Thanks so much to the publisher and to NetGalley for giving me access to this book. What a great psychological thriller .... with side coming of age notes. This book grabbed my attention and kept me until the end. I will be recommending this novel to my patrons that love thrillers.

Well I finished it. Pretty much at the beginning I guessed the twist. I kinda hated all the characters, except Manda. It was a somewhat interesting story but the narrative was not for me.

I read about 75 pages and I was kind of bored... I thought this sounded fantastic but it kind of dragged for me... I needed more payout earlier in the story.

The Lost Kings by Tyrell Johnson is one of my favorite books of the year. The story was so original and his descriptions of Washington were so realistic that I feel like I’ve actually been there. The character development was on point and excellent. I read this book feverishly wanting to find out what happens but at the same time I didn’t want to finish it. I highly recommend this book. I will not forget these characters and will think about this book for a long time to come. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the advanced copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The Lost Kings explores the boundaries of memory, trauma, and family ties. When Jeanie King’s mother died in an accident, she and her brother Jamie were raised by their aunt and uncle until their father came home from the war and took them to live with him in a cabin in the Washington coast range. They ran wild, missing school, and living more or less off-the-grid. Their only company other than their father was Maddox who became very close to Jeanie. They shared their first kiss with such sweet innocence.

But it was not a back-to-nature idyll for them. Their father drank and occasionally was hard on Jamie. It became worse when her father brought a woman home to live with them and she was only more trouble, slapping Jeanie and driving her father to rages. One night her dad came home covered in blood but he disappeared by morning and so did her brother. Jeanie was taken back to her aunt and uncle, losing Maddox, her dad and her brother all at once.

And what about Jamie? Did their father take him and leave her in a cruel choice of one child over another? Or did Jamie run off without telling her or ever reaching out to her again? Or more likely, did her father kill Jamie? These questions haunt her and she is in a destructive cycle of drinking, sleeping with married men, and continuing therapy with a therapist who seems exploitive. But then one day Maddox finds her and tells her that he knows where her father is. Will she finally get her answers?



The Lost Kings is one of those suspense novels that show how ridiculous genre boundaries can be. Sure, it’s a thriller but it’s also a literary novel. Why can’t books be both?

I liked the story and though it was completely fair, I didn’t twig to the answer until the end. Well done. I like it when the mystery element is not obvious. I also thought it did a great job of exploring the dynamics of dysfunction, showing how a parent can be loving and destructive. Sometimes love is not enough. I thought the book slowed down in the middle, though, and wished it would be shorter or faster, just anything to get beyond the somewhat tedious self-destructive cycle on Jeanie’s part. But when it did, when she finally acted for herself, the book was stellar.

I received an e-galley of The Lost Kings from the publisher through NetGalley

The Lost Kings at Anchor | Penguin Random House
Tyrell Johnson author site and on Facebook

I really enjoyed this! It was unique and fast-paced. I was expecting it to be darker or creepier than it was based on the synopsis but I think it may have actually ended up feeling forced if that had been the case so it was perfect in that regard. There was literally no way I could’ve predicted the twist so bonus points from me for that. Thank you @vintageanchorbooks for this review copy! It is out now 🙃

I generally do not like books narrated by whiny self-destructive women. I decided to read The Lost Kings anyway because part of the story takes place in Oxford, a place dear to my heart. Unfortunately my original rule of thumb turned out to be true with lots of poor choices propelling the action. I did raise my rating because of a good twist at the end, but you might not think it was worth the time to get there.

Thank you to NETGALLEY for the advance reader copy of this book. I highly recommend this twisty psychological thriller. A bit dark, but great story telling! 5 stars.

I would describe <b>The Lost Kings</b> by Tyrell Johnson as part coming of age, part character study, part domestic drama with some psychological thriller aspects as well.

After the tragic death of their mother, Jeanie and her twin brother Jamie go to live with their aunt and uncle until their dad returns from active duty. Upon his return, he moves them to their cabin in rural Washington where they bond with a boy named Maddox. Their father is an alcoholic who suffers from PTSD which makes life very difficult for the twins. One night, their father comes home covered in blood. Jeanie sees him and is sent to her room. The next morning she wakes up to find both her father and Jamie gone.

20 years later, Jeannie is living in England, struggling with the events of her life and dealing unsuccessfully with her pain by drinking in excess, being promiscuous, and carrying on an extended affair with a married man. One day Maddox shows up at her place of employment after tracking her down, and she is forced to face her past.

This was my second book by this author and just like <b>The Wolves of Winter</b>, I enjoyed the writing and storytelling. Be warned, this story is very sad, dark, and depressing, but just like life, books are not always all rainbows and butterflies. While I did not necessarily like Jeanie, her actions were believable given the trauma she endured, and I cared about her and rooted for her the whole time and really wanted her to make better choices. As for the two major twists, one I saw coming but the other one I did not.

The pacing in the beginning was great, for me it lulled a bit in the middle but not for long, and then picked up pace again, but after the buildup, the ending felt a bit rushed. I keep thinking I missed something because I am still not sure where the title comes from and how it relates to the story. I do wish we would have learned a little bit more about Jeanie's mom and how her parents met especially given she was from England, and also where the inheritance money came from which is never really clarified. Overall, this book kept me engaged in the story throughout and I will gladly read anything else written by this author. 4 stars.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Anchor Books for my eARC.

Very interesting physiological thriller. I definitely did not see the ending.

A bit wordy and slow in places but definitely worth the read!

I DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING!!!

Sorry. Forgot myself there for a moment. What I meant to say was The Lost Kings is a psychological thriller by Tyrell Johnson. This author is new to me. Considering I started this book just yesterday and already finished it (never mind how I couldn't control my excitable opening), you can bet I will definitely be reading more of this author's books in the future!

Twins Jeanie and Jamie King live in a cabin in rural Washington State with their father, who is an alcoholic suffering from PTSD from his service in Iraq. The twins spend all their time together roaming the woods and playing on the beach, trying to avoid their violent father. One night their dad comes home covered in blood. When morning's come, he has disappeared, along with her brother Jamie, leaving her all alone. She is sent to live with her aunt and uncle in California, leaving behind all she knows, including Maddox, the boy with whom she was falling in love. Twenty years later Jeanie lives in Oxford, England. She drinks like a fish, is having an affair with a married professor and sees a therapist she doesn't seem to be totally honest with. Suddenly Maddox appears back in Jeanie's life, telling her he's tracked down her father. Should she find out what happened that fateful night and discover what happened to Jamie, or keep running from her past?

This story totally threw me for a loop! I just knew I figured out what really happened. I could NOT have been more mistaken! The tale was told from Jeanie's point of view, and the time switches back and forth between the past and present. Fortunately the jumping back and forth was clearly delineated and was very easy to follow along. Jeanie was a fascinating character. She suffered emotionally from the loss of her mother when she was a kid. At times she was terrified of her father, who was no longer the same man who threw her laughingly into the air and wore a tiara for her tea parties when she was little. Despite this, she still craved her father's approval and did her best to become proficient in firearms to go shooting with her father. She loved Jamie and they did everything together, yet she would bully him at times and get mad at his lack of courage. After her father and Jamie disappeared and Jeanie moved to California, she seemed to sabotage herself, choosing the wrong friends and making horrible decisions. When Maddox visited her, she ended up sending him away so he wouldn't hurt her first. She wanted to get away, so she went to Oxford for college. And once again she started self-destructive behavior, like having an affair with her married professor and quitting school. When Maddox appeared at her job to tell her he tracked down her missing father, it was hard for her to make the decision to seek him out and discover what happened 20 years ago. Then...

Nope, I don't want to ruin any surprises! I want for you to be as shocked as I was. And if you're like me, you'll end up in tears. This was an exquisitely told story that I shall remember for a long time.

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley. I received no compensation for my review, and all thoughts and opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Jeanie King hasn’t seen her brother in over a decade; not since the night he left with their father, who was covered in blood. Since then, Jeanie has sort of created a life for herself: drinking too much, drinking to excess and in general making poor life decisions all while continuing to hold out hope of her brother’s return. One day at work, a friend from her past reappears, saying he may have found her father. And just maybe the answers to the questions Jeanie is asking. But things are not as cut and dry as they seem here, for Jeanie is battling some intense internal demons.

Great, suspenseful read. You find yourself rooting for Jeanie despite her many flaws; you’re drawn to her and want to find the answers just as much as she does. I would argue the only fault I found here was in figuring out the ending around the 30% mark. However, that could just be because I read too much!

4 stars

Thrilling, suspenseful and engaging. Jeanie's journey keeps those pages turning.

I voluntarily read an advanced copy.

Twins Jeanie and Jamie King are just children when they lose their mother in a tragic accident, and their troubled, alcoholic father moves them to a remote cabin in Washington State. He isn't the same father he was before he left for war, and Jeanie and Jamie spend their childhood walking on eggshells around him and escaping to the woods whenever possible with their friend Maddox. One night, Jeanie's world is shattered when her father comes home covered in blood, and the next morning, both her father and Jamie have disappeared.

Twenty years later, Jeanie is living in Oxford, a lonely, broken woman who sleeps with a married man, drinks too much, and writes letters to her lost brother that she can never send. When Maddox suddenly reappears in her life, claiming that he's managed to tracked down her father, Jeanie must decide if she's finally ready to face the trauma of her childhood.

Alternating between the past and the present, The Lost Kings kept me riveted from start to finish. This novel is at once a psychological thriller, a coming of age story, and a deeply moving character study, and it's one of the most affecting novels I've read recently. When we meet Jeanie, she is an acerbic, self-destructive, and confrontational adult. But as the novel progresses and we learn more about the traumas and experiences that shaped her, we begin to understand her deeply and profoundly, to see the scared child residing at her core. Tyrell Johnson takes his time peeling back her layers, but it's worth it; Jeanie is a complex and richly-realized character that got under my skin in the ways all the best characters do.

This is an impressive, beautiful book that is deeply psychological and insightful, while also reading like a propulsive thriller. Exploring themes of generational trauma, PTSD, alcoholism, and abuse, The Lost Kings is a difficult, brutal, and unflinching read. It's startling and haunting, nuanced and captivating, and, ultimately, hopeful and uplifting. I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

3.5 Stars
When traumatic events happen repeatedly to a woman, it can send her on a dark ugly path. Losing her mother, having her father become an alcoholic due to it, and then all of a sudden being left in the cabin by herself, without her brother or father ever coming back would leave its mark. All of this happens when she is only 12.

As a grown woman fighting these demons, the only person who is able to reach out to her is a man who touched her heart back when she was 12. She is meant to have this man's support as she finally goes back to where everything started, looking into what really happened to her brother and father.

Not just a psychological thriller, it has more to capture your interest.

When Jeanie King was a little girl, she lost her mother to a car accident that nearly claimed her own life as well. With her twin brother Jamie, she’s subsequently raised by her loving Aunt Eileen and Uncle Derek in Santa Clara, California, until her father finally comes home from his stint in the military. Having been discharged from active service, he whisks the kids away to Washington State, where they all make do in a cabin in the woods.

Alas, his tours of duty and the death of his beloved wife have changed him indelibly from the loving dad Jeanie and Jamie once knew:

QUOTE
Since moving to the cabin, I’d felt, to be honest, slightly scared of him. Of the dark, deep-river looks he’d get on his face; of the way he’d yell at nothing in the middle of the night; of how he’d rub his wounded leg with dead, lifeless eyes; or of how he’d tell Jamie to “Buck the hell up,” “Stop your blubbering,” “Don’t be such a fucking girl.” Sometimes I’d see bruises on Jamie’s neck or arms, pale blue like spilled ink. But now, now that we had our little time in the woods murdering beer cans and jugs of milk, something was germinating between us. Not something old, from the before-dad, but something new, something fresh and green, with soft leaves unfurling.
END QUOTE

Even as Dad’s ongoing disapproval pushes Jamie further and further away, he and Jeanie begin to bond over target shooting. Jeanie feels guilty for hoarding her father’s love like this, but reminds herself that Jamie is better than she is at everything else, so why not have something of her own? Everything changes, however, when she’s twelve years old and wakes up one night to find her father covered in blood in their kitchen, blood that she instinctively knows is human. Dad tells her to go back to bed. When she wakes again in the morning, Dad is gone and Jamie has disappeared as well.

Fast forward twenty years, and Jeanie is living in Oxford, England, having traveled to her mother’s place of birth and setting down roots there, far away from her American West Coast upbringing. These roots are admittedly tenuous, as the tragedies of her childhood have made her afraid to get too close to anyone for fear of losing them as she did her entire family. One of her few constants is the therapist she has a surprisingly combative relationship with:

QUOTE
Sometimes I pictured Dr. Gardner cracking me open like an egg. Snapping my ribs, splitting my hips, wrenching my skull apart and wading through the gooey center of me. I wanted him to find the rot, the thing that made me the way I was, and then I wanted him to carefully remove it like a tapeworm. Then he’d sew me up. <i>There</i>, he’d say. <i>You’re all better</i>. If only I could manifest my sorrows into something physical enough to be excised.
END QUOTE

But then a face from her past shows up, with news she isn’t sure she’s ready for. Maddox was her first love, the boy who knew her as a feral child on the Washington shore. Now he’s a writer with a lead, one he wants to give to her first. He’s tracked her down to England to tell her that he thinks he’s found her father, hiding near a remote upstate New York town.

While Jeanie wants to confront her dad about what happened on that last terrible night that they saw one another, what she really wants to know is what happened to Jamie. Had her father taken her brother with him, leaving her behind? How had Jamie, who wanted to escape their dad more than anything, agreed to any of that? Most importantly, where is Jamie now?

This psychological thriller explores the psyche of a deeply damaged woman seeking healing from the grievous wounds of her youth. Tyrell Johnson sensitively unravels the tangles in his protagonist’s soul with gorgeous prose, as Jeanie grapples with the betrayals she’s endured and reaches for closure and understanding. Some of the twists are less surprising than others but The Lost Kings overall is a beautifully written novel of loss and what it takes to move forward, with a courageous, prickly heroine who is easy to root for as she finally confronts her father and their shared, devastating truth.

The Lost Kings is a twisty psychological thriller about how we must face trauma to move past it. Twins Jeanie and Jamie are raised by their alcoholic father after their mom dies. Then one days their dad comes home covered in blood and then disappears with Jamie. Twenty years later, Jeannie is still struggling with her past when she suddenly runs into Maddox, the boy her and her brother used to hang with before it all went down. Maddox says he found Jeannie's dad, so she has to decide if she wants answers from that night twenty years ago of if she wants to leave the past behind her. Highly recommended!!

This is an excellent book that delves into the psyche of a mentally ill young woman & what trauma has led her to where she is today. Lots of twists & turns with a little predictability but still enjoyable. I would recommend reading this if you're interested in psychological thrillers.

Thanks to the publisher & NetGalley for advanced copy in exchange for my honest review

A riveting story about trauma, pain, and confronting one's personal demons. I didn't really know where the story was taking me most of the time, and the well-crafted prose pulled me along to the unexpected conclusion in record time.

The ending relied on a trope that isn't my favorite. but I'll give it a pass because of the story's strong emotional pull and the fact that I could barely set the book down while reading.

This novel was equal parts uplifting and devastating. The characters are well developed and the plot is intriguing and handled well. The twist is as unexpected and heart wrenching as the one in the novel, Girl A. I will be thinking about this book long after finishing it. Amazing.