This was a dark thriller with beautifully written descriptions of the fictional island of Faida. The author translates the Gaelic and Scottish words (e.g., Traigh Bheag - the small beach). It was interesting to read about the different landscapes and birds of the island.

Anna was a little strange from the get-go, with her crazy smile and constant contact with her houseguests. Her husband and son were away, and the rest of the guest cottages were closed for renovation, so the Clarke family had the run of the island. Which probably isn't a good thing when you have two willful and adventurous boys.

Soon enough, one of the boys takes his exploration a little too far and winds up in trouble. While his dad, Rod, is very concerned, mom Penny seems content to camouflage her worry with work and wine. Anna starts to see the disconnect between husband and wife, and soon has Rod telling her confidences.

I love how the author had us sympathizing with the Clarkes but agreeing with Anna that the boys were just spoiled beyond reason. By the end, my heart and mind had shifted completely.

Thanks to NetGalley, Inkubator and Booksprout for an advanced reader's copy.

Merged review:

This was a dark thriller with beautifully written descriptions of the fictional island of Faida. The author translates the Gaelic and Scottish words (e.g., Traigh Bheag - the small beach). It was interesting to read about the different landscapes and birds of the island.

Anna was a little strange from the get-go, with her crazy smile and constant contact with her houseguests. Her husband and son were away, and the rest of the guest cottages were closed for renovation, so the Clarke family had the run of the island. Which probably isn't a good thing when you have two willful and adventurous boys.

Soon enough, one of the boys takes his exploration a little too far and winds up in trouble. While his dad, Rod, is very concerned, mom Penny seems content to camouflage her worry with work and wine. Anna starts to see the disconnect between husband and wife, and soon has Rod telling her confidences.

I love how the author had us sympathizing with the Clarkes but agreeing with Anna that the boys were just spoiled beyond reason. By the end, my heart and mind had shifted completely.

Thanks to NetGalley, Inkubator and Booksprout for an advanced reader's copy.

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I thought the characters were well developed and the story was unique. It was atmospheric in a way that was reminiscent of Ruth Ware in how the setting of the book played a part in the story. I also didn't anticipate the twist in the middle of the book. At times I felt as if the pacing was a little bit slow, but despite that throughout the entire book I found myself needing to know what happens next. The chapters were short which made it easy to keep reading. Overall the book was very well done and I'm convinced to read more by this author.

Merged review:

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. I thought the characters were well developed and the story was unique. It was atmospheric in a way that was reminiscent of Ruth Ware in how the setting of the book played a part in the story. I also didn't anticipate the twist in the middle of the book. At times I felt as if the pacing was a little bit slow, but despite that throughout the entire book I found myself needing to know what happens next. The chapters were short which made it easy to keep reading. Overall the book was very well done and I'm convinced to read more by this author.

2 stars

Veeerrryyyy long and boring and so many irrelevant stories and details. The whole story could fit in one very predictable page.
The ending, that had a hint of "die hard-terminator" was ridiculous to say the least.

When I picked up this book I thought I had it figured out to a point but nope, no way, nada. Jane plants a HUGE plot twist and it was like WHOA!! It turned the entire story on its head and I loved it!

I mean you just have to go with the plot, it is crazy at times but it’s my favourite kind of crazy!! It was done fabulously and wow what a rotten character one of them was. Jeez, talk about chilling me to the bone!!! Shudder!

I do love how your support for characters switches and waivers at times. You never quite know how it is ultimately going to play out but that end game was a cinch!!

Jane is a new to me author, but I will be definitely looking out for more books bu her. She sucked me in from the start, with the creepy crows, the over-the-top nicety of Anna, and the reserved Penny. Just everything. All worked for me!

Rod Clark is an avid birdwatcher. Another bird enthusiast, Anna, from his online birding group, offers him a free one-week vacation on her island/nature preserve off the Scottish coast. Rod is over the moon with excitement. His wife, Penny, not so much. Her concern is saving their failing transportation business. A week away is the last thing she wants.

Penny reluctantly packs up their two boys and heads off with Rod. While he treks off into the woods and along the rocky shoreline, Penny struggles to keep their two hyperactive boys in line while working remotely. Anna appears to be a very understanding hostess. She puts up with the boys’ rather destructive antics while harboring unstable thoughts. But after the older boy goes missing, it becomes obvious that someone besides Anna is keeping dangerous secrets.

The Lost Boy is a captivating thriller of revenge and suspense. I pretty much figured out the twist about a third of the way through the book, but I didn’t lose interest. I love the remote island setting and the way the characters are portrayed. The narration is omniscient, so you get to hear the inner thoughts of several people. This makes the book quite effective despite a fairly transparent plot line.

If you like the suspense and thriller genres, you may enjoy The Lost Boy. But I’d recommend not reading it on vacation in a remote area!

My Rating 4 stars, Grade B

Thank you NetGalley and Inkubator Books for an Advanced Reader Copy in exchange for my review.

Thank you NetGalley, Inkubator Books and Jane Renshaw for letting me read “The Lost Boy” in exchange for an honest review.

The Cover
The cover drew me in right away. It’s dark, looming and moody with a touch of colour, a boy looking over a shore. It looks like a thunderstorm is nearing.
It was a bit confusing at first. I searched for the book on Goodreads. I thought I found it, but soon realised it was not. Same title, almost similar cover, but different author, published in 2020. Very similar boy in the yellow clothes.

The Plot

The Clarke family is invited by Anna, to spent a week on a remote island in Scotland. For free, that is not suspicious at all, is it? Pack up your wife and two kids and go to see a virtual stranger in the middle of bloody nowhere? Heh. Now that makes a great story. Anna is supposed to live on the island with her husband and son, but Penny and Rod Clarke never get to see them. On top, Anna is soon behaving suspiciously and Penny grows uneasy. Why? The reader soon will get to know on the first pages, that Anna plans to kill one of their two young boys. Why did she lure the family to the island? Will the family be able to escape the island and at what cost?

The narrating switches between Penny and Anna, written in third persons POV.

My opinion

It becomes clear very soon, that the boys are spoiled rotten. It’s hard to like them. I’ve gotten grey hairs from reading alone.

Anna has offered a one week vacation to Rod and his wife, Penny, as well as their two boys, Alfie and Freddie. Rod is elated to get a one-week free vacation on an isolated island, but Penny has reservations as she finds Anna to be a little peculiar. And Anna does have a hidden agenda...
The story is told in dual POV, from Anna and Penny, in a remote island setting. It was predictable with absolutely no likable characters (especially the two boys, which I found to be horrible little human beings), and I admit to only scanning the parts where there was bird talk as I found it uninteresting, but someone who likes bird will probably appreciate the details. It was a good thriller with a lot of tension building.
I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley and Inkubator Books, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.