Lost in the Garden by Adam S. Leslie

Dead Ink Books

9781915368485

464pp

I want to start by saying this is hands-down one of my favourite reads of the year so far. Lost in the Garden is a gothic folk horror that was shortlisted for the Nero Prize, and I absolutely loved it! It tells the story of three friends (Rachel, Antonia, and Heather) as they do exactly what they’ve always been told not to: go to Almanby.

Set in the perma-summer of a catastrophic event, with the risen dead roaming around, Heather wants to find her boyfriend, Rachel wants to deliver a mystery package, and lovesick Antonia just wants to be around Heather. What follows is a creepy, dreamlike story interwoven with the familiar and bizarre, as slowly it becomes harder and harder to tell who is friend and who is foe.

I was astounded at the writing of this book. You could feel the summer haze rising from the pages, hear the fizzing of the shortwave radio, and feel the looming doom of the dead and Almanby. Almanby itself is perfectly rendered in spooky detail; its abandoned cottages and thriving gardens, the eerie echo of the ice cream van, the abandoned fête. Nothing quite seems real, and yet it is crisp and clear on the page.

Heather and Antonia and Rachel feel doomed the moment they set out for Almanby, and this much is true, but not in the way you would imagine. In fact, this story has a twist that had me gasping at the moment of reveal. In many ways, you can predict what is coming, but in others you can’t. It just feels so obscure, like you’re about to wake up from a dream of falling just before you hit the ground. Every chapter offers a misstep, a red herring, and yet the answer comes clearly to you once it’s offered.

I was blown away by this book. I was desperate to get back to it at every free moment and couldn’t help but sneak bits in even when I was busy. I love fantasy and horror and all those brilliant genres, and this was right up my street. Top recommendation!!!