The Lost Village

A Novel

By: Alexandra Fleming - translator, Camilla Sten

Narrated by: Angela Dawe

Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins

Publisher's summary

2021 NPR Best Book of the Year

"Narrator Angela Dawe raises the stakes in this atmospheric horror novel...Her varying pacing amps up the suspense, and her flexible voice breathes life into the multitude of characters, regardless of gender and age. Horror listeners will be on the edge of their seats." (AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner)

A Most Anticipated Book Goodreads * Publishers Weekly * Crime Reads * Popsugar * Bookish

A Library Reads Pick!

The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten, an electrifying new voice in suspense.

Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town, dubbed “The Lost Village”, since she was a little girl. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy, and ever since, the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left - a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn - have plagued her. She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened.

But there will be no turning back.

Not long after they’ve set up camp, mysterious things begin to happen. Equipment is destroyed. People go missing. As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack, one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice:

They are not alone.

They’re looking for the truth....
But what if it finds them first?
Come find out.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

"An enthralling and claustrophobic read. Camilla Sten has written a lurid thriller that will send shivers down your spine." (M.T. Edvardsson, author of A Nearly Normal Family)

"Come for the mounting horror and scares, but stay for a devastating examination of the nature of family secrets." (New York Times Book Review)

©2021 Camilla Sten and Alexandra Fleming (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Main character was horrible

The story was interesting. I listened all the way through to see what happened to the whole village but the main character was a whiny brat. I almost stopped listening because of her. She got on my damn nerves.

great story bad audio

The story was amazing and truly creepy. But the audio levels were awful, to the point i had to stop listening and just buy the physical book instead.

Good story but...

The narration was overwrought. She didn’t know if she had an American, British, or Swedish accent. I could only listen in small spurts.

Spectacular....so so good!

I wasn't sure if I would like this book in the beginning but then it got good and the longer I listened, the better it got all the way to the end.

So so good!

Once I started to read The Lost Village I couldn’t put the book down.Over 300 pages I find myself laying in bed at 3:00 in the morning with my heart pounding.This was a great book can’t wait to read more of Camilla Sten’s books.

A Riveting story of a village and people lost...

I absolutely loved this book! It hooked me from the beginning and I'm looking forward to reading more works from Sten!

a good adventure

I really enjoyed this book and the mystery behind it. I was a little upset that it's not completely third person. A part of it is and then the other court is first person. I'm not the biggest fan on first person but it was good and was paced well. I think it would definitely make a very good movie or series even! There's a big mystery and it's slowly unravels it but not in a way that drags. I highly recommend this to anyone in to mystery or spooky novels.

Mesmerizing

This story kept me on the edge of my seat & I could not stop listening.

a Swedish atmospheric noir story

“The Lost Village” is a Swedish atmospheric noir story that was noted as one of NPR’s Best Books of 2021. I chose to listen to the audio, narrated by Alexandra Fleming.

Author Alexandra Fleming begins her story in 1959 with two men driving to an old mining town, Silvertjarn, a village in the middle of the forest. It appeared deserted of its 900 residents, until they hear a newborn baby’s cry. Curiouser, there was a bloated body, tied to a stake. She appeared stoned to death. As the two men search the town, it appears that the citizens vanished while doing everyday activities. Did the entire village drop off the face of the earth?

From there, Fleming switches to “now” or contemporary time. Alice Lindsteadt leads a film crew of four into the abandoned village, known as “The Lost Village,” where she intends to shoot a documentary film detailing this strange phenomenon. Alice’s maternal grandmother, Margareta, a retired nurse was one of the missing. Letters from her great aunt Aine to her grandmother provide a “cult-like” vibe. The vibe was reminiscent of our puritanical history in the USA. Alice’s great grandmother Elsa’s narration furthers the menacing feel.

Alice’s life hasn’t been easy, suffering through clinical depression and poverty which muddles her thinking. She needs this documentary to help her career to become a TV producer. She is not a likeable character.

Trouble ensues right away when the co-producer sprains her ankle while exploring, and then she mysteriously disappears. After the van is set on fire, the crew becomes apprehensive. This is 5 days of crazy, with the epilogue wrapping up this very strange story.

I listened to the audio, narrated by Angela Dawe. She had a tough job, narrating a very unlikable character. Translator Camilla Sten deserves a shout-out as well.

Gaping Loopholes but Still Fun

I am struggling to decide if I should rate this book a 3 or a 4. There are bits that annoyed me, namely some of the gaps in logic that just needle at me because I want them to make more sense.

I started this book while on a day trip with my boyfriend. He gave it a 6/10 at best and told me he didn't like the book at worst. I did enjoy listening to it with him because it was fun to hear his input.

Personally, I really liked the book until a certain big spoiler happened in the school closer to the end of the book. I saw it coming but it really dragged down my sense of suspense and interest, which did not get better as time went on. I'd say it was a solid 7 or 8 for me before that point.

The fact that it was summed up with what felt like little more than a shoulder shrug at people being crazy kind of dragged that down to a 5 or 6 for me over all.

I wanted more substance to the ending, the motivations, and the mystery. It was an okay ending but I definitely feel like it wasn't given as much care as the slow build to suspense was. Also, Elsa's personality and perspective were far more interesting and less egotistical than Alice's.
It just needed to be said.

I have more spoiler-y thoughts about this book than I can handle. There is a big part of me that wants to rant and rave about mass disappearances and obvious locations but I won't get into that. Nor will I unleash my thoughts about someone waiting around for nearly a century without being found or experiencing any change or doubt in their delusions. Just know those rants exist and they're wild.

It was a really entertaining book though. I can't say I hated it. It has its problems but it's also a fun read. Maybe I don't agree with everything I read or some of the decisions regarding the fates of some characters, particularly a redheaded one, but I still enjoyed it.
The book did what it was meant to do.

I don't know. I'm conflicted right now about how I feel and I also kind of feel like that's a good thing.

This book is an interesting ride.