I love Roanoke type stories and decided to read The Lost Village by Camilla Sten. Translated by Alexandra Fleming, Sten delivered a twisty horror that kept me reading into the wee hours.

This is a suspenseful horror story with little to no gore that will give you goosebumps.

Alice Lindstedt, a filmmaker, is obsessed with stories surrounding an old mining town referred to as “The Lost Village.” Her grandmother’s entire family disappeared along with the town in 1959.

In 1959 when people went to check on family members they discovered the entire town abandoned except for a female stoned to death in the town square and a newborn child found in the school infirmary.

Present Day. Alice and her film crew are here to gather info, take pictures, and put together a portfolio to entice backers to finance her documentary. The old mining town has no phone service, cutting them off from the world. They’ll be camping in the town square. Some crew use tents and others sleep in their vans.

From the abandoned buildings to the tension between Alice and Emmy. the filmmaker, you immediately get a sense of foreboding. The group is made up of Alice, her friend Max, Emmy and her boyfriend Robert.

The story was atmospheric, with strange sightings to weird noises like unexplained giggles. Soon equipment goes missing and discovers are made including strange drawling, letters, and blood.

How could an entire village disappear without a trace? It looked like they were in the middle of daily life when they vanished. Was it something sinister? Has it returned?

I thought the tale was clever. I kept wondering if they were all ill, and the answers were quite chilling.

Disturbing and suspenseful, I could see this tale on the big screen. I found myself telling them not to separate and growing anxious as the author revealed more clues. She slowly built up the suspense and horror as she revealed more of past events. I would read this author again.

*Rounded up from a 3.5*

So, the story itself was really good. It's the kind of book that grabs your attention pretty early on and keeps it the whole way through. The book is told through dual-timelines and both timelines develop quickly so as to lead up to the big reveal at the same time. I thought this was a very clever way to tell the story, because it allows the reader the ability to completely grasp the entire context of the story. It doesn't leave much to the imagination, which I like in a horror/thriller. Sten did a great job in building up the environment and the setting for maximum creep factor. The scary scenes were really well executed, this is the kind of book that makes the hairs raise on the back of your neck. Once things really start picking up, it's hard to put down. I read the last 30% of the book in one sitting, because there was just no way I could stop reading. The horrific scenes described were very visceral, it let you understand just how gruesome some of the deaths were (I will not get more specific so as to avoid any real spoilers). It wasn't overly long either, which is good, there is nothing worse than a drawn out thriller. The length allowed it to maintain the suspenseful pace without the reader becoming too accustomed to the creepy atmosphere.

So what didn't I like? Well, the writing style was just so not for me. It took me so long to get used to the way the author chose to write this book. The modern timeline (where I would argue most of the story takes place) is written in first person, with an active voice. This honestly made it feel like I was reading fan fiction. Because so many books are written in third person, it's what I'm more comfortable reading. It took me a very long time to get used to the writing. My other primary issue with the book was that the main characters felt like they were pretty two-dimensional. Even the main character felt like she had very little character development. You'd think that with everything that happens in the book she'd experience quite a bit of growth. Fighting for your survival will do that to you, but not this protagonist. It just made the characters just generally unlikeable. I didn't ever necessarily care much about their thoughts, or opinions because they just felt like 2-D clichés.

As a whole though, if you can get over the writing style, the story itself is really good. It was a great, creepy book with enough action and mystery to keep your attention the whole way through. It has it's downsides, but a 3.5 isn't a bad rating. It is generally worth the read if you like books with a found-footage kind of vibe, complete with some high-key cult behavior. It's especially creepy because it's realistic, this kind of thing can and does happen.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten is a psychological thriller.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books, and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis:   (No major reveals, but if concerned, skip to My Opinions)
Alice Lindstedt is doing a documentary on the village of Silvertjärn, an old mining town where its 900 residents seemingly disappeared  overnight.  Dubbed "The Lost Village", her documentary will be told over six episodes accompanied by a blog on the making of a series.

Alice has been obsessed with this town since she was a little girl.  In 1959, her grandmother's entire family disappeared.  Two people remained.  One was a woman who was stoned to death in the town's center, and the other was a newborn.  Alice hopes to find out what really happened to this remote town.

Things are a little eerie in the village, and Alice herself swears she saw someone lurking outside the van.  But when one of their own goes missing, and then a blast damages their property, Alice starts to wonder.  Is it one of the group causing the problems, or are they not alone.


My Opinions:   
I loved it.  The atmosphere was perfect, and the doubts among the characters realistic.  The background between Emmy and Alice added to the overall tension.  Although I thought Alice was a little self-centered and rather selfish,  the character worked.  As well, I thought Emmy was really over-bearing.  Again, the character worked.

I loved how the story was told in the "then and now" method, where we found out what really happened to the town.  The characters in the "then" were also quite strong..

I'm not sure I liked the ending, as I think a different perpetrator might have been chosen, but this worked.

And although it wasn't "scary" per se, it was definitely creepy and suspenseful.

Overall, a good book!

Today, we welcome to the book world a new thriller, slightly horror, slightly mystery book, The Lost Village, written by Camilla Sten. This book boasts being a combination of The Blair Witch Project and Midsommar. While I have never actually seen these movies, I do know what they are about, and I can see why the novel is being compared to them. I am not sure that the comparisons are 100% accurate, however, and while I was incredibly excited about this book’s premise, in the end, this book did not end up being a new favorite.

Set in Sweden, we follow Alice as she and her team go to visit The Lost Village. This is the town where her grandmother grew up and in the 1950s, where all almost 900 members of the community just disappeared. Well, all except the body of one woman, tied to a pole and stoned to death, and an infant child, found by police crying in the schoolhouse. No one has been able to find out answers, so Alice turns to crowdfunding to help get her documentary made. To help with this resource, she puts together a small team to go stay in the town and work on getting some footage to help pique interest and to start planning out what the full documentary will be. On her team is Tone, a new friend who also has an interest in finding out the truth of this village who will be photographing places; Max, the executive producer who has been a friend of Alice’s for years; Emmy, a girl who was her best friend in school but who she hasn’t talked to since then; Robert, a close friend to Emmy, who together will be working on filming and setting up shots. Together, they travel to the mining town to stay for a few days while they scout, get footage for their trailer, and start really planning what this documentary is going to be about.

There is no cell service. The closest town is hours away. They are alone. Or, so they think. Soon, one of the members thinks they see someone walking around at night. Soon, someone hurts themselves while scouting for future shooting locations. Soon, someone disappears. Is this place really as abandoned as they once thought?

Sten’s plan is great: This team is going to work on a documentary to find out the truth. I love stories about abandoned houses and an abandoned town seemed like such a great background. And while it is, for the most part, not everything worked for me.

This book is mostly told from Alice’s perspective. There are also letters to her grandmother from her sister, Aina, who still lived in the town, as well as chapters that are written from Alice’s great-grandmother’s (Elsa) perspective. Elsa ended up being my favorite character from the novel. I feel like she was the most well-rounded character and would have loved even more from her. While we are in the past with Elsa, we see that this is a town that was lost. The mine, the only reason these people lived there, had been shut down. People were leaving. The people who stayed were trying to figure out their next steps. Then, in comes a new preacher. The majority of the town eventually falls for his teaching, with Aina leading the way.

One of the things that made this book hard for me to enjoy was Sten’s take on mental health and disability. There is a character from the past timeline, Birgitta, who has a disability of some sort. One thing that I did appreciate was that when a character suggested she was autistic, another character shut that down and said they should not be diagnosing anyone, especially through third-person letters about someone from the past. I also do not think she did the best in discussing mental health with the characters in the present. Both of these situations made enjoying the book more difficult for me.

While I loved the idea of this book, the letters from the past, the clues that they found while in the town…this book ended up falling short for me. The ending was easy to guess and not completely believable. The characters were incredibly flat and so one-dimensional, I wasn’t sure why they were even there.

Overall, I give the book 2 stars. I think it was an interesting idea with the occasional beautiful writing, but the package did not work for me. The characters lacked dimension for the most part and the plot was a slow, slow burn. The mental health and disability storylines could have been better, definitely. I am glad that we do get answers to the missing town, but I am just not sure how believable it is that in the time since hundreds of people went missing, no one else thought to search and find these clues/answers.

I will say, this book is receiving a lot of great reviews from others, so I am curious if you have read it, what your thoughts ended up being about the entire thing.

Thanks go to Netgalley and Minotaur books for the eARC of this book.

The Lost Village follows a young documentary filmmaker and her team as they explore an abandoned village in the Swedish forest. The story takes us back to the events that led up to the disappearance of the entire village and then forward to the unsettling events happening in the present.
The abandoned village is thoroughly creepy and sets the perfect tone for the reader to wonder if there is a malevolence haunting Alice and her team and if that same presence did something to the missing villagers decades earlier. This was an excellent read. It was dark and mysterious and had an unexpected ending! I read it in two sittings because I just had to know what happened to the lost villagers and if Alice would be next.

2.5 - 3.0 stars.

The Lost Village gives off so many creepy vibes and fans of The Blair Witch Project will love this one.

Filmmaker Alice is obsessed with the story of Silvertjarn, a village whose occupants, including her grandmother's family, mysteriously vanished in 1959. Alice puts together a small film crew in hopes of making a documentary about this Lost Village. But once they've set up camp, it seems they are not alone in this abandoned village.

What I liked: Overall, I really liked the premise of this book and definitely got spooked a time or two. The setting was strong for creepy moments and I thought the author described the Lost Village well.

What didn't work for me: I was really disappointed in the ending of this book and felt the book moved really slow in some parts and then rushed through the ending. Also, there are trigger warnings with this one that almost had me not wanting to finish the book.

Thanks to Netgalley and Minotaur Books for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley and to the publisher for the ARC which I received in exchange for my honest review. The Lost Village transports readers into a creepy mining village where the residents mysteriously disappeared. The book follows a documentary filmmaker in her pursuit of the truth. The book is somewhat predictable and reads like a horror movie. I didn't mind this, I found the plotting to be fast paced and I was invested in the story.

If you are looking for a chilling tale certain to make you sleep with the lights on, check out The Lost Village.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten had me completely spooked, totally hooked, and unable to stop reading until I knew what in the world was happening in this book! I found this one to be an exceptionally creepy ghost story with lots of thrill factor. Though, lucky for me, it wasn't too gory and wasn't exactly horror. I liked it a lot and this isn't my typical genre.

The narrative felt like it moved a little slowly but it was always increasing it's suspense, piling onto the mystery at the same time. The scenes and settings were haunting and suspenseful. The descriptions of all the decrepit buildings were intense. The narrative runs in two timelines; then and now. The then and now converge at the end to reveal what really happened in this small town sixty years ago... 

Thank you NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Camilla Sten for a copy of this book for review!

Thanks to Netgalley for an advance copy.

I'm a fan of those ghost hunter shows and paranormal activity scares me. So I was looking forward to a good paranormal book. The book follows a "film crew" . Overall, this book was just okay. I was left expecting/wanting more.

This book is not what I expected - I thought I was in for a spooky atmospheric mystery but y'all, this book turned straight up horror movie. I mean, seriously, it should be optioned. (For those who like this kind of thing - Daniel Brühl as the pastor FOR SURE.)

I'll be honest - the story starts slowly. There is a lot of exposition and backstory revelation. The book flip-flops between a 1950's and present-day storyline. The 1950's storyline has that spooky, "something catastrophic is going to happen" tension. The present-day storyline teases both a tangible and emotional past trauma, but with the focus on the emotional trauma. I think it can be hard to walk that line between building up to a big twist/reveal versus taking too long to get to the point. I will say the payoff in this book was worth it but there were times in the first half or so that I was frustrated.

Let's talk setting. Oh dude, was it incredible. I am finding myself a big fan of books where the setting is its own character and this book has it in spades. A deserted Scandinavian village, somehow both idyllic and rotting? Empty buildings that are menacing but also hold a special meaning for the main character? Ah, yes please. Which is another element I really enjoyed. I don't want to get too spoilery, but the main character's motivation to wanting to solve the mystery of the lost village is really meaningful.

Another bonus for those niche readers: a totally creepy religious cult mania element. If you dig that, you'll dig this.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Was it my absolute favorite? No. But my expectations for mystery/thrillers are that I wanted to be kept guessing and I want to be entertained, and this hit the mark, even with the slow start.

Another thing to note: this book was translated to English. Sometimes that can result in a wonky cadence but I don't think it had a huge impact on this book.

TW: sexual assault

4.5 stars rounded off to 5!

I thoroughly enjoyed this one! Couldn't put it down, and when I did, I kept thinking about it. Very atmospheric and eerie, I literally got chills reading it! Such an interesting plot, and fantastic piece of writing, it just delivered! My only problem was the little suspension of belief it took, but all in all, it was a super great, and very enjoyable read. The thing that I liked the most (apart from the eerie setting) was the characters' reactions to death and murders, I mean, it was very realistic, and I'm thankful for that, lol! Nothing irks me more than reading how unreal everyone acts in the face of death or murder, which is sadly the case in most thrillers I read! Recommended!

Thanks to Netgalley, author, and publishers for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

When I read the premise of this story I didn't even have to give it a second thought, it's amazing!
This book had me wishing I could skip & skedaddle right through the Summer and welcome spooky season with arms wide open!

As much as I wanted to love and give The Lost Village all the stars, this is the kind of read for me where there isn't anything wrong with the book per se, I just automatically knew that I'd rather see it on the big screen than read, which ends up setting the mood for the entire novel. I can't fault the author, it's just one of those books for me (always such a huge bummer) I also slightly struggled with the two storylines, as far as being realistic goes. Still a terrific read, nonetheless!

No doubt will this be a huge hit for people who appreciate a spooky, dark & suspenseful read! I hope that you all love it!

In 1959 in a small mining community of Silvertjarn, a Swedish town where the train runs only twice a week. The inhabitants which number 877 people disappear. The police arrive and are baffled by the disappearance of the town folks and discover two bodies. One a newborn infant and another who is strung up and had been stoned to death.
Author Camilla Sten tells the story of one obsessed woman Alice Lindstrom whose Grandmother told Alice the stories of the town. With the help of others she sets off with four others to the town off Silvertjarn to make plans for a documentary.
The book has some tense moments as well as supernatural suspense. Chapters are titled here and then. The then part is used to give a background told through letter writing of what is taking place in the minds of the people that lived in 1959. Doing the chapters in this fashion adds to the story for the reader to follow along with the characters who are searching for clues. Mainly the focus is on two people. The young pastor and Brigetta.
It is well executed and a very quick read.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
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60 years ago the residents of an isolated village in Sweden disappeared. Only two people were left, a woman stoned to death and a newborn baby. Alice has always been obsessed with finding out what happened. She is determined to find details about this village and turn it into a documentary. But can she and her crew last a few days and nights in this lost village?
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What I liked about this:
-there were so many secrets to discover! Not just about the village, but about the crew. They all have their own reasons for being there.
-whose baby was that??? This was the number one mystery to me!
-this book switches from the present day POV of Alice to a past POV of someone from the village. I enjoyed the POV from the past. I am not sure what was creepier but I almost think the past was creepier than the present POV.
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What I didn’t like about this:
-trying not to be spoilery, but I was *slightly* disappointed in the ending. I had a theory on what was going on in this book, and I was really excited to see that theory be proven right. And the story wound up being completely different, so I felt a little robbed because I liked my theory better. 🙈🙈🙈
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This was still a really solid horror story and I enjoyed it for what it was. Well done.
3.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

Alice Lindstedt is a documentary filmmaker and on the scouting trip of her dreams. In the 1950s, her grandmother's family disappeared from an old mining town and Alice grew up hearing the stories. The setting is perfectly creepy as Alice and her crew travel to this still abandoned village with the goal of filming a trailer to help them find more backers. Even though the village is abandoned they feel like they're not really alone. This was absolutely the book I've been waiting for! I wanted to curl up with a cozy blanket and a few feet of snow outside and devour The Lost Village (unfortunately I read at the beginning of spring but it was still just as good!).

Content Warnings for: self-harm, depression and anxiety, drug and alcohol use, death including suicide and murder, rape and sexual assault, religious indoctrination/cults.

5/5 Stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

TW - depression, mention of suicide, implied rape, abuse of disabled person
This had me pulled in from the synopsis, but it was a slow burn type of book. It had the perfect, creepy, atmospheric setting. You get to experience the story from THEN and NOW. This was done extremely well, and truly added to the story. I felt all the characters were questionable, but I think that was the point to keep you guessing. I personally couldn't figure out where the author was taking this story, so that made it more enjoyable when I got to the ending. While reading, I could imagine this being played out in a movie or even a short series!
The only thing I did not care for was the treatment of Birgitta. That shattered my heart and disgusted me. Overall, this was enjoyable. I will definitely be looking out for Camilla's next book!
Thank you Netgalley and Minotaur Books/St. Martin's Press for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to @netgalley and @minotaur for this #gifted copy in exchange for an honest review!

I haven't read a book this creepy in a very, very long time and I was here for it. I loved the dual timelines in this novel. At the beginning I found myself more into the present day because I was trying to get my bearings with the village itself, but towards the end give me all the flashbacks because I desperately needed to know what happened and what was happening.

The only thing I didn't love was the character development. The characters in the past were much more developed to me, and I found myself caring more for them. I would have loved to feel that for Alice and her crew too. I also didn't love that the ending felt rushed and a few of my questions are left unanswered.

You know when you host a party and you have a guest that just won’t leave? They were so fun and different and smart at the beginning but then after a few hours all you want to do is tell them to shut up and go? That’s how I felt by the end of The Lost Village. Deep down I just wanted it to go away. I managed though. I persevered. I restrained from telling it to leave. And I think it was a smart choice. It’s a long journey (though not really) through a story that is... well let’s just say decent. The atmosphere is eerie, the characters are stupid, the plot is a bit derivative, the storytelling is great, the ending is a little surprising (in a good way), and the writing is average. My advice is have patience with your guest though it may feel they’ve worn out their welcome halfway through the party.

Thank you for this opportunity.

I will confess I knew nothing about this book before reading. Much to my surprise I devoured this book. Really good. The characters were interesting and played well off each other. From the first page you just wanted to know what happened to this isolated village. Was it a plague, alien abduction or something else. I got to the last page and the ending was not what I expected. A most excellent read.

So everyone is comparing this book to a mashup of The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar. I can’t really speak to that as I’ve never seen either (I don’t do well with shaky cameras), but I am familiar enough with The Blair Witch Project phenomenon to see it being a pretty accurate comparison.

This story follows documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt and her crew making the trek to an infamous old mining town dubbed over the years as “The Lost Village”. Alice has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the town since she was a little girl. After all, she has a personal connection. In 1959, her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy. Now a fledging filmmaker, Alice is hoping this journey works two fold- putting her on the map as a filmmaker to watch, and to find some answers by going to the town and looking for those answers herself.

But of course, it’s not that easy.

Soon after their arrival, mysterious things begin to happen. Not only does the crew begin to question each other, they slowly begin to realize they may not be alone. It’s a battle of wits to find the answers, but this begs the question, are some mysteries worth the trouble of solving?

If I’m being honest, I didn’t really love this book. Admittedly it’s not my typical genre of choice, but I do enjoy a good thriller/mystery whenever they come along. Unfortunately this one just had too many loopholes and confusing turns and twists to really keep me invested. At the end of books like these you want you to have one of two feelings- that your questions were answered and the ending was satisfied, or that any unanswered questions would leave you clamoring to read another installment. Sadly, this story didn’t leave me with either feeling. But don’t shy away on my account. Many readers love stories just like these!

I would like to thank @netgalley and @minotaur_books for an advanced copy in exchange for a fair review.