A MISSING CHILD
Ten 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...
I'm delighted to be hosting the blog tour for The Lost today. Many thanks to Simon Beckett, Orion Books and Tracy Fenton from Compulsive Readers for inviting me and for my advance digital copy of the novel, received through NetGalley.
The Lost is the first book I've read by Simon Beckett and is the introduction to the Jonah Colley series so the perfect time to become acquainted with both - and I'm very glad I did because this is a cracking thriller.
The opening sentence immediately drew me into this tense, exciting novel; it's obvious from the very start that Jonah Colley is in trouble but as the book progresses, his name is unfortunately apt; misery and misfortune is really piled onto the unfortunate police officer - and those around him. After surviving a terrifying, brutal attack, Jonah realises that the investigating detective has doubts about his true role in what happened. We're one step ahead of the police here as we follow the events in the ominously named Slaughter Quay as they happen but although DI Jack Fletcher isn't an easy character to warm to, the reasoning behind his suspicion of Jonah is entirely fathomable. Unfortunately Colley is unable to explain why he responded to an out-of-the-blue plea from his former best friend, Gavin; as the truth about why they lost touch comes to light, he might just have a motive for murder and his complex emotions tied up with the past complicate matters even more. It's no wonder Fletcher has doubts about him.
Jonah is clearly a decent man and a good police officer but it's his mistakes which drive the narrative. This isn't the first time he's ended up being on the outside of an investigation but while he is a suspect now, ten years ago he was a victim of child loss after his four-year-old son disappeared when he was supposed to be watching him. Despite having managed to somehow move on from such a devastating tragedy, his guilt and grief still inform his actions and although some of his decisions here are obviously risky, our sympathies for a father desperate to finally discover the truth ensure that we understand his motivations even as he finds himself in an increasingly dangerous situation.
As he begins to believe that Gavin's murder is somehow linked to his son's disappearance, Jonah risks life and limb on numerous occasions. Bruised, bloodied and broken after the initial attack, his body is subjected to further agonies throughout the book but he is not a hardened action thriller hero; he's a father looking for answers and The Lost is all the more believable because of it.
There are a number of surprising revelations which further convince him that he is right to assume that the two cases are intertwined and it all leads to a shockingly tense resolution which packs a real emotional punch. Not everything is answered here, cleverly setting up the series for an ongoing investigation but there is a resolution to at least some parts of the mystery, meaning Simon Beckett treads that fine line between giving readers a satisfying conclusion while leaving them eager for more, perfectly. The Lost is compulsively fast-paced, intriguing throughout and with a lead character I grew to care about very quickly - I look forward to seeing how Jonah Colley evolves as the series progresses.
The Lost will be published by Trapeze on 25th November 2021, purchasing links can be found here but please support independent bookshops whenever possible.
Don't miss the rest of the blog tour, details are below.
About the Author
Simon taught English as a foreign language in Spain, installed cavity wall installation and played in various unsuccessful bands before becoming a freelance journalist and author.
In 2002, a commission to write a feature on highly realistic crime scene training for US police officers led him to the Body Farm in Tennessee. This provided an eye-opening glimpse into the work of forensic anthropologists and formed the inspiration behind his internationally bestselling David Hunter crime thrillers.
The series has been translated into 29 languages. Simon’s novels have appeared in The Sunday Times Top 10 bestseller list and become No.1 international bestsellers, selling 12 million copies worldwide.
As well as the David Hunter series, he is the author of five standalone thrillers: Fine Lines, Animals, Where There’s Smoke, Owning Jacob and most recently The Lost. The first in the Jonah Colley series, The Lost spent 5 weeks at No. 1 in Germany’s Der Spiegel hardback fiction charts before its UK publication.
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