Review: L O S T

L O S T by R.S. Guthrie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Book Info: Genre: Dark Thriller/Horror/Suspense Reading Level: Adult

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this eBook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Synopsis: Denver Detective Bobby Mac returns in this intense horror/thriller, set in the northern panhandle wilderness of Idaho. After receiving a phone call from his brother, the Chief of Police in Rocky Gap, Idaho, Bobby Mac travels north to assist in the investigation surrounding two gruesome murders and the abduction of an eleven-year-old girl.

These two seasoned cops – estranged brothers reunited – will bring all of their experience to bear in a case that threatens not only the safety of a small town, but also the sacred lineage of a family of heroes.

My Thoughts: This book is the sequel to Black Beast, which I just read and reviewed. L O S T has less of the police procedural feel and more of a dark suspense/horror element to it. It is a solid book, but I wasn’t as enthusiastic about it as I was Black Beast; unfortunately, I can’t put my finger on why, exactly. I simply was unable to connect to it.

I was troubled by the use of the lovely pentagram, at one point, being used to point to sinister connections. Well, maybe not – the other picture was not sinister, but of something that was helpful, so maybe the pentagram was, as well, but later an inverse pentagram was definitely used for sinister purposes – of course, an inverse pentagram is usually considered to be sinister by the unenlightened. It is, in fact, a useful tool for understanding yourself, but unfortunately it has been tainted by Satanists and black magic practitioners.

There are a lot of questions left unanswered at the end of the book, but of course there is another in the works that I believe Guthrie hopes to have out before the end of the year. However, it seemed to me that many things that are brought up in the book are never really realized – things like Amanda’s pregnancy, and what Mac learns about it. No one seems to react to this, and that surprised me. I’m being intentionally vague to minimize spoilers – you’ll see what I mean when you read it.

And I’m definitely not saying you should avoid the book; it’s a decent and solid story, it just felt a bit unfinished to me somehow. It could just be me, of course; I find books to be more satisfying when they delve a bit more deeply into things, and this one often feels rushed, like too many things are being crammed into too few pages and that doesn’t leave room for everything to be explored to its fullest. I will, however, definitely be continuing to read this series. In the meantime, I’m preparing to read Guthrie’s dark Western crime novel, Dark Prairies, which he considers to be his magnum opus. I think folks who are interested in demons, and who enjoy a fast-paced thriller/horror novel will enjoy L O S T, but be sure to read Black Beast first, so you get more of the character development.



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