NetGalley that I’m in the minority. Lots of reviewers loved the writing and I apologise if my tastes differ so much from others.

Elite Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Tish Delaney's Northern Ireland is a harsh place. The weather is cold and wet, relationships are cold and unloving, lives are sad and underlived, and gossip and judgement are the order of the day. The greatest sin is to be an unwed mother.

I loved her first book 'Before My Actual Heart Breaks' so much that I instantly snapped up her second, The Saint of Lost Things. It has many of the same themes as the first, but follows an older woman whose life has held very few pleasures. Lindy is the illegitimate daughter of a farmer's daughter and a gypsy. To her Granda, a violent, bitter old man, the only thing worse than being a girl is having gypsy blood. When Lindy's mother dies, she's given over to the care of her mother's twin sister, Bell; a woman whose life has been one long series of disappointments.

Locals think Lindy's a bit simple. I'm not sure whether it's true or not. Brought up in an environment of hatred and prejudice, I'm not sure any of us would come out 'normal' - whatever that might mean. She lives a very small life with Aunt Bell - one that has far more frustration than pleasure. It wasn't always so. Back in her teens, Lindy got a passport (a British one - now that also REALLY upset Granda) and went to work in London in a hospital for people with severe mental health problems. Outside work, she discovered bars and drinks and fun but it didn't last for long.

The book feels as long as a cold night on the sofa with Aunt Bell watching talent shows, as long as a wet Ulster afternoon, as cold as the judgement of several generations of gossips. I can understand that many people will be put off and might not stay the course. I urge you to stick with it. I hope you'll find it's worth it.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for my copy. I loved it. I knew that I would.

The Saint of Lost Things by Tish Delaney is a novel about the dynamics of family dysfunction, loss and redemption.

Bleak, atmospheric and compelling. The Saint of Lost Things is a powerful exploration of flawed female characters, and of familial ties and troubles. Some fantastic twists, too. I'm excited to see what Tish Delaney does next.

So this start off a little slow. None of the characters were particularly nice and really felt for the MC. I sort of understood why she was struggling with her MH after being introduced to her family and aunt's friends.

This book touches on the very real feelings of what it's like to feel like a burden and not wanted, but also to want to understand where you come from and who your parents are.

It's quite a deep and emotional book but if you can get through the first 50+ pages you'll see what a gem this book can be

The Saint of Lost Things.

So grateful to have had access to this recent released on NetGalley, thanks @penguinrandomhouse 🫶🏼.

This is one for my character driven fiction fans. At first I struggled connecting with Lindy but as the story developed, I began to understand how and why she came to be who she was. Lindy quickly worked her way into my heart in the same way that Eleanor Oliphant or Meredith Maggs have before. There was a deeper darkness to this tale, though.

This is a story of family set in Northern Ireland that takes place across the mid to late 90s. It’s a story of identity, neglect, abuse, loss, friendship, mental illness, motherhood and small town mentality. So, cheery!!! If you’re a sad girl book lover, give this one a go. The trigger warnings tell you all you really need to know (and I’ve probably missed a few tbh). It jumps back and forth in time and is told exclusively from Lindy’s point of view.

I got to a point where I couldn’t put this down and really felt invested. I wanted to grab Lindy (and Bell) and run as fast and far as I could. I laughed wickedly at the ending and felt so satisfied I wished this had been a buddy/group read so I could text everyone and be all like “how satisfying was THAT ending?!”. A slow starter for me that quickly became a page turner (weird how that happens sometimes, isn’t it?).

I loved that use of local dialect throughout, especially since so much of it is similar or the same as Scots. It brings the story to life for me if I can really picture the setting/hear the dialogue. Also, Delaney’s writing was so beautifully descriptive and poetic I could really visualise this like a movie in my head which I adore in a book.

Big fan. Now I need to read Before My Actual Heart Breaks to satisfy my need for more of Delaney’s writing. I have a lot of time for someone who can write a dark story (think along the lines of a slightly more mellow Betty) and pepper it with humour. A five star read for me.

'I had dreams once, but never for anything as extravagant as happiness'....I have just spent about four days with Lindy. Lindy lives in Tyrone, in a small claustrophobic, isolated bungalow with her Aunt Bell. Both are living a miserable existence. Lindy hates herself, she hates the fact that her existence brings shame onto the family, she hates the fact that het Mother left her decades earlier. Bell is bitter that she has lost decades of her life raising her neice, 'the wrong child''. Both live in fear of Granda Morriss....a violent, misogynistic, cruel man.
Set to the back drop of sectarian violence, domestic abuse, child abuse, and mental I'll health, this book fills the air with sadness, the misery and despair is tangible, along with the human need to belong. An excellent read

The Saint of Lost Things is a brutally honest and complex family saga exploring family dynamics, societal stigmas and shame during a turbulent historical background. It is full of secrets and explores the consequences that come from both concealing and revealing personal and family secrets.

Our main character, Lindy, is deeply troubled. She endures tremendous heartache from a young age and abuse from so many people in her life. I felt deeply sympathetic towards her and her harrowing attempts to escape her troubles.

I also had conflicting feelings about Bell, Lindy’s aunt and primary caregiver. She too is a victim of Granda’s abusive misogyny and is reminded everyday of her twin’s betrayal. However, she also was complicit in the emotional abuse of Lindy and the insistence of Granda and Tess that Lindy was the “wrong child”. Bell was also a complex character with her own heartaches and flaws.

Overall, an emotional and fantastic yet heartbreaking read.