The Lost Notebook: THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

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Mila goes looking for Ani one day and finds her with an old woman traveler, Gosia, and when she finds the old woman dead, she is compelled to find the woman's son Tomaz. The police think that Gosia just died but Mila is not happy with that, she intends to investigate when she finds out that Ani tells her of a book that the old woman had, it cannot be found. Inside that book are the clues as to who Gosia was and what she has written in the book may be enough to have had her murdered. How was he captured later in Amsterdam? Doing this almost as an aside after he escaped on the boat felt a bit like cheating the reader. I really struggled to get into this French mystery by Douglas. This is my second read by this author but I certainly did not connect with the narrative like I did previously. I also thought that the cover was quite misleading: it portrays a stormy, brooding narrative, despite the fact this takes place in the height of summer and there are lots of positive references to the warm weather. My first read by this author and a very enjoyable one. Set in the fictional town (but based on Carnac) of Morranez on the coast of Brittany, France I found this quite a slow burn at the start of the book but it certainly moved a lot faster as the book progressed. The author paints a wonderfully descriptive portrait of the countryside in costal Brittany and I could imagine myself sitting in the café’s watching the world go by. Beautifully written and a good plot with some good characters.

When it is discovered that Gosia is linked to the Professor who is heading up the archaeological dig nearby, who also has suddenly gone missing, Mila is even more suspicious. Added to the mix are the stories going around town about the Professor which will surely discredit him and ruin his reputation.A notebook full of secrets, two untimely deaths – something sinister is stirring in the perfect seaside town of Morranez… I suspect we’ll hear that there’s a sequel in the works. Regardless, you’ll love this mystery set in the south of France and the unique cast of characters. I would like to thank #LouiseDouglas, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheLostNotebook in exchange for an honest review. Definitely a 5 star book. Thanks to Rachel's Random Resources and Boldwood Books for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book. My only question is of Charlie (Sophie’s husband who also died in the accident), there was not much said of him at all, considering he was part of the ‘group’. That said the story is not about him at all, so for entertainment I highly recommend this for a great escapism read.

As with all Louise Douglas books this one draws you into the story. I found this a slower burn than her previous books but by the middle of the book I couldn't put it down. The characters are well rounded and believable, I liked the ‘voice’ of Sophie, who was Mila’s much treasured stepsister who had died in an accident and was in Mila’s head, she was the voice of reason on Mila’s shoulder. I don’t know how she does it but Douglas ties together things that one wouldn’t expect and readers just accept it and keep reading; an archaeological dig, teenage angst, French traditions, an orphaned child, a gypsy woman with a secret, a professor with questionable actions, a private investigator and a well-dressed woman with a mistaken identity. AD* | A notebook full of secrets, two untimely deaths – something sinister is stirring in the perfect seaside town of Morranez...I did enjoy THE LOST NOTEBOOK but not as much as "The Room in the Attic" which was phenomenal. The mystery is interesting but goes off tangent with Mila continually having conversations with her dead sister throughout. I must say, I didn't much like Sophie and she was dead! In this mystery thriller, the unexpected death of a elderly traveller woman in the seaside town of Morranez sparks Mila Shepherd, a reluctant private detective, to begin an investigation. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of The Lost Notebook by Louise Douglas in return for my honest review. The next book, The Room in the Attic is due to be published in October 2021 and is a ghost story set in a Victorian asylum-turned-boarding school on Dartmoor.