💫 Book Review 💫

The Lost Child by @kathleenmcgurl

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Publication date: 30 Jan 2024

It’s April 1912 and Madeline is onboard the Carpathia helping to comfort Titanic survivors who are onboard their shop. She agreed to help her journalist husband interview survivors and in doing so she meets Lucy, a woman desperately searching for her baby who she saw thrust into the arms of another woman on a lifeboat.

This story runs side by side with Jackie, an archivist in present day who finds Madeleine’s a notebook and is drawn to the story of Lucy.

In both timelines there are themes of motherhood and baby loss so think it’s something to be aware of before you start reading.

I’m such a Titanic girl so I loved that this book featured real historical figures and it was nice to learn more about the Carpathia. It was clear the author had done a lot of research.

The only reason this isn’t 5 stars is that I’d hoped the two stories interlinked just a little bit more and also it spoke about Covid quite a bit (in the present day timeline obviously) and I get that it was important to the storyline but I don’t think so much detail about lockdown rules were needed.

If you’re a history girly and like duel timelines the I’d definitely recommend.

Thank you to @netgalley, @kathleenmcgurl and @hqstories for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Kathleen McGurl is a delightful story teller and I have enjoyed all of her books and this one also was worth reading. Well researched and engaging.

I really enjoy Kathleen McGurl's books and the story behind the Titanic. Parts of this novel were hard to follow but for the most part it was a good read!

This one is hard to review. From the excerpt I couldn't imagine that I would struggle so much to read through this book. Don't get me wrong, the story, the view from Carpathia passengers, was great but the constant longing for a child ( both 1912 and 2022 ) was super annoying. Because let's be honest it is still a taboo in 2024 for a woman to simply not want to be a mother. Jackie was absolute the worst and I felt more for her Husband than her ( obviously he also had some problematic aspects but still ) I couldn't feel myself into the characters at all.

The 1912 part was great except towards the end it was just about their story being published ( nothing really happened except of this... )

From 2022 I was expecting way more mystery and research instead of Jackies constant moaning about a baby.

A really nice story with a different take on the Titanic disaster as it is about people on the rescue ship. There is a story woven in about a missing baby and then another one, in current times, about Jackie and her long term partner, Tim. I was confused at first as to what the relevance was of Jackie and Tim's story, but it all comes together in a lovely way in the end. I have already read some books from this author and will continue to do so. They are always good and make my heart smile.

1912. As the steamship Carpathia takes the survivors of the Titanic to New York, a woman desperately searches the decks for her baby, thrust into the arms of another passenger as a lifeboat left, and now nowhere to be found.

2022. When archivist Jackie finds a notebook containing the stories of women saved by the Carpathia amongst an auction lot, she uncovers the story of a missing baby, a mysterious silver bracelet, and a journalist determined to share the truth with the world.

What an emotional read this book was. It's one that will stay with me for a very long time. The emotion starts in the prologue and continues throughout. The story focuses on Madeline - who was travelling on the Carpathia in 1912 - and Jackie - an archivist who finds the notebook in 2022. I liked both of these women. We get a mixture of fact and fiction in this well-written story. Both Madeline and Jackie were touched by the Titanic survivor, Lucy Watts, story. Lucy's daughter was missing, and Madeline and Jackie both try and find out what happened to her. This compelling read was hard to put down.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #HQ and the author #KathleenMcGurl for my ARC of #TheLostChild in exchange for an honest review.

This was a beauitfully written story focusing on two women, Madeline traveling aboard the Carpathia in 1912 and Jackie an archivist in 2022 who finds a notebook from the Carpathia.

I loved the parallels between both women's lives and the way their experiences influenced their choices for the better.

I enjoyed the focus on the aftermath of the Titanic disaster and the actions of the Carpathia. It balanced real-life events and fiction really well.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this great book!

1912. The Carpathia is a transatlantic passenger steamship, aboard are Medeleine and Ralph Meyer and they are going on a European holiday. Ralph is a New York journalist and they can’t believe it when they hear whispers from the crew that the unsinkable Titanic has hit an iceberg and on it's maiden voyage. The Carpathia was the only ship in the area that could come to the survivors aid and they had no idea what they would find when they arrived at the location two hours later.

Madeleine tries to be useful and offers assistance to people as they make it on to the deck of the Carpathia. A stewardess from the Titanic called Violet Jessop hands her a baby and a woman quickly grabs the child and disappears into the crowd. Meanwhile Lucy Watts searches the decks for her baby Norah, she was given to a woman by her husband as the last lifeboat was launched, and she can’t find her anywhere. Madeleine helps Ralph who knows the story could be his major scoop, by interviewing the female survivors, and she meets Lucy, she promises to be on the lookout for an unaccounted infant and there seems to be some confusion around how many babies Lucy had?

The lost Child has a dual timeline and is told from the two main charters points of view, Madeleine and Jackie and a hundred and ten years apart.

2022. Jackie works for an antiques collector, he buys lots at auctions and Henry desperately wants to add to his White Star Line collection. While going through his latest boxes of acquisition, Jackie finds a notebook containing the stories of women who were aboard the Titanic when it hit the iceberg and were saved by the Carpathia. Jackie eventually works out it was written by Madeleine Meyers and one story in particular pulls at her heartstrings and it's about a lady called Lucy who lost her baby. Jackie is in her mid-thirties, she wants to start a family with her long term partner, she feels a real connection to both Medeleine and Lucy and her missing infant.

Both women’s stories are interesting and you’re drawn into their worlds, Madeleine doing what she can to help the survivors of the Titanic and you discover what happened aboard the Carpathia before it arrived in New York and Jackie who’s just spent the last two years battling the Covid pandemic and lock-downs and both women have suffered personal loss and don’t know if they will be blessed with the gift of raising a child themselves.

I received a copy of The Lost Child by Kathleen McGurl from HQ Digital and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Using real facts and details about passengers and the sinking of the Titanic and the Carpathia the ship that came to their rescue Ms. McGurl has written a interesting narrative that's thoroughly researched, and gives the reader a new and fresh insight into the world's most famous maritime tragedy.

Can you imagine how the families of the passengers aboard the Titanic's first voyage felt when they heard the ship might have sunk in North Atlantic Ocean, many didn’t believe it and all sorts of theories and ideas were shared by the press over the few days it took for the Carpathia to reach New York?

The author mentions in the story the new communication invention the Titanic and Carpathia both used, I had never heard about it before and it was a life saver. I highly recommend reading The Lost Child, and it’s an engrossing story that will stay with you long after you have turned the last page and it made me feel really emotional. I especially liked Ms. McGurl's dedication and she thanks my book friend Cindy Spear and fellow Australian blogger and I admire them both. Five stars big stars from me and a must read.

Another wonderful book by Kathleen McGurl. Having read the lost sister a couple of years ago, it was great to read another story set in the same time period but from a different perspective, both timelines are as intriguing as each and you really feel like you get to Joe the characters and find yourself rooting for them. A fantastic, heart wrenching novel.

Both heartwrenching and heartwarming this a beautifully told story or tragedy, loss and love.
If all history lessons were told like this I might have got better grades in my history exam 😹
Blending mainly facts with fiction the story is told from two women, set over a hundred years apart, Jackie in 2022 and Madeleine in 1912.
Both women have the loss of a baby in common so when both women are introduced to the story of Titanic survivor, Lucy Watts, both women are touched by her story and her missing daughter, and both go about trying to find out what happened to the little missing baby girl.
Madeleine is aboard the ship Carpathia and witnesses the rescue of the survivors of the sunken Titanic and it is as she is helping the survivors board the Carpathia that she is handed a bundle from one of the Titanic’s stewardess, only to have the bundle which contained a baby snatched straight back out of her arms.
Madeleine’s husband is a journalist and sets her the task of interviewing some of the women survivors to get their story of what really happened to the Titanic which is how she learns of Lucy’s lost child and vows to help her finding her missing baby.
Jackie is a research assistant to a wealthy businessman who is an avid collector, so when he buys a box of miscellaneous items from the ship, Carpathia, she discovers Madeleine’s notebook containing the interviews she carried out, one of which is Lucy’s story.
She is immediately drawn to the story still feeling her own recent loss and begins digging into the story.
Both women’s stories are equally as compelling and both storylines draw you into their worlds and lives as it follows their own personal losses along with the huge disaster and loss of live from the sinking of the Titanic.
It is beautifully written, full of compassion for the tragedy and it is a story that will haunt you, in a good way!, long after you have finished the last page.
I was completely invested in both storylines and loved all the nonfictional elements of the book. It is a book that once you start reading you cannot put it down.
I highly recommend reading this book to anyone and everyone, and I would go so far as to say it is one of the best books I have had the pleasure of reading this year.

What an excellent book. I've always been interested by stories about The Titanic and this one was such a great story. A dual time-line it blends the two eras so well. My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Madeleine Meyer lost her baby and her ability to have a child. Her journalist husband Ralph takes her on a trip to Europe as a change of scenery. They travel aboard the Carpathia, which suddenly changes course and rushes north. The Titanic is sinking. A baby is brought on board. Madeleine briefly holds her before a woman snatches the child out of her arms.
Present day: Jackie is 35. She wants children before its too late. Her adventure-loving boyfriend reluctantly agrees to try for a baby after their summer hike through Italy. But she becomes pregnant before their trip and then miscarries. Tim’s seeming relief chills her. She finds solace by reading the notebook of “M. M.” The Carpathia passenger recorded interviews with women survivors, one of whom is sure her infant daughter was handed into a lifeboat but is no where to be found aboard Carpathia.
I did not find Tim appealing in the first half of the book. He seemed self-centered and indifferent toward Jackie. We didn’t hear enough from his point of view. After his epiphany in Italy, I couldn’t read fast enough.
Much of this is based on actual people, including the Carpathia captain’s refusal to allow a reporter to send a report detailing that Titanic did sink (it was not being towed) and the number of survivors.

What a fantastic interwoven book about present day and the titanic history.
Jackie is in 2022 with her live in boyfriend of years she wants to start a family he’s wants adventures holidays.
Jackie works for a collector and is given a box full of titanic memorabilia. She finds notes form a journalist and his wife who were aboard the carparthia when the titanic survivors were brought aboard. This is where it then flits from 1912 to present day.
Wonderfully written loved this book and read in one sitting