Published 25th November 2021 by Orion.
From the cover of the book:
A MISSING CHILDTen years ago, the disappearance of firearms police officer Jonah Colley's young son almost destroyed him.
A GRUESOME DISCOVERY
A plea for help from an old friend leads Jonah to Slaughter Quay, and the discovery of four bodies. Brutally attacked and left for dead, he is the only survivor.
A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH
Under suspicion himself, he uncovers a network of secrets and lies about the people he thought he knew - forcing him to question what really happened all those years ago...
**************
The Lost is the first book in a brand new series by Simon Beckett, featuring firearms police officer Jonah Colley.
When Jonah receives a mysterious call from the man who used to be his best friend, asking him to meet him in abandoned warehouse at the ominously titled Slaughter Quay on the banks of the Thames, he reluctantly agrees to comply, even though they have been estranged for years. When Jonah gets there he is shocked to discover four bodies - one of them apparently his old friend Gavin that he was there to meet. In the midst of calling in the crime scene an unknown assailant attacks Jonah and leaves him for dead.
Jonah awakes in hospital, with a very sore head and a knee injury that will see him on crutches for some while, finding himself a suspect in a murder investigation. It seems Gavin, a fellow police officer, was on suspension so whatever he was doing at the warehouse that night was not related to a case, and the police believe that Jonah knows a lot more about the situation than he is letting on.
The only way for Jonah to clear his name is to look into what Gavin was up to himself, and what he uncovers has him convinced that this all somehow relates to the unsolved disappearance of his own four-year-old son Theo ten years ago. Did Gavin find out the truth behind Theo's disappearance, and will Jonah finally be able to lay his own ghosts to rest?
The Lost is a cracking thriller that starts with a bloody bang and carries you along on a tense and suspenseful tide until the awful truth is laid bare. There are wonderful elements of domestic noir, gritty gangland shenanigans, police procedural and mystery story that all combine in a delectable crime yarn that keeps you guessing. No spoilers in this review, but Beckett is certainly a master of misdirection, because I did not see where this story was heading - trust me it will give you a great big sucker punch when you get there.
Simon Beckett cleverly leads you up the garden path and down some intriguing blind alleys in this book, before all the threads finally untwist themselves, and not a single character escapes his attention in drawing out the darkness that lies within - whether this be fed by loss, guilt, greed or cold ambition. I found myself totally immersed in the story all the way from beginning to end, right at Jonah's side as he desperately tries to not only prove his innocence, but finally get to truth about the nightmare loss of his child all those years ago, and it's a journey that has you running the emotional gamut along the way.
This is a book that begs to be consumed in one sitting, which is exactly what I did. It's my first Simon Beckett, but will definitely not be my last, as it's one of the best crime novels to cross my path all year. I cannot wait for the next instalment of this series to see what Jonah gets up to next.
The Lost is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats from your favourite book retailer.
Thank you to Orion for sending me a Netgalley copy of this book in return for an honest review, and to Tracy Fenton of Compulsive Readers for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the author:
Simon Beckett is the No.1 International Bestselling author of the David Hunter series. His books have been translated into 29 languages, appeared in the Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller lists and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. A former freelance journalist who has written for The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent on Sunday and The Observer, the inspiration for the first David Hunter novel came after a visit to the world-renowned Body Farm in Tennessee introduced him to the work of forensic anthropologists.
As well as co-winning the Ripper Award in 2018/19, the largest European crime prize, Simon has won the Raymond Chandler Society’s ‘Marlowe’ Award and been short-listed for the CWA Gold Dagger, CWA Dagger in the Library and Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year.
In addition to the six David Hunter titles, the most recent of which is The Scent of Death, he has written five standalone novels, one of which, Where There’s Smoke, was adapted into a major ITV two-part drama.
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