The Secret of Lost Things by Sheridan Hay

Rating

4 stars – a tale about books and finding your way in the world

The Secret of Lost Things is about…

Rosemary Savage; a Tasmanian girl of just 18 who finds herself alone in New York City and immersed in the strange happenings at an arcane bookshop.

The Arcade is a second hand bookstore frequented by serious collectors and staffed by a group of eccentric and eclectic individuals, all of whom have an effect on Rosemary as she tries to find her place in the world. From Pearl, the opera singing cashier who becomes a mother figure, to Oscar, the enigmatic character who Rosemary finds herself drawn to in a romantic way – but who can never return the affection. Perhaps the character who has the largest effect on Rosemary, Walter Geist – the store’s albino manager – takes her as his assistant and introduces her to a major literary cover-up.

From a story of a girl who finds herself alone in New York City lost in her affections of Oscar – a sort of rite of passage – Hay suddenly throws in this literary cover-up, a search for a lost manuscript, and the story takes on a detective/mystery element. Personally I found this quite confusing, the last novel I read about a lost manuscript was the Shakespeare Secret – a fast-paced mystery/thriller but this was quite different. Apparently Hay consciously mixed the different genres but to me it just didn’t sit quite right.

I’d recommend this book to…

Book groups – the book is certainly well written and covers the themes of death, grief and memory as well as deception and power – there is a lot to think about and discuss. The use of different authors within in the story and the literary angle would also prompt an interesting discussion.

Would I read another book by Sheridan Hay?

I think I would – though this one didn’t quite hit the spot I did enjoy Hay’s writing style and would look out for some more novels written by her.

Have you reviewed this book?

I added this book to my TBR following some positive reviews from fellow book bloggers. If you have reviewed this book on your site please fill in the boxes below to link me up to your review – don’t forget to link to the specific post to make it easy to find:

Would you like to read the Secret of Lost Things?

As part of Book Blogger Appreciation Week I want to show my appreciation to all you book bloggers out there who have introduced me to some fantastic books this year and shared your thoughts on the books I’ve reviewed. To say thank you I’m going to give away my copy of The Secret of Lost Things to a lucky reader (it’s obviously been read but aside from the slightly creased spine is still in great condition).

To be eligible to win you’ll need to leave a comment below and tell me the name of one book from the list of books I’ve read so far this year that you’ve either read yourself or would like to read. For a bonus entry into the draw simply blog about the giveaway and post the link in your comment.

I’ll close the draw at 11.59pm GMT on Friday September 19th – and the draw is open to readers worldwide.

Good luck everyone and thanks for visiting Blue Archipelago