A thrilling, nail-biting page turner. I read this book in basically one sitting, because I couldn't put it down! Seamlessly blending the past with the present, The Lost Village takes the haunting genre and turns it on its head. Any time you think you've figured out what happens, Camilla Sten throws another twist at you and leaves you questioning everything. If you like horror books, you definitely don't want to miss this one!

Alice Lindstedt believes that she has a story to tell. Her grandmother is originally from Sweden's only ghost town, Silvertjarn. In fact, when the entire population of the small mining town disappeared in the late 1950's, her grandmother's mother, father, and sister disappeared with them. Alice wants to visit Silvertjarn and create a documentary about the ghost town and its former inhabitants; she also wants to solve the mystery of what happened. However, when Alice and four of her friends spend five days in Silvertjarn gathering initial footage, she gets a great deal more than what she bargained for.

This was a thoroughly enjoyable thriller that kept me guessing until the very last pages. There are twists and turns throughout this story, but the real star of this novel is the oppressively creepy ghost town where it takes place. Silvertjarn itself becomes a character as you follow Alice in her attempts to simultaneously create a documentary and solve a fifty year old mystery. I highly recommend this novel for those interested in thrillers, gothic horror novels, and novels with setting as a character.

Dear Reader, if the blurb snagged your attention, please don’t let my lack of enthusiasm stop you from reading.

The Lost Village was a swing and a miss for me…I’ve tried three times to engage in the story, and once again, I believe it’s my lack of enjoying the Now and Then change in chapters that made it a no go. The beginning was also wee bit confusing for me; therefore, it just didn’t hook and reel me in to finishing. Sad to say, this was a DNF. Again, this is just one reader’s take on a story, so what didn’t work for me, could be your next fav read!



**I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book that I received via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten was a suspenseful thriller that follows a documentary film maker as she makes her way to a village in Sweden that has been abandoned for over 50 years. Alice and her crew investigate the village to try and find answers as to why the town of nearly 900 disappeared one day and all that was left was an old lady and a newborn baby. Alice and her friends begin to realise that they are not alone in the abandoned village as many weird, creepy and dangerous things begin to happen to the crew. Can Alice and her friends put together the pieces of the past or will the spirit of the Lost Village capture them before they do?

This book heavily reminded me of Blair Witch Project. I felt like I was on the edge of my seat for about 80 percent of it but the ending fell flat for me. I feel like it lacked the exciting wow factor and I felt like it wasn’t the ending that I had hoped for. I wasn’t overly attached to any of the characters and I wasn’t invested in their outcome. I did like the creepy vibe, the setting and the past paced chapters as I was able to fly though this book in a couple of days. For those reasons I am rating this book 3.5 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Camilla Sten for the advanced copy of this book. I am looking forward to reading more from Camilla Sten in the future!

4.5 stars rounded up. This was a super creepy story that I really enjoyed! I was on the edge of my seat for the whole book, and at one point I knocked something off my table and jumped about a foot in the air because I was so immersed in the story. Compelling characters, a mysterious plot, and a dark and spooky setting made for an excellent tale that kept me reading late into the night!

Alice is a documentary film makes who has been obsessed with "The Lost Village" most of her life. A small town of 900 people vanished and were never seen from or heard from again. While the disappearance was investigated shortly after, no solid answers were ever found. Alice's Grandmother used to live in this town and lost her parents and sister when this mystery happened. Alice grew up hearing the stories and reading her Great Aunt's letters about her life before she disappeared. As far as anyone knows, there was only one surviver. A lone baby found abandoned in a school building. It just so happens that Alice has found the daughter of the baby and she wants in on the investigation and film project. When Alice and her small team visit the desolate village in attempt to create a promo film to gain financial backing; they get a feeling that they are not the only one's there. The town certainly seems to have been undisturbed for the past 60 years but they still have a feeling there is some other sort of presence. I enjoyed the suspense and mystery of this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat. But I was expecting a much different ending and cause for the disappearance. The ending was almost non-climactic. It may be just that I was expecting something along the lines of paranormal rather than a cult-like following. Though, overall I enjoyed it and found it entertaining and worth the read.

Alice is an aspiring documentary film maker who travels with a rag tag crew into the Swedish wilderness to investigate an abandoned village with close famial ties. Forty years before, Silverjarn was found completely devoid of most of its denizens save for a bloated corpse tied to a post in the town square and a crying baby of unknown parentage. The police investigation back then was unable to determine what happened to the villagers except that they had simply disappeared without a trace. As Alice, and her team, start their investigation it is clear that someone or something is sabotaging their efforts. Soon things get from bad to worse with disastrous consequences. Some will never leave this mining town cloaked by a dark forest and a darker history.  We will learn the horrifying truth of what happend in silverjarn those forty years before and how close to home it will get for Alice and those unfortunate enough to have followed her on her journey back through time. I've been waiting for a novel like this for a while. It was creepy in parts and gave off ghost hunting show vibes, as the team scour abandoned buildings looking for answers. But we learn that the most horrifying things in this book are not the ghosts left behind but the power of evil found in human nature and of its ability to transcend time itself.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley to for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. Publishes March 2021

Remember the BlairWitch Project- the movie? It had everyone second guessing what was real or not. Was it a hoax? Did it actually happen? Was it based on true events?

The Lost Village has the same vibes. As the reader is pulled in you start to doubt what you are reading. Does the village actually exist? Did people disappear here? Who keeps whispering? I wont go into too many details, I think for potential readers vague is better.

The production team filming the village is on a tight budget and deadline. No one is here for the money, each of them agreed to the project based upon hidden agendas of their own. The village’s history while intriguing has a lot of gaps, secrets and stories untold. The reader is along for the ride, in search to the answers of what happened here? And now, is it still happening?

The book reads like a movie screenplay. The reader can feel each creak of the stairs, each whisper of breath in the air. The ending is messy, there are loose ends but there is also some closure, both for the characters and the plotline. BUT......When I finished I still felt like I didn’t know the whole story.

Tip- Read with the lights on and a pillow nearby. If this book were made into a movie I dont know if I could watch it. I would have my head under the blankets.

Recommend to thriller and horror lovers!!

Really enjoyed this book, a perfect mix of Chills and mystery they kept you turning the page, and keeping the lights on at night.........

Slow burning thriller about a town in Sweden that was inexplicably abandoned in the late fifties. A documentary production company of twenty-somethings sets-up camp to unlock the secrets of the town and experience mounting problems. The story really picked up in the end and was very satisfying. Not a scream-fest.

Thank you for allowing me an advanced copy of this book for reviewing. I did enjoy this book.

Let’s start with the pros:
Loved the idea of the book. Whole town disappears with no trace. Creepy!
Group of young people travel to the town(still abandoned) to investigated for a future documentary.
Many different characters creating suspicion between each other.
Easy read

Cons:
Typical horror movie. Everything that can go wrong, does.
The ending (won’t give it away) was a little out there...even more out there than the fact that there is a town that disappeared 50 years ago and no one else has ever returned to the town to look/search/ investigate/find any evidence.
The ending (again) I didn’t feel wrapped everything up. Maybe setting up for a sequel(?) which I would ready btw!

A comparison to The Blair Witch Project & Midsommar - sign me up!
The Lost Village has a delicious premise - independent filmmaker Alice and her misfit crew go to Silvertjarn to investigate the abandoned, isolated town to try and figure out just what happened to all of its inhabitants. Soon after their arrival, sinister occurrences plague the team, and their plans quickly disintegrate.

The first half of the book is a slower pace as the relationships between characters form and evolve, and we try and learn about Silvertjarn. I found this part a bit two dimensional. The second half of the novel really picks up pace, and while it was a tad predictable, it was still an enjoyable read. It was relatively atmospheric but somewhat superficial - I think the author could have developed this more, and there are some overall holes in the plot, but all in all, a decent read.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for an ARC in exchange for review.

I was initially attracted to The Lost Village because of its premise. A documentary film crew travel to a remote village to investigate the sudden and unexplained disappearance of 800+ people many years earlier.

Although my expectations were fairly low, this book totally delivered on creep factor. The sentences created images in my mind so viscerally chilling that I found myself putting on a romantic comedy in the background when late night reading early chapters. And if I'm being honest, the thriller angst held until probably the last 45 minutes of reading - which rarely happens for me.

Even though I didn't fully love or appreciate the "ending", it doesn't matter. The book had me glued, made me feel things other than pandemic overwhelm and made me appreciate Camilla Sten's subtle ability to paint scary images using words.

I read parts of the book during a late night power failure and that definitely added a spookiness, I'd absolutely recommend for anyone spending time camping or at a cottage.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated as always.

I was so excited to get approved for this one! An entire town that disappeared? A new born baby left alone in a school house? Count me in. The lost village was creepy and atmospheric. I felt like I was there with Alice trying to figure out what happened. I wanted more of the supernatural but like all cults, people are the real monsters.

This was AWESOME! I wasn’t sure what to expect going into it but oh holy cannoli it was scary/paranoid/dark/thrilling/ TWISTED fun!
I found myself immersed in this village because the details were so vividly written.
Highly recommend!
Thank you @netgalley, the author and publisher for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, Camilla Sten and St Martin's Press in exchange for an honest review.

WOW! I was shocked right away by how this books sweeps you right into the story and this dark and creepy village. I was super creeped out most of the novel and I really didn't want to read it in the dark on my own! I was addicted right away and I really had no idea what was going on in this village, but the back and forth between past and present was amazing. This village has quite a dark past and no one knows about it until this group decides to find out. I read this one as fast as I could to find out exactly what was going on. I can't say enough good things, but I also don't want to give anything away. I would highly recommend!

Wow. This book was super creepy in the sense of like <i>Blair Witch Project</i>, so if you're easily spooked you might not like this book. But, if you're like me and are always looking for some creepy horror fiction, vanishing villagers, possibly evil priests, and general frights, then I think you should give this book a try.

It's set in a remote village in Sweden, where a group of villagers went disappearing in the late 40s, with the exception of one crying baby. The story jumps back and forth between the NOW when 5 people drive up to the place to shoot some shots to help promote the independent film they're making on this strange unsolved disappearance. There are some backstories and baggage mixed in with each of these characters, and it plays out very well in the story.

An e-ARC was provided to me by the author and publishing via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book

This story is told in two POV and points in time-in the 1950's told by Alice's great-grandmother, Elsa, and modern day being told by Alice.

In 1950's, the entire town of Silvertjarn disappears overnight without a trace. Alice is wanting to make a documentary about Silvertjarn and find out what happened to her great-grandparents and great aunt. Alice is such an interesting main character-clearly flawed but with good intentions. Along with her crew, Alice travels to Silvertjarn in preparation for their documentary. After a few strange things happen, they are not certain they are alone, but they dismiss it as jitters. Lots of twists and turns lead to the dramatic ending that ties up all of the loose ends.

This is a must read! 4.5 out of 5 stars.

This book was fantastic. It was creepy, sad, thrilling, and entertaining. Thank you St. Martin's Press (Minotaur Books) for an e-ARC through NetGalley.

If you are a fan of haunting mysteries, this one is for you! This was one of the creepiest books I’ve read in a while. Tensions and foreboding build to have you quickly turning pages to see what happens next. The dual timeline “then” and “now” helps tell the backstory of what Alice and friends find as they investigate the village. Highly recommend!

Alice and her film crew plan to spend five days in Silvertjarn gathering footage to pitch a documentary about an entire mining village that went missing in 1959. Growing up, Alice heard the mysterious tale from her grandmother who once lived in the village but had left before the charming new pastor came to church. As Alice tries to solve unanswered questions about what happened, mysterious things begin happening to the film crew. Is the village haunted? Or is something else more sinister at play?

The Lost Village is a book full of suspense and mystery that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The premise immediately pulled me in, and the writing and my curiosity kept me reading until the last page.

I found the story to be unique and unpredictable. Sten does a fantastic job creating and maintaining a creepy atmosphere. The conclusion was satisfying and unexpected. The characters in The Lost Village were not deeply developed, but I did not think they necessarily needed to be. I don't know what more I could have wanted from this book. I gasped out loud.

There was one plot point I did not think necessary, but it didn't ruin or throw off the story. It was just unnecessary and did not lead anywhere. While reading, I thought I would have a big issue with how the book handled mental illness, but it turned out to be better handled than I feared albeit not completely accurate. I won't go into details for fear of spoilers! If you read it and want to discuss, let me know!

Overall, I highly recommend The Lost Village. It was a well-executed thriller full of suspense with an interesting premise. However, if you are one of those people who need books to be completely believable, this may not be the book for you.