Published 18th July 2024 by Pan Macmillan.
From the cover of the book:
Young Flora MacQueen has always dreamt of more than life on the small Scottish island of St Kilda. So, when she catches the eye of visiting adventurer and wealthy businessman James Callaghan, her future seems brighter.Winter seas separate the lovers but the island’s evacuation the following summer promises to reunite them – until tragedy strikes.
Heartbroken and needing to support her family on the mainland, a chance meeting offers hope. Soon Flora is the toast of glamorous Paris; fame and fortune are hers for the taking. But at a high price.
When a scandal erupts back home, she is implicated, along with her friends, Effie and Mhairi. But then a deception comes to light that will change everything . . .
The Lost Lover is Book Three in Karen Swan's bestselling Wild Isle series, following The Last Summer and The Stolen Hours.
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St Kilda, August 1929. Beautiful Flora MacQueen has always longed for a life far away from her home on St Kilda, and her chance to escape comes with the arrival of wealthy Scottish adventurer James Callaghan. Although their romance begins with a bumpy start, love blossoms between them, and a marriage proposal promises happiness for them both.
Over the winter, Flora yearns for the time she will be reunited with James, and their married life can begin. But when tragedy strikes, the need to support her family takes her in a direction she could never have imagined - all the way to the bright lights of Paris. Flora hopes that the City of Lights will be the place she can forget her grief and begin again. However, there are hard decisions to be made on the road to fame and fortune, and the secrets she and her friends left behind them on St Kilda refuse to stay in the past...
The Lost Lover is the third epic instalment in the sweeping Wild Isles series. This time Karen Swan switches her attention to the story of beautiful Flora MacQueen, weaving another layer to the parallel tales she tells so well in the previous two books, The Last Summer and The Stolen Hours, about Flora's friends Effie and Mhairi. You really do have to read these books in order for the magic to work, so make sure you do.
This book begins slightly earlier than the first two books, beginning with Flora's meeting with wealthy James Callaghan, who you know from the start of the series captured Flora's heart and offered the chance to fulfil her dreams of a different life. Swan now delves into the rocky origins of their romance, the consequences of their love, and the tragic twists and turns that bring heartache into Flora's life - and the stunning course of events that leads to glamorous 1930's Paris, where she ends up starring in her own show, with the promise of so much more... if she is willing to pay the price demanded.
In a masterclass of storytelling, this third novel dove-tails seamlessly into books one and two to offer oblique views of Effie and Mhairi's tales, and it brings an entirely new perspective on what you think you know about the closely-guarded secrets that tie the young women together - especially when it comes to that last summer on St Kilda, before the evacuation.
I should know by now that Swan always has tricks up her sleeve to turn the storylines on their head, and she does, indeed, have facts to disclose in this book that I really did not see coming. With finely judged pace and nicely contrived suspense, she spins the threads of Effie, Mhairi and Flora's stories together until they clash in a final jaw-dropping revelation that, quite literally, left me gasping with surprise! Magnifique, Karen Swan!
As Swan does so well in this series, this third book also thrums with themes of love, loss, family, friendship, and it is full of intriguing detail about the social history of St Kilda and its people. On top of this, she adds extra atmosphere and expansive historical context through touching on the wider world of the 1930's to bring in intriguing mentions of dashing explorers, corporate shenanigans, fashion, the heady attractions of Paris show business, and the allure of the burgeoning Hollywood film scene - blending the pizzazz with the sordid games that lie underneath the gloss. Lovely stuff if you are as fixated on between-the-wars history as I am.
This is one of my favourite book series of recent years, which is saying a lot. I am going to be chomping at the bit until the final instalment, The Midnight Secret, told from the point of view of the enigmatic Jayne Ferguson, publishes in April 2025. I cannot wait to finally learn the truth about the secrets these women are hiding, and how their stories end!
The Lost Lover is available to buy now in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.
Thank you to Pan Macmillan for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.
About the author:
Her books are known for their evocative locations and Karen sees travel as vital research for each story. She loves to set deep, complicated love stories within twisting plots.
Her historical series called The Wild Isle, is based upon the dramatic evacuation of the Scottish island St Kilda in the summer of 1930.
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