Secrets And Lies

The Lost Ones by Anita Frank is a chilling, compulsive historical read that had me gripped from the start.

The novel is set in 1917 at the height of World War I. Already there had been terrible losses in the bloodbath at the Front. A generation of young men lost forever. Lives were devastated as loss consumed. “You learn to live with it. We all learn to carry on in the end.”

Females are seen as having weak constitutions when in reality they were suffering from grief or pregnancy. Their ‘weak’ constitutions meant men tried to dominate and exert their wills. It took strong females to resist them.

Families are complicated affairs. Some have strong bonds, other members dictate. A warped sense of loyalty prompts an unthinkable course of action.

A house is a character in its own right. It seems to take on the personalities of those who have gone before. All is not as it first seems. Secrets and lies have travelled down the years. The house longs to shed its secrets and proclaim the truth.

The Lost Ones is written in the style of Gothic horror. Dark, creepy houses set the atmosphere and mirror the action. It is a marvellous novel and a total departure from my usually genre but I loved it. I am looking forward to much more from Anita Frank.

I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.

JULIA WILSON