"The Lost Brother" by Susanna Beard is a haunting and emotionally charged psychological thriller that explores the dynamics of a dysfunctional family and the enduring bond between siblings. The story revolves around Ricky and Leonora Bates, a brother and sister who endure a loveless and oppressive household under the rule of their domineering father.

Beard's skillful storytelling draws readers into the complex relationships within the family, making it easy to empathize with Ricky and Leonora's plight. The decision to send Ricky away to South Africa and the subsequent events that unfold create a sense of tension and foreboding that keeps you engaged from start to finish.

The novel's dual timelines, alternating between the past and the present, add depth to the narrative and slowly reveal the family's dark secrets. Beard's prose is beautifully written, and her portrayal of the characters' emotions is both poignant and evocative.

While "The Lost Brother" is a gripping and well-crafted thriller, it falls just short of a five-star rating due to moments where the pacing drags slightly, particularly in the middle of the book. However, the book's chilling conclusion makes it a highly satisfying read for fans of psychological suspense. It is a testament to the enduring power of family ties and the lengths one will go to uncover the truth.

Book literally kicks off with a bang (no spoilers). Then you read the story behind that gunshot. Why Ricky did what he do, and this makes for very compelling reading! Recommended.

This book is a real page turner.
It was very throught provoking and I read it in one sitting.
I really could not put this book down. Thank goodness, I started reading it on the weekend!
The storyline is very original and the ending was out of this world.
Great book!

this was an enjoyable mystery novel, I enjoyed going on this journey and getting to know the characters. It was a beautifully done read.

This book is interesting and it held my attention all the
way through. These siblings truly loved each other in
spite of the horror they lived with at home. These kids
went through so much. I'm happy to recommend it to anyone.

Thank you so much, NetGalley, Susanna Beard, and your
publisher for a wonderful book to read and review.

Siblings Ricky and Leonora Bates, 12 and 10 years old respectively, are best friends. They are all they can count on in this world, given that their father is a ruthless, abusive man, and their mother is hiding her fear and desperation behind alcohol.

The bond between the siblings is threatened when their father decides to send Ricky to boarding school in South Africa, the same school where he himself studied. The father disapproves of his son who loves books, and intends to make a man out of him. He also dislikes the fact that his daughter is intelligent and forward, believing that women don’t need to do much other than keep house and obey their husbands.

Stranded at home with her parents, Leonora, feeling painfully alone, focuses all her attention on her studies, acing her exams. Her father declares that she’s had enough education and she needs to learn to take care of the house. Her only saving grace is the time she spends at school and with Pete and Maria, older friends who live on a barge, and the furtive correspondence she has with Ricky.

Going to South Africa turns out to be a good decision for Ricky. He discovers his love for animals, and decides to settle down there and become a forest ranger. But Dad wants him to go to University in the UK and get a job there too.

Dad flies down to South Africa for the graduation, and father and son go for a camping trip. Ricky will tell him he wants to stay on. That’s the plan, but something goes horribly wrong. Dad dies and Ricky disappears. Now it is up to Leonora to find out what really happened and where Ricky is. But she’s only a child herself. Will she ever learn the truth? Will Ricky ever be found or will he be lost to her forever?



The story is written in the third person PoV of Leonora and in the first person PoV of Ricky. The tense in both accounts is a mix of past and present. The entire novel was more expository and character driven rather than plot driven.

From the first sentence of the Prologue, the words create an imagery of the African jungle that sinks deep into our imagination and doesn’t let go.

The language was good. His words dropped like stones from the sky onto her head. The writing in the Prologue is rich and vibrant, while that in Leonora’s PoV in her home is bleak. The descriptions were detailed and graphic, painting word pictures.



The condition known as Synesthesia is described very well.

When Daddy climbs the stairs, it’s brown.

Bob Marley’s song creates a flooding rainbow of colours.

However, the parts about Synesthesia, while they made for beautiful reading, suddenly dropped in on us in the latter half of the second chapter. There is no hint of them in Chapter 1 when Ricky gives Leonora the devastating news that he is to be sent from Great Britain to South Africa to an all-boys school. Surely this would have been a good time to introduce us to Leonora’s condition. In Chapter 2, it seems to be an afterthought. Also, it would have been better if it had helped lead her to Ricky, rather than just being a cool element of her personality.

The period is evoked first vaguely through the music of the 80s that Leonora listens to and the fact that letter writing is the most cost-effective means of correspondence. Later, we get a tighter grip on the period when Ricky tells us that his time in South Africa is a time of tumultuous change. Nelson Mandela’s release and the beginning of the end of apartheid.

In South Africa, Luke and Sally are wonderfully drawn. They are to Ricky what Pete and Maria are to Leonora, a surrogate family when their own won’t give them what they need.

The deterioration in Ricky’s condition is described so well, it makes for difficult reading. The rigours and horrors of living on the street come alive in a manner that is almost Dickensian.

The book reminds us of the impact of domestic violence on families and is an ode to the bond between siblings.



What I didn’t like was learning that Leonora cut herself to find release. Her father was mean towards her, but the cutting didn’t fit with the other positive aspects of her.

The twist, which came out at the end, was all forced. It would have been better if there had been clues that we could have seen for ourselves. This wasn’t convincing at all.

This was not one of my favorites. This book is about a dysfunctional family. A brother and a sister trying to survive. The father is abusive to everyone, physically and emotionally. To me there is nothing likeable about this book.

The Lost Brother by Susanna Beard started off a bit slow but then hooked me in. A fascinating read about a dysfunctional family with a rare sibling relationship. Well written, enjoyed this author, would recommend. #THELOSTBROTHER #NetGalley

Giving 4 stars, but I'd say its ore of a 3.5. Don't get me wrong I did enjoy it. But felt like it dragged on a bit. I must say though I loved the siblings bond! Very powerful bond 😊

Moving story of family where the father was violent, mother was scared of her husband and turned to drink to help her through. Son was sent away to boarding school, daughter wanted to be sent away to boarding school also but Father wouldn't allow it. In the end the son passed his exams and decided a career looking after animals which the father didn't approve of. Father went to visit son they went for a trip in the safari, father was killed by a gun. Son ran away, he was on the run for years, the mother ended up in hospital and later died. After long period daughter found her brother in a church. Sad moving story which turned into a happy story in the end.

Marketed as a psychological thriller – my favourite kind, I was realley eager to read this novel. It concerns Ricky and Leo(nora), siblings who look after each other in the face of the unbridled rage and downright nastiness of their father. In his attempt to get his young son to “be a man” he sends Ricky away to boarding school, not just a few miles away in England, but to his old school in South Africa! Leo, alone and bereft, has to come to terms with her mother's increasing dependence on alcohol.

After some time their father decides it's time for a bit of male bonding and so off he goes to South Africa where things don't exactly work out as planned. Their father's body is found murdered and Ricky ha disappeared. Leo determines to find him.

My first observation is that this doesn't really fall into the category of Psychological thriller, but that aside it's really well written with excellent descriptions of all the places mentioned. The author perfectly captures the grief and bewilderment experienced by Leo, however, I fail to understand the relevance of her synaesthesia, a condition which, I too, have. There is a vague suggestion that Leo's odd behaviour is as a result of this, but synaesthesia is a condition whereby certain senses “overlap” ( in my case number, letters, words etc have colours), and is not responsible for odd or irrational behaviour.

There are no clues along the way, so when the twist is revealed it almost feels like a What? Where did that come from? Did the author plan that all along or did she just pluck it out of nowhere?

I did struggle at times as I felt claustrophobic whilst reading it – maybe it's because the only voices are those of Leo and Ricky. I actually found it a little boring at times. Because it's well written, I will try some of Ms Beard's other books

Devoted siblings Leonora and Ricky are cruelly separated by their harsh violent father and alcoholic weak mother. Ricky is sent away to South Africa to 'man up' and live up to his father's high expectations. Leonora is academically gifted but her father wants her to stay at home, cooking and cleaning. When Ricky's father travels to South Africa for his son's graduation, he is shot and Ricky vanishes...
The title of The Lost Brother seems a slight misnomer as Ricky doesn't actually go missing until the second half of the book. While he is away at school he is only absent in the physical sense as he is still writing to his sister and always remains emotionally connected to her.
The descriptions of the family life are heartbreaking to read. I felt desperate for the children to escape their cruel and selfish parents. It is abuse, pure and simple: Mental, emotional and physical. My sympathy was completely aligned with Leo and Ricky. The final chapter has some explosive revelations which I was not expecting and turned around some of my impressions about the events and characters within the book.
Set in the 1980s, I didn't really get much sense of the era except for the lack of modern technology. I did have to suspend my disbelief a little as I felt that the authorities would get more involved with the family even 30 years ago.
The narrative is provided through the dual perspective of Leo and Ricky, the latter being in the first person. However, this was compensated by Leo's synaethesia which added an extra dynamic to her elements of the book. Ricky's survival in the second part of the book felt realistic and I felt happy that he finally proved his strength and determination to himself.
The Lost Brother was an emotional book about the love between siblings in the face of adversity.

Thank you Netgalley for this free ARC in exchange for an honest review. Well, The Lost Brother had me reading and just felt one more page, Before I knew it, I had finished the book. Kept me really feeling one of the best of books and reads in a long while. You should give this one and finish it,,, fast.

A brilliant page turner about siblings living in the shadow of domestic violence.

After their father is ruthlessly murdered & Ricky is nowhere to be found, Leonora must find the truth.

After a slow start this turned out to be a fantastic read.

This is a sad tale of 2 siblings caught up in a domestic violence home life perpetrated by their strict father.

The siblings Ricky and Leno are exceptionally close supporting each other through their loveless childhood when suddenly their father decides to send Ricky to boarding school in South Africa and goes to great lengths to stop communication between the pair.

As the story unfolds it becomes clear that their mother has turned to alcohol to deal with the unhappy situation in her marriage and becomes ever dependent on her addiction. Matters are brought to a head when Ricky and his father undergo a male bonding trip trekking through South Africa. The murdered body of their father is found and there is no trace of Ricky.

Leno is devastated and vows to find her missing brother whatever it takes.

Despite the dark theme of this book I found the story unfolded gently being told through both siblings view points. I would say it’s genre is more a domestic drama than mystery/thriller however I found it to be a good read.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was the first book I have read from this author... Although it started slightly slowly, it's definitely ended as a book I didn't want to out down. The book is very detailed and you gorw to learn a lot of the characters. I definitely found myself attached to Leo.

I read, reviewed and loved Susanna’s previous book ‘The Perfect Life’. When I heard that she was due to release another book, called ‘The Lost Brother’, I knew I had to read it. I thought that her previous book was good but for me ‘The Lost Brother’ was even better. I loved ‘The Lost Brother’ but more about that in a bit.
By thee time I got to the end of the first page, I knew that I was going to be in for a read and a half. Initially I sat down with the book for the first time only intending to read a couple of chapters to say that I had made a start on it but I ended up becoming that wrapped up in the story that I read way more then a couple of chapters. I had my own suspicions as to what was going to happen and I had to keep reading to see if I was on the right track or I had the wrong end of the stick entirely. The pages turned rather quickly as I became ever more desperate to find out how the story concluded. All too quickly I reached the end of the story.
‘The Lost Brother’ is really well written. The author certainly knows how to grab your attention from the start and draws you into what proves to be a compelling story. I must say that Susanna has broken the mould with the family that she has created in this story. The father really did make me feel uncomfortable and shiver. The way in which he treats his family is simply appalling and I am not surprised he ends up dead. Reading this book felt like being on a very unpredictable and at times scary rollercoaster ride with several twists and turns along the way. I felt as though I was part of the story and that’s thanks to Susanna’s very vivid and realistic storytelling. I found this to be a gripping read, which held my attention throughout and had me on the edge of my seat.
In short, I thoroughly enjoyed reading ‘The Lost Brother’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I will certainly be reading more of Susanna’s work in the future. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 5* out of 5*.

I finished this booked in a couple of days. What a thrilling, suspenseful and sad story. It took me a bit to get use to the POV changing from first to third person throughout the book but the twist and turns kept me captivated and wanting more. A good story and full of surprises.

Ricky and Leonora are siblings trying to survive in their dysfunctional family. Their father is a bully and believes his son needs to toughen up and his daughter is holding him back. Their mother never goes against her husband. Ricky and Leonora are the best of friends, so it came as a huge surprise when they learned Ricky was being sent away to boarding school. Leonora was devasted. Leo wants to write a letter to her brother but her father refuses to give her the address and tells her to leave the boy alone. Five years go by and Ricky graduates. His father goes to the graduation and takes Ricky on a camping trip. During the trip, Rick tells his father something he didn't like. His father was found dead and Ricky couldn't be found. Read the book to learn the rest....

***Read and Reviewed voluntarily #NetGalley #SusannaBeard #Joffeooks .#ARC

The Lost Brother is the latest psychological thriller from Ms Beard and is very much a slow-burn family drama featuring the overwhelmingly dysfunctional Bates’. Below the scorching heat of the South African sun, shots ring out and a body lies still on the grassland, blood pooling around it. Meanwhile, we step back in time to the time and circumstances leading up to the murder. Leonora Bates is talking to brother Ricky about their father's plans to send him to boarding school. She's used to them both having each other’s backs and is fearful of living with her parents without her brother as support given the tendency for their father to be abusive. Their mother is no help either as she's under her husband's bullying thumb and doesn't call him out on his disgraceful behaviour despite understanding that it is wrong. Leo can't quite believe her best friend is leaving her all alone to fend for herself, and even though he doesn't want to attend he has no choice as it has all been set up for December. Their father intends for Ricky to attend his old school in South Africa in order to "toughen him up" in that way patriarchal idiots believe is right – men must be strong and not show weakness according to their father.

Later, the father visits Ricky in South Africa but somehow end's up dead from a gunshot wound and now Ricky is nowhere to be found. What happened to their tyrannical, narcissistic father? Did he die at the hands of his own son? This is a riveting and addictive domestic drama that had me reading through until dawn as I simply couldn't put it down. It's an all too close to home story for me having lived with pretty much the same or similar behaviours from my mentally abusive father, and I felt for the family. It was portrayed in a true to life fashion and I wished those around him would've stood up to him instead of letting him be abusive seemingly with impunity. I was absolutely captivated and engrossed by this book and it had a deeper emotional side to it rather than just being an unfeeling thriller as some often are. Well written, and with enough going down to keep you ravaging the pages, I found the limited cast superbly developed. Twisty and unpredictable, compulsive and exciting, this is a must-read for those into domestic thrillers filled with drama, intensity and more action than you can shake a stick at. Highly recommended.