Thank you NETGALLEY for an advance e-copy of THE LOST VILLAGE, by Camilla Sten, translated by Alexander Fleming. This first novel for Stein is available in mid March.

Alice's dream is becoming reality. She has arrived at Silvertjern, Sweden, a deserted mining town, considered a 'ghost town". This is where her grandmother's entire family and the town's residents all disappeared mysteriously in 1959.
As a young filmmaker, Alice is accompanied by her small team of friends to make a documentary of the town using letters from her grandmother.
Indeed, upon arriving in Silvertjern, Alice and her friends find the small, dilapidated village including a church and small homes, empty with few clues. That is, until a sudden explosion of one of their vehicles destroys most of their equipment and food, strange sounds are heard and strange occurrences begin.
What began as an exciting project to uncover what happened to the residents of Silvertjern soon becomes a struggle for survival.
This is a highly gripping tale packed with mystery that tests the relationships of the friends who are plunged into a harrowing experience.
Four stars.

The Lost Village by Camilla Sten is a slightly scary thriller, and I loved it! Alice is filming a documentary about an old mining town called "The Lost Village." Her grandmother's family vanished along with the rest of the town's residents in 1959, and Alice wants to solve the mystery. She and her small group travel to this secluded town to flim, but strange things start happening. Is someone else there with them? This story was slightly spooky, atmospheric, and I couldn't stop reading it! Thanks to NetGalley for the free digital review copy. All opinions are my own.

3.5 stars if I'm being specific.

I LOVED everything about this book until about the 75% mark. Stories that start slow and end great are way better than books that start great and end terribly. Better a surprise than a letdown in my opinion. I actually guessed the ending around that same mark but thought there was no way they would make the story end so unbelievably. Well, I was proven WRONG because they did. I was literally lol-ing through the last 25% of the story which is not how thriller/horror/suspense novels are supposed to make you react. I don't mind suspending my disbelief a little for horror novels, but this was absolutely ridiculous. Lovely writing and storytelling, great characters, amazing suspense, but ruined by the ending. Could have easily been a 4.5-5 star for me.

Also, I completely get the comparisons to Blair Witch Project, but not AT ALL to Midsommar. The only similarity is that it's set in Sweden... that's seriously it.

The vanishing of an old mining town in Sweden is the focus of Alice Lindstedt's documentary, and she seeks to research and explore the area for answers to why only two people remained. With her small film crew, they begin to experience the terror of the small village while Alice tries to uncover the mystery.

The setting and story of this spooky novel are right up my alley, but it missed the mark a bit. I felt it lacked the tension and scares that I longed for when I first began the story. I just wanted a bit more.

It was good, not great. I don't think it's a standout in the genre and it won't be a book I am pressing into the hands of readers.

I was drawn to reading this because it's set in Sweden, and I have Swedish lineage. I'm not sure I'd have stuck with it if it had a different setting, though the premise was certainly intriguing, and I wanted to know what happened to all the villagers. As the book progressed, I wondered how the author would create a plausible explanation for the events or if it would end up having a more supernatural frame. I was ultimately satisfied by the ending, though it didn't feel entirely plausible.

If you like horror or creepy mystery novels, you'll probably enjoy this.

This book is a mystery with a setting similar to the movie/video game Silent Hill. But without the monsters seen there. I read it in about 3 nights, as it was hard to put down.

The story focuses on a 50’s mining town whose entire population disappears into thin air. 60 years into the present, a granddaughter of a resident scraps together a documentary crew to film and photograph the village in order to raise fundings for a proper documentary. She only has five days to obtain enough material to convince donors to support her dream production, but as the days go on, incidents occur to interfere with her plans.

As I read more, I realized there could be three reasons for the strange disappearances:

1. A cultish mass suicide
2. Aliens
3. The Pied Piper came and whisked everyone away

But still, I was wrong.

As the crew explore the village, they are faced with a disintegrating time capsule. They piece together clues from old letters, investigative reports, and new information they discover in the sock drawers of certain key houses.

The Village is eerie. All the houses are built according to the same layouts. The team wants to visit the hut of an autistic resident, the Church, and the School where a baby was found. The sole survivor.

However, the Mine, the main source of industry in the 50’s, is too dangerous to venture into. And not only that, but it’s mineral properties and magnetism interfere with cellphone reception. Luckily the crew have brought walkie-talkies. Nothing should interfere with that, right?

Haunting and utterly mesmerizing. Sten’s prose rolled over me like a weighted blanket of dread. Even when I wasn’t reading, my mind was in the tragic ghost village of Silvertyarn. This book gave me a serious case of the shivers and I absolutely adored it.

*Thank you Netgalley for the free E-ARC!

Your family disappeared in a mystery and a murder that still lives on in your mind. What could have happened to the village of hundreds that just.. disappeared without a trace? And what happened to that woman dead, tied to the pole, and what ever happened to the baby found alone? You live your life, you go to school, and now you have the opportunity to go to the village. To explore. To try and find out what REALLY happened to them. But strange things start happened once you get there, and not everyone is on the same page or even knows who everyone is. Everyone loves a ghost story.. right?

I LOVED this book. I could not read it fast enough. It gave you the eerie feeling reading it, even when it seemed like nothing was happening. The vivid descriptions of the scenes being able to fill you with dread.. I love those types of stories. I also love the the different viewpoints, from back then and in the present. Even though the characters might not get the whole picture, I love seeing the big picture and putting all of the pieces together.

The only thing I could possibly say, as light and without spoilers as I could, is the fact that I really DO love a good ghost story. There were parts in the book that made me scared to walk around my house at night. It actually scared me and made me feel uncomfortable in my world. I just wish the book actually had that energy. If you know you know!

3.5 Stars.
I loved the atmosphere of this one. The tone for "spooky, abandoned town is not what it appears" is definitely set, and set well. The book is fast-paced, I read most of it in one day. I was quickly drawn into the story, and it held my attention all the way through.

However, the characters fell flat, as did the ending. Those two things took away from what could have been a five star book. I do still recommend it to anyone looking for something dark and eerie.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Back in the 1950s, Silvertjarn was a small, Swedish mining village with around 900 townspeople. Suddenly, one day, they all disappeared - all except one woman who was found tied to a pole in the town square and stoned to death, and a small baby found crying in the nearby schoolhouse. Fledgling filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the story since hearing about it from her grandmother, who had moved out of the village a few years prior but lost her sister and parents in the disappearance. Alice is determined to make a documentary about the lost village of Silvertjarn, and assembles a small crew to travel to the remote village to investigate and gather some photos and video clips. Very quickly, Alice and her crew realize that something still isn't right about Silvertjarn, and whatever evil that lurked there in 1959 may still be present...

This was a creepy and atmospheric read that had me sleeping with the covers over my head. There were times when I wanted to slap Alice and other characters for making dumb decisions, but these choices added to the suspense of the novel and kept me engaged as I waited to see how their decisions would impact their predicament. I saw a part of the twist coming which detracted a tiny bit from my enjoyment, but overall this book was a good read if you like to be spooked.

Was super excited when I read this was a Blair witch/midsommar mashup, bit once I got into it, the book was not what I expected. The overall book has a fantastic feeling of dread throughout, but all of the suspense is kinda built up to a disappointing ending.

This is a very fast paced intense read that I felt was absolutely perfect.
I love a good spine tingling, dark, tension filled story and The Lost Village delivers just that.

The story rotates from the past and present with two different points of view. For the first time in a long while, I actually didn’t figure out the big twist and I was very surprised when it finally came out. I was totally engrossed in this story and actually stayed up way past my usual bedtime just to finish it.

I wouldn’t put this book totally in the horror genre, I didn’t think it was scary at all. This story is part mystery/historical fiction/thriller/with a small twist of horror. I hate and usually stay away from books with a lot of gore in it but, there is a bit of gore in the beginning of this book but nothing too alarming I hadn’t seen before.

This is my first Scandinavian noir story and since I loved it so much, I will definitely be looking up similar books.
Many thanks to the publisher, Netgalley, and Camilla Sten for the advanced reader copy!!!

The Lost Village is not a book to read before bed, it is creepy! That being said, it's also well written and entertaining. The author really knows how to build and atmosphere of tension and though I didn't really connect to the characters, it was definitely an entertaining read!

Initially I was not sure about the subject matter of The Lost Village by Camilla Sten, but I gave it a try as my first pick of 2021. Camilla Sten wowed me! I loved the back and forth from present time to the past, learning about the town of Silvertjarn. This book definitely read like a "Blair Witch-like" documentary. My only complaint is keeping the characters straight in my own mind. I kept getting lost in who was who but I still managed to enjoy the book immensely. So don't let that deter anyone.
Alice and her team of documentary film makers, get together to help put together what exactly happened to the town dubbed "The Lost Village" which included Alice's grandmother and family. Driving into a deserted town, staying for days, and having the unexpected happen is my own worst nightmare. Sten did an excellent job of conveying that in written form and kept you going wanting more from her story.
I will definitely be recommending this book to others and will be anxious to see what Camilla Sten does next! Special Thanks to NetGalley, Camilla Sten, and St. Martin's Press for the advance digital copy in exchange for my honest opinion! 4.5 stars!
#TheLostVillageBook #NetGalley

While not what I was expecting, I did enjoy this book. It had glimpses of The Blair Witch Project with its own unique twist. O would read more from this author.

This book was astonishing. I am obsessed with ghost towns, lost villages, and disappeared communities throughout history, so I eagerly devoured this one in just two days. It follows two timelines--the year of the disappearance itself and the investigation half a century later--and as the story comes together the two narratives seamlessly fall together like the shuffling of a deck of cards. As a voracious horror fan who finds themselves frequently disappointed, I can say that this book gave me several delicious shivers as I read it after dark. Definitely recommend.

Alice is trying to put together a documentary about a ghost town, where 900 inhabitants vanished without a trace years earlier. As her team explores the town, it starts to seem like they may not be alone. It's hard to decide until late in the book if there is something supernatural going on or not. Not bad but not great. 3.5 stars rounded to 3.

The Lost Village grabbed me right from the start! It definitely has a Blair Witch Project feel, but wasn't as scary as I expected. It's a solidly creepy read with bits of gore that sneak up on you and an ending I didn't see coming

I liked the 1959 chapters about life in the village as the town becomes hostile and obsessive, but I was left with some unanswered questions that I'd have preferred to know the answers too. I also thought there was going to be a little more of a mystery, but things were revealed early on just kinda without preamble-- this is probably more of a translation issue.

Either way I enjoyed the story and am ready for more from this author!

Thank you so much to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read a copy of this book. The Lost Village was a creepy read, weaving together an investigation into an entire town that disappeared and something horrible happening in present day.

This book reminded me of a movie I had watched about a relatively similar topic - an abandoned town and something still alive that starts killing people who come to investigate. I was worried it would turn out to be the exact same thing but this book took some turns I wasn't expecting and I did not see the ending coming. The book was paced well and kept my attention.

Recommended for people who like mysteries and murder.

I ended up really enjoying this book. It started off slow, but it really kept getting more and more suspenseful. Definitely a page turner. Any thriller and horror movie fans would probably really enjoy this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free copy in exchange for review.