Lost by Gillian Wells is a suspenseful family drama set in rural Australia.
Connie, Alec, and their children Seb, Caitlin, and Sarah live in Scenic Rim. It’s a country town in South East Queensland.
The stress of running a business during a drought has made Alec hard to please, and his family is struggling as he finds fault with everyone.
Seb heard his mum and dad arguing – what he heard rocked his world. He’s a marathon runner and before thinking rationally, he took off running into the night. His only thought was to get away.
His mum’s estranged family lives in rural Victoria. He knows nothing about his maternal grandparents and his two aunts as they are not talked about. If he can find them, maybe he will be able to understand more about himself and his family.
Connie suspects Seb has overheard the argument and would probably head to Victoria to find her parents – his grandparents.
Alec and Connie had kept a family secret, believing they were protecting and keeping their three children safe. As it now turns out, the opposite has happened. Seb is running into danger.
Connie is trying to cope with an unwell husband, teenage daughters, business pressures, and a missing son.
Connie has no other option than to try and find Seb before he gets to her parent’s place.
What is Connie’s huge secret and why did she run from her parents? What will his grandparents do to Seb if he finds them?
How does the rest of the family cope when their son, brother, and paternal grandson is missing?
This is the story of Seb’s journey to find himself, plus Connie’s own journey with her unresolved childhood trauma. The connection to a beautiful Arabian horse, who comes into their lives helps them to move forward.
The action, dark twists, and suspense keep you turning the pages as you want Seb and Connie to stay safe.
It is so hard not to give the plot away, but the story touches on mental health, cults, dysfunctional families, happy families, childhood trauma, and the ability of an animal’s unconditional trust and love to help with the healing.
I thoroughly recommend this book.
Thank you to Shawline Publishing Group and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this excellent book.
A selection of our members are reading Lost by Gillian Wells. You can read their thoughts in the comments below, or add your own review.
I love to read, any book on any topic. I now love ebooks as they are easier to store, I was running out of bookshelves! My other interests are family, gardening and our beautiful King Charles spaniel dog who is my reading companion.
Thank you so much for this wonderfull review . It makes me feel so happy that you have enjoyed Lost .A sequel out later this year .
Prologue drew me in to want to read this book.
Set in South East Queensland on a property, seb overhears his dad say something that hurts him deeply, so he leaves the family home to find answers, heading towards Victoria.
Connie his mother is worried sick and goes looking for him. Along the way comes mental health, childhood trauma.
Lots of dark twists and suspense had me wanting to read constantly
Thank you to Shawline Publishing Group and Beauty and Lace for the opportunity to read this excellent book
Highly recommended
Thankyou Beautyandlace. Lost was a great read. Having received this book as a second chance I am very glad I did.
The book revolves around one family secret but as the story continues the secrets from way back start to appear.. The very best and the very worst of humanity are laid out and the effects for some are enduring. Many thanks to Shawline Publishing Group and congratulations Gillian Wells.
I loved this book . The cover is so beautiful and invites the reader to explore the story before opening the first page. I found many aspects of the story resonated with my own personal life , a journey which involves running from dark family secrets to face the dragons with courage , strength , hope and love . The interweaving of the beautiful Arabian horse added an extra dimension and richness to the story . I highly recommend this book it is one that left me thinking for days afterwards .
This story touches on so many aspects of life, some conventional, some frightening and almost unbelievable, yet true.
Set in Queensland, an ordinary Aussie family are doing it tough, and slowly all sorts of things change, which sees the family go through some enormous fears and challenges. It certainly brings to the fore, that only hearing part of a story when eavesdropping, can turn a whole faily and their life upside down. It shows how honesty and communiction can save so much misunderstanding and heartache.
From being torn apart, to having to overcome fear and mental health issues, as well as medical issues, this family goes through it all. The saving grace at the end, only for a few chapters, is an Arabian horse. He helps heal the lost teenage son, and his mother, and sees them find healing and purpose in life again, together.
A page turning and thought provoking story, which certainly gave me alot to think about. The ending, was well written, and not at all rushed, and I’m hoping has left open the opportunity to a sequel. I would love to read about Seb and his sisters, a few years in the future, and how their lives evolve after this tragic time.
Thank the Gillian Wells for a wonderful read, and to Beauty & Lace for chosing me to preview.
After putting this book down for a while when life got in the way, I found my way back to this lovely Australian story. It captures issues many families silently go through and often without seeing a means to an end. Seb, overhearing a hurtful comment from his father, leaves to find his way!
A beautiful animal, Arabian Horse, helps this family partly find their way.
Lost, by Gillian Wells is a lovely story.
Thank you so much Beauty and Lace and Shawline publishing for allowing me to review Lost.
I highly recommend reading this book if you love horses or if you love Australian books that really talk about what our beautiful country is like.
I really enjoyed getting to know the characters and came to find a new love for horses.
The family go through so much in this novel but the beautiful Arabian horse really helped them to heal.
Thank you Shawline Publishers, Beauty and Lace and Gillian Wells for the opportunity to read this book.
Centred around a family living in a struggling town in SE Qld, it explores what happens in a family when secrets threaten to come out and family aren’t sure how to proceed. After overhearing a secret, Seb decides to take matters into his own hands and find out further information for himself.
The story was easy to read and the characters were well developed. The description of the surroundings and environment were written beautifully. I did feel that the story was developed well at the beginning but the ending seemed to happen all at once. Overall an interesting read with believable characters.
Thank you for the opportunity to read this book and sorry for late reply. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, being set in SE Qld grabbed me in. It dealt with what so many families are facing these days and was written beautifully. The horse played a huge part in the healing process which occurs in properties the animals help to heal. The characters and storyline were very believable as every family has their secrets. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it. Once again thank you for the opportunity.