Aubrey Hamilton Reviews: Lost You by Haylen Beck

Lost You (Crown, 2019) by Haylen Beck, Irish crime writer Stuart Neville’s alter ego, is a hair-raising thriller, anxiety-provoking in its plot, nerve-wracking and awe-inspiring in its execution. The book opens with a young unnamed woman climbing to the top of a wall on a hotel roof, holding a small child and preparing to take both of them over the edge to the pavement far below. After reading four pages of this intense scenario, I was not sure I was going to be able to proceed, but fortunately the story flipped to several months earlier, something that the book does a lot, and began to fill in the details of just how this desperate situation came to such a sorry pass.

 

Libby Reese’s dabbling in creative writing has turned into her first novel and after its sale her agent urges her to treat herself to a nice vacation. Libby has had a hard time since her husband Mason left her with a newborn three years earlier, and the luxurious getaway is a celebration of her successful new life and a well-deserved break. She and her son Ethan fly to a resort in Florida, where they enjoy the sun and the relaxed environment. Near the end of their stay, on their way to the pool one afternoon, Ethan dashes down the hall to the elevator, jumps in when the doors open, pushes buttons, and disappears before Libby can reach him. Hotel security starts a massive search of the property as well as a review of the films from cameras stationed all around the buildings. Then they call the local police who start asking a lot of questions.

 

Many authors can create suspense on the page but Beck is a master. He’s likewise incredibly skilled at folding flashbacks into a cohesive story. This book has two separate plot lines and both are built with chronological interruptions until they collide. Flashbacks are hard to write and even harder to incorporate smoothly. I know moving back and forth in a story timeline is in style but it’s one I never cared for, partly because it results in a disjointed read. However, I was struck by how well this one was accomplished. The plot itself is complicated, as are the main characters, neither of whom are quite honest with themselves or the reader. Crime fiction fans who find stories of children in jeopardy upsetting should avoid this one. On the other hand, followers of psychological thrillers will love it.

 

Starred review from Kirkus.

 

·         Publisher: Crown (August 6, 2019)

·         Language: English

·         Hardcover: 320 pages

·         ISBN-10: 1524759589

·         ISBN-13: 978-1524759582 

 

Aubrey Hamilton ©2021 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.