I have kept my eye out for this novel since it was recommended by Kate Riordan at the second Tasting Notes Book Club meeting. I could just sense it was going to be a book that I would really enjoy – and I was not wrong.
‘The Lamplighters’ is a stunning debut novel from Emma Stonex. This is a wonderfully atmospheric mystery set in a lighthouse in Cornwall. Three lighthouse keepers go missing in the seventies and their families are not entirely sure that the official story of events is the real one. We switch between the events of the seventies and the families revisiting their memories of the events in the present day.
I really cannot give any of the story away, because I would really encourage everyone to read this book. However, I can say that this book brilliantly weaves together a study of himan nature, the atmosphere of ‘life at sea’ and a thrilling mystery. I found it so engaging and was so intrigued about how the story was going to conclude.
If you want to discover a new author, I highly recommend Emma Stonex. Especially as I think, even though the year is only a quarter of the way through, I may have found one of my books of 2021 in ‘The Lamplighters’. (Would also quite like to visit a lighthouse again.)