The Lost Village

I love a good story about someplace that's been abandoned. What happened? Where did everyone go? I want to know! So I jumped at the chance to read The Lost Village.

Everyone vanished from Silvertjarn, Sweden in 1959. When the police responded to an anonymous call, they found only a woman's corpse hanging in the center of the village and a baby left in the school. Houses looked as if residents had just stepped away for a moment, all at the same time.

Alice is working to get funding for her documentary project on Silvertjarn. She's assembled a crew, and they're going on location. She doesn't have much in the way of money, so the budget is tight and their time will be limited. But if she can make this project happen, it could be her big break. She also has a personal interest in the project, as her great-grandmother's family had lived there. Of the family, only her grandmother had gotten out.

The village is out in the middle of nowhere. No easy access to supplies or services. The crew figures to have some good uninterrupted time to investigate and document what they find. But almost off the bat, weird things start happening. Some abandoned places just feel empty, and some feel positively spine-tingling. For me, Silvertjarn fell firmly in the spine-tingling category. I would have packed up and hauled it out of there before I'd spent one night. Noises where there shouldn't be any. Items going missing or being damaged. And when one of the crew disappears after being injured, well, that just ramps up the creepy factor.

The story is told from Alice's point of view in the present time and from Elsa's point of view in 1959. Elsa was Alice's great-grandmother, and her story really ties events in the current time together. I liked Elsa best out of all the characters. She saw things going wrong and tried as best as she could to make a difference, to do the right thing. Alice, though, wasn't a very likable protagonist. She was so driven to make the project a success that it felt like she ignored the risks that were rapidly becoming apparent the longer they stayed.

So, creepy factor: excellent. And that's coming from someone who doesn't really like horror. Characters: it was hard to muster up concern for any of the modern-day folks. The final reveal: not really what I was expecting! Overall, I found it a worthwhile read.

I see a lot of mixed reviews for this one, but it ticks a lot of boxes. It's mysterious, haunting and oh so creepy.

Two generations ago, the entire inhabitants of a struggling village disappeared without a trace. With the exception of a brutally murdered woman tied to a pole, and a new born baby left in the school. Now, a documentary film making team are scouting the area and investigating the mystery to (hopefully) pitch it to a major network. Creepy shenanigans ensue.

The beginning of the book is a little slow, but it didn't deter me. I needed to know what happened, and overall I was satisfied. Ghost towns, possessions, sabotage, brain washing, murder and mayhem. If that sounds fun to you, I recommend you pick this up and sleep with the lights on.

Overall enjoyable tale of would-be documentary filmmakers working in an isolated Swedish ghost town haunted by the mysterious disappearance of almost all of its residents. There's a lot to like in the story, from its creepy setting to the escalation of unease as the filmmakers begin to see signs they may not be alone.

This main plot is interspersed with scenes from the town just prior to the mysterious disappearance. As the mill fails and the town starts to die, a charismatic preacher arrives and starts to bring the town under his sway.

The ending was a bit of a disappointment, being both of a bit too much and not quite enough. The aura of ambiguous supernaturalism resolves into a series of revelations that are non-magical and yet borderline ridiculous.

Rating: 3.9 leaves out of 5
Characters: 4/5
Cover: 3.5/5
Story: 4/5
Writing: 4/5
Genre: horror/thriller/mystery
Type: Audiobook
Worth?: Yes

I was really excited to read this one, not just because it is horror but because it was translated. They said it was like Midsommar and Blair Witch. I could understand what they meant with Midsommar and Blair Witch but it is very WATERED down.

A lot of horror and thriller books are very cliché to the point of death so I was happy that this one wasn't. I did like the plot twists but REALLY HATED the epilogue. It should have focused on Alice and not on the crazy younger sister of Alice's grandmother.

Alice and Emmy are... they both get on my very thin nerves. Lol. There are somethings that are hinted at like rape and that section I had to stop after a bit before going on.

All in all it is worth the read if you like suspense, horror, and thrills.