[Review] The Lost by Sarah Beth Durst

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Title: The Lost

Series: The Lost #1

Author: Sarah Beth Durst [ Twitter | Facebook | Website ]

Publisher: Harlequin MIRA

Genre: Adult Fiction - Fantasy, Mystery

Release Date: May 27, 2014

Source: ARC provided by the publisher, opinions are honest and my own. – review policy here.

Synopsis via Goodreads:

It was only meant to be a brief detour. But then Lauren finds herself trapped in a town called Lost on the edge of a desert, filled with things abandoned, broken and thrown away. And when she tries to escape, impassible dust storms and something unexplainable lead her back to Lost again and again. The residents she meets there tell her she's going to have to figure out just what she's missing, and what she's running from, before she can leave. So now Lauren's on a new search for a purpose and a destiny. And maybe, just maybe, she'll be found.

I will admit, when I fInally got approved for this title on NetGalley I had forgotten the synopsis but dove right in on the reading... 

As a result I was super scared and reading blind on some parts. The concept of getting lost in a place where all the lost things go is CREEPY! Uber creepy! Every sock the dryer has eaten, it's there. Every piece of luggage that has gone missing, lost wallet, penny, hair clip... it's all there. Thing of everything you've once lost and now it's in this place... the town of Lost. 

Luckily, there's a Finder who find's people and things from within "the void" and brings them to Lost. There's also the ying to his yang, the Missing Man, whose job is to find what you've lost and help you return to the world you know. So our protagonist Lauren is stuck in Lost, eager to survive and return home to her ailing mother. However, she's run off the Missing Man and now everyone in Lost is trying to kill her, seriously. 

There's a running joke in the book as to whether Lauren is interesting or not. Is she just a regular Jane or is she something more? Which of course I cannot tell you but I can tell you about her posse...

Lauren's supporting cast of The Finder and a knife wielding, six-year-old girl is intentional and necessary. Pushing Lauren out of her comfort zone and desire to survive the trio create a Peter Pan-ish inspired family to turn a house into a home. If you're looking for a swoony man then The Finder, Peter, is mysterious, dark and inked up just for you. Even if we're not sure how this is going to end, I found myself rooting for them the whole time... 

Told in staccato like thoughts and sentence structure, through Lauren's point-of-view, the reader is left with the inner workings of a panicking 27-year-olds brain. The writing style is definitely that of someone's inner dialogue, cutting out long descriptive passages and creating a reading-crossover bridge between Young Adult and Adult literature. If you're not feeling Lauren's narration you should hang around for Peter's dialogue which runs deeper, more cryptic and brings some literary prose to the forefront.

For me, it is the writing style that really bought authenticity to Lauren's voice and her experience. She's filled with worry, regret, panic, nurture, love and sometimes hope, but it's these emotions that keep her character raw and human. As she grows, it's her ability to believe in herself and remain loyal to those she care about that sells me on The Lost.

Random thoughts:

• Peter – I want to know your thoughts, what is in that head of yours? Why are you in Lost? WHAT DID YOU LOSE?!?!
• This is a trilogy – What? The end of this book is packaged tight. The story can go further but I'm really at a loss as to why it needs to. 
• Expedited release schedule for books #2 and #3. Book two, The Missing, will release in November 2014 and book three, The Found, will release in March 2015.
• Lauren. No spoilers but I need to know what's up with you. Who are you? And are you, in fact, interesting?

3.5 Stars – Solid read filled with mystery and a touch of fantasy! 

I'm content with the ending, but knowing there's two more books, I'm curious and I'll be reading book two.