A Spine Chilling Hallowe'en treat...The Lost Ones by Anita Frank

The clocks have gone back and the nights are drawing in. As darkness descends, an eerie fog seeps through the moonlit streets and a dank chill sets in... It's All Hallow's Eve and if you're anything like me you'll be desperate to settle down with a spooky novel to lose yourself in. 

As part of their Hallowe'en Takeover, I've been reading The Lost Ones by Anita Frank for HQ Stories. What better day to publish a tale of a house haunted by its past than Hallowe'en itself?! This book is out TODAY!

The story is set towards the end of WW1. Our protagonist, Stella, is struggling to come to terms with the sudden loss of her fiance on the battlefield in France. Stella receives a visit from her brother-in-law, Hector, who tells he he is concerned about Stella's sister Madeleine. She is staying with Hector's mother at the family home - an imposing and somewhat ostentatious mansion called Greyswick. Hector is worried about Madeleine becoming increasingly unsettled. Not least because she is pregnant. He asks Stella to visit her and help her settle in a bit more. However, once she arrives, strange things start happening and it becomes increasingly clear that all is not what it seems at Greyswick House. 

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this. Anita Frank has done a great job here and it is hard to believe this is her first novel. I felt the opening of the novel was cleverly done. We are introduced to Stella while she sits and surveys the congregation at her local church. This is a neat way of helping us to understand the type of person she is and her inner struggles.  The sense of time and place she creates throughout the book is one of its real strengths. The use of language and the way the characters speak to, and interact with, each other is really evocative of the early twentieth century. You definitely feel transported.

There are some truly ghastly characters here - Hector's mother being particularly unpleasant - and it's rather enjoyable imagining the hideously sticky ends that might be coming their way! I think there is a whiff of Mrs Danvers about the housekeeper Mrs Henge and the whole novel has a tone that really reminded me of  The Turn of the Screw. I found Stella to be a likable character. She is much stronger than she gives herself credit for and this makes the reader want to be on her side and to find the answers she so desperately seeks. Annie, Stella's maid, is another strong character. There was scope to make more of her, I thought.

Some downsides: I did find it a tad slow to begin with. The pace doesn't really pick up until well after the first 100 pages. A less well-written novel might well lose readers before this point. Some of the events feel a little well-trodden (the exorcism scene, in particular). I could also have handled a few more scares. I'd describe this as gripping, creepy and unsettling but it is not terrifying. 

That said, there are some genuinely spooky set pieces. There is a scene where, during a rather heated discussion, all the lights go out and Hector and Stella are forced to go down to the cellar to check out the fuse box. But of course! Brilliantly nerve-shredding stuff.

Anita Frank writes in a very visual way that appeals to me. I could see this being adapted for television. I, for one, would be quite happy to settle down to watch a two-part serialisation of this over Christmas 2020!

In conclusion, I'd highly recommend this if you're looking for a really enjoyable page-turner with a ghostly theme. I'm really intrigued to see what Anita comes up with next. Have you read The Lost Ones yet? Let me know in the comments section below what you thought of it and don't forget to follow me on Twitter (@blogneverending) and on instagram too (@neverendingbookstory).