The Lost Boy by Jane Renshaw

Release: July 10, 2022
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Inkubator Books
Source: Zooloos Book Tours
Find it at Goodreads, Amazon, Geni.US,

One island. Two women. A journey to hell.

The Clarke family, Penny, Rod and their two young boys, are delighted when they are offered a holiday in a high-end guest house on a remote and beautiful island.

Their hostess Anna seems like a lovely woman. But what the Clarkes don’t realize is that this is no random invitation, that Anna has carefully selected the family to satisfy her sinister agenda.

Penny soon begins to sense there’s something off about Anna. She often speaks about her husband and son, but is it odd that they are both away? And that Anna seems perfectly content to be alone in this isolated place?

And then there’s the way she looks at Penny’s boys – as if she’s sizing up chickens for the slaughter.

Penny grows increasingly uneasy and begins to do a bit of digging, which leads to a horrifying discovery – she finally realizes who Anna is. Then she knows exactly why they’ve been invited to the island.

She also knows that if she and her family are ever going to leave, they’ll have to fight for their lives… and find the answer to one terrifying question – how far would you go for the people you love?

The Lost Boy – the gripping psychological thriller from the author of The Stepson and The Child Who Never Was.

About the Author:

As a child, Jane spent much time in elaborate Lego worlds populated by tiny plastic animals and people. Crime levels were high, especially after the Dragon brothers set themselves up as vets and started murdering the animals in their ‘care’. (They got away with it by propping the victims up with Plasticine and pretending they were still alive…)

As an adult, she is still playing in imaginary worlds and putting her characters through hell – but now she can call it ‘writing’ and convince herself that she is doing something sensible. In real life, she has a PhD in genetics and copy-edits scientific and medical journals.

Jane writes psychological thrillers. The Stepson will be her fourth novel published with Inkubator Books.

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The Lost Boy Review:

“The Lost Boy” is a compelling thriller that shines for its characters!

The book is a different psychological thriller because of the small set of characters on the canvas. You have a maximum of five main characters, and initially, I wondered how the author could shock me with just these characters. However, the author writes the emotions and backstory of the characters so well! You second guess each of their intentions and wonder what is happening. Moreover, I liked the mysterious backdrop of the Island where you don’t know what will happen to them.

Moreover, the highlight for me was the two main characters, Anna and Penny. Anna and Penny are complete opposites, and I enjoyed how the author portrayed them. What’s also interesting is how the author made me change my perception of both characters throughout the tale. Initially, I rooted for Penny and thought Anna was strange and sinister. But, as the story progressed, I realized I rooted more for Anna and didn’t like Penny. I liked how the author seamlessly moved the transition and alternated the chapters between the perspective of the two characters. Anna, in particular, is fascinating. You can see the hurt and love she feels whenever she thinks of Broc and Tam.

Another highlight of the tale was Freddie. For some reason, this character unnerved me. There were times when Freddie’s reactions to the situation didn’t seem normal, and I thought something sinister was happening. After reading the story, I still feel that the author could have dabbed more into Freddie, as he was undoubtedly a strange boy. I hope the author writes a sequel focusing on Freddie.

Overall, “The Lost Boy” is an exciting thriller worth checking out if you love character-driven stories more than the plot, and I liked it.