The Lost Notebook: THE NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

Product Information

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Louise Douglas and Boldwood Books for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you

A notebook full of secrets, two untimely deaths – something sinister is stirring in the perfect seaside town of Morranez… Mila goes looking for Ani one day and finds her with an old woman traveler, Gosia, and when she finds the old woman dead, she is compelled to find the woman's son Tomaz. The police think that Gosia just died but Mila is not happy with that, she intends to investigate when she finds out that Ani tells her of a book that the old woman had, it cannot be found. Inside that book are the clues as to who Gosia was and what she has written in the book may be enough to have had her murdered. I almost DNF'ed several times but what saved this book for me is that the characters and the writing itself were interesting and compelling enough to keep me going. Gosia’s ‘notebook’ goes missing when she is found dead. Her ‘work’ was in this book, work that she had been compiling since her son, Tomas, died. I would like to thank #LouiseDouglas, #Netgalley, #BoldwoodBooks and #RachelsRandomResources for an ARC of #TheLostNotebook in exchange for an honest review.And now the end of the story.... spoilers ahead! Where did the boat come from that the bad guy escaped with? Why didn't he destroy the notebook as soon as he stole it from Goscia? How did no one see him carry/drag Ani off from the sleepout to the pier? I don’t know how she does it but Douglas ties together things that one wouldn’t expect and readers just accept it and keep reading; an archaeological dig, teenage angst, French traditions, an orphaned child, a gypsy woman with a secret, a professor with questionable actions, a private investigator and a well-dressed woman with a mistaken identity. But almost a year on and now Mila's plans to return to England in September is thwarted by the mysterious death a traveller woman Gosia and Mila is felt compelled to investigate. But the police do not believe there is anything suspicious with Gosia's death and according to the doctor, she was an old woman living on borrowed time. And her time had come. But Gosia had a huge notebook in which she was writing that she called "her life's work" and it was nowhere to be seen in her little horsebox van. Neither were there any photos or even Gosia's phone. Mila found these discrepancies suspicious. But again, the police did not. The story takes place in France on the idyllic Brittany coast. Mila has put her life in Bristol on hold after the sudden and tragic death of her sister Sophie and travels to France to take care of her fourteen year old niece Ani. It is only for the interim, until Ani is sent to boarding school the following year and then Mila can return to her life and to police boyfriend Luke. Definitely recommend the book. Loved the characters, writing style and story. This was the first book I read by the author and I look forward to reading more. Loved the cover of the book.

Found the story rather slow, nothing really interesting happens until nearly half way through the story. It ends on an odd note too, with no resolution over of a possible misunderstanding/relationship issue, some aspects of the story left open ended - this may be so that the reader can draw their own conclusions, or the author possibly may be writing a sequel to this. Mila Shepherd has moved into her family home to look after her niece, whose parents Sophie and husband Charles were lost at sea.In this mystery thriller, the unexpected death of a elderly traveller woman in the seaside town of Morranez sparks Mila Shepherd, a reluctant private detective, to begin an investigation. My only question is of Charlie (Sophie’s husband who also died in the accident), there was not much said of him at all, considering he was part of the ‘group’. That said the story is not about him at all, so for entertainment I highly recommend this for a great escapism read.