Deliciously spooky, I found myself wanting to read all night - and then all day, so that I didn't scare myself silly!

Who doesn't like lighthouses? The perfect place to have a weekend getaway with a group of friends you've mostly known all your life. It's the picture of isolation on a small uninhabited island with no phone signal, no boat coming back until you're ready to leave. The weather isn't perfect but who doesn't mind a dramatic storm now and then. So what if little things go missing, one of your group gets drunk and disappears for just long enough that you all get terrified, you thought you saw someone outside the window but that must have been a mistake and that locked room in the lighthouse is probably nothing. Right?

Lots of atmosphere and tension building which works really well. For me I think it could have done with a couple less characters or perhaps less clear cut definitions of the damaged one, the calm one, the ghost loving one. That sometimes distracted from what was going on.

Absolutely dumbfounded by the writing style. Such a mysterious plot. Though I was disappointed with the ending a bit. I expected a more spooky one. I definitely recommend this books and would love to read more books from this author.

A group of university friends all meet up at a remote island at a lighthouse but when strange things start to happen who is behind it?
This was a good read - you learn about things that have happened in the past and why the characters are like they are. I also liked the different perspectives of the characters this added a lot to the twistiness of the story. Once the weird things started to happen it did give the book a real creepy feel. I do have to say the ending felt a little rushed and there could have been more to it in my opinion but it was still a good read.

Thought this book had great potential but it really took to the last 2 chapters for it to get exciting for me. Six friends travel to an uninhabited island and rent out the lighthouse and cottage and quickly in to their weekend away odd things start happening and they start to suspect they are not alone on the island

What’s not to enjoy about this book? Remote island, creepy setting, mystery, touch of paranormal, thrill factor all of it. Really enjoyed this book over all, I feel the ending was a tiny bit rushed so that could have been beefed out a little more but overall definitely worth a read I think! I would love to pick up more stuff by this author as I couldn’t put this down.

In the winter of 1972, three keepers vanish from the remote lighthouse on Maiden Rock, fifteen miles south-west of Land’s End. The three men are: Arthur Black, principal keeper; William ‘Bill’ Walker, assistant keeper; Vincent Bourne, supernumerary assistant keeper.
Behind them, they left a series of clues: an entrance door locked from the inside; two clocks stopped at the same time, 8:45; a table laid for an uneaten meal; and the principal keeper’s weather log described a storm circling the tower – but the skies, inexplicably, had been clear all week.
The mystery of what could have happened to those three men goes unanswered for the next twenty years, when the newspapers announce that “adventurer novelist Dan Sharp is out to discover the truth behind one of the greatest maritime mysteries of the age”. He interviews Arthur’s widow Helen, Bill’s widow Jenny and Vince’s ex-partner Michelle.
Gradually, as the narrative switches from character to character, and between the strange events of winter 1972 and the investigations of 1992, the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place.
Bill had an affair with Arthur’s wife Helen. When Arthur discovered this betrayal by finding a necklace he’d bought for his wife in Bill’s trouser pocket, it was “a lie too devastating … Constellations changed. The sky fell. The man I thought was my friend.” Arthur and Helen had a son, Tommy, who had died in tragic circumstances, at 8:45 – the same time as the two stopped clocks in the lighthouse … clue, or coincidence? Is the story of what happened driven by the age-old motives of love and jealousy and revenge?
Meanwhile, Vince thinks there’s a man out to get him, “called himself the White Rook”. Vince has a shady, criminal past, that he is trying to escape from by becoming a lighthouse keeper. The White Rook’s real name is Eddie Evans, and where they used to live “it was Eddie and Vinny that ruled the roost”. Did one of the White Rook’s heavies track Vince down and end up killing all three of them before disappearing himself from the lighthouse?
But, “There’s more than one side to every story.”
Lighthouse are cramped, confined spaces - “Lighthouse worlds are small. Slow.” Surrounded by “All this sea [that] makes you see things that aren’t there”. So, it’s understandable that “Things turn rotten after a while on a tower”.
Or, is there some strange, supernatural being or force which has cast its malevolent spell over these three men? Bill’s wife Jenny tells the original investigators that “The place has a bad atmosphere. Bill said it a lot.” When the investigator asks “Between the three of them?”, Jenny replies “No. Just in itself. Like bad things have gone on there.”
Emma Stonex skilfully weaves a complex narrative that relentlessly grabs the attention, populated by believable characters with their own motivations and secrets, and keeps the reader guessing until the very end, when we finally learn whether “some mysteries just aren’t meant to be known”.


The Lamplighters is inspired by the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers disappeared from a remote rock light of Eilean Mor in the Outer Hebrides in December 1900.

Thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A remote Scottish Island, a lighthouse and lots of myths and ghost stories, what's not to love? Has a creepy atmosphere and the sense of drama created by the Island. The characters are all really well written and relatable. This story is highly addictive and you won’t be able to put it down. Thank you Net Galley

⭐⭐⭐⭐

This was an entertaining read! At first it reminded me of a book I read recently...deserted island, a group of friends, lighthouse. However, it turned out to be completely different. Very atmospheric setting. A little spooky. A touch of the paranormal. A mystery that kept me engaged throughout. That said, I had a couple of niggles. One, I could not stand Kira and really wished someone had drop kicked her off a cliff. And second, the ending was super rushed and needed a few more pages to properly flesh it out. Overall though, this was a really enjoyable read and gets two thumbs up from yours truly!

**ARC Via NetGalley**

I liked this, I would read something else by the author. I thought it was a bit predictable in parts, but had some really scary bits too!

Love the way this author writes mysteries but I end finding this to be her weaker work. Had a lot of trouble investing in the characters and found the plot to slow. I also the ending was rushed but overall I still endnotes reading the book

Not my normal type of story,but when I started to read I found a very intriguing storyline.Well written suspense kept me guessing from start to finish.Would recommend this book to anyone who likes a different twist to a mystery.

The Lighthouse by Fran Dorricott

Six friends travel to a remote island, north of the Scottish Highlands for an old school reunion. They have rented the LIGHTHOUSE - a stunning, abandoned building, that was on her notorious for deaths at sea.

This is a thrilling mystery. Do they see ghosts or not? Who dog they trust? Great story. Good and bad relationships. Well-written.
A must read. I recommend this book.

Thanks to Net Galley for sending me an advanced reader’s copy for my review.

An enjoyable if perhaps slightly too drawn out read. I liked the premise of the book and liked the suggestions of supernatural elements and the ending. I didn’t really warm to any of the characters but that doesn’t bother me when I’m reading. Recommended.

I thought this sounded like an intriguing plot and was looking forward to a more enjoyable book than my last lighthouse themed book which was To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf. Unfortunately I found this book as longwinded as Virginia Woolf. I thought the idea of the story was promising - six friends on a luxury weekend in a lighthouse on a remote Scottish island when odd things start happening. However I was a bit disappointed - how were we still on Saturday when nothing much had happened? I didn't much like any of the characters and the odd things were clumsily introduced to the storyline. I found it confusing when the first person switched - there was no detectable change in style and I would suddenly realised when they refered to the pervious first person by name. This was disconcerting. I found the ending very unbelievable and written in a lazy way - the characters didn't find things out, it was one of them telling the others literally round the dining table. There wer lots of holes in the plot and lots of threads that never got resolved. I did manage to finish it because I was hooked enough to want to know what happened so there is that. The decriptions of the wild nature of the island were very vivid and well written

At first I was like - where's this going to go...... and then it started! Really enjoyed how the story unfolded and couldn't stop reading as I needed to find out what was going to happen next.

I liked the cover of this book, it would make me pick it up if I saw it on a book shelf. It’s very fitting for the title too.

The book is set on Ora Island, a fictional remote island in the Scottish Highlands. I was keen to read a book set in this area as it’s beautiful and there’s a lot of potential for describing the scenery and atmosphere.

A group of old university friends are staying in the lighthouse cottages on the island for a weekend and having a ten year reunion. Everyone feels like something is off about the place and when one of the party disappears one evening and behaves very strangely afterwards, everyone is very uneasy.
Then a sinister message is left in the cottage on a smashed mirror. Is someone joking around or is there a real threat on the island?

The book is quite easy to read, with each chapter from the point of view of a different character. I found I kept forgetting which character it was as they were all a bit samey to me and I couldn’t connect with any of them.

I felt that most of the book was pretty slow going with not much really happening. Most of the action happens towards the very end of the book.

I didn’t like any of the characters and they were all a bit two dimensional and boring. I don’t think they liked each other either and I don’t know why they went away together as they mostly just argued and sniped at each other.
For adults in their thirties I thought they were very immature and badly prepared for a weekend in a remote area. They didn’t have decent outdoor clothing or even torches and seemed obsessed with getting mobile signal all the time.

There was a lot of potential for a very creepy, sinister setting for the story but I didn’t find it very spooky at all. Apart from a token mention of Inverness, the story could have been set anywhere.

Towards the end, the story picks up the pace a little but I found it very predictable and underwhelming.

Unfortunately, I was disappointed with this book. For me, nothing set it apart from other “old friends have a reunion in a remote location” books.
There just wasn’t enough suspense or sinister goings on and the unlikeable, flat characters didn’t help.

Thanks to Avon Books and NetGalley for a copy to review.

Thank you to Netgalley and Avon Books for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I have a weird obsession with lighthouses and the various myths and legends that seem to circulate around them. I was lucky enough to grow up near an outdoor lighthouse and spend a lot of my childhood climbing up and down the ladders to look at the horizon and it was a magical time.

When I picked up this book I didn't really know what to expect, it was classes as a thriller. Six friends travel to a remote island north of the Scottish Highlands for an old school reunion. They rent a lighthouse, which sounds like such a cool thing to do. After having a few drinks and food they decide to explore the Island and things start to go wrong. One of the party James goes missing, then suddenly turns back up at the lighthouse now knowing where he has been, and not wanting to talk about what has happened.

For me personally apart from the lovely cover I just didn't like this book. For friends who are support to be close and often meet up for a school reunion they had nothing in common and just did not like each other. Why waste your money and time, meeting up with other people you don't really like or have anything in common with anymore since you were friends at University. None of the characters were likeable and I actually found them very immature and frankly stupid especially drinking loads of alcohol and then deciding to explore the Island. I also didn't get the spooky or creepy athmosphere at all..

This was a taut and atmospheric thriller that had me on the edge of my seat. The setting was like an extra character alongside the cast of already intriguing characters who had a complicated relationship. At times, I felt like I was on the island with them.

The pace moved along at a good speed and I was kept guessing for most of the book as to the mystery of the lighthouse.

The only reason I didn’t give this 5 stars is because the ending left me feeling dissatisfied. However, I’d definitely read another book by this author.

Thank you to the author and publisher for this ARC.

Enjoyed this one.
The story is told from multiple POV’s.
It was very creepy.
Lots of drama and secrets between the friends.
Don’t want to say too much and give anything away.