The setting for this book waas beyond creepy and unsettling for the entire read. The twists and surprises kept coming as you kept reading this chilling, gory story too. I felt like this story similar to creepiness and chills of the movie, Blair Witch Project. I love that just when I thought I had this book figured out, something else happened; hence this is not predictable which is important for any book.

If you want a creepy, thrilling book this is it! Highly recommended.

And the creepy cover? Hell yes!

Thanks to Netgalley, Camilla Sten and St Martin"s Press Minoutaur Books for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Available: 3/23/21

Thank you #netgalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an ARC of The Lost Village by Camilla Sten. I loved the premise of this book! One thing that was kind of weird was the "past" was in the 50s, but was written like it was much longer ago, or at least that is how it felt to me. The book had its share of creepiness and kept me guessing if the weird things that happened really did have simple explanations.
I didn't like any of the characters. For me this made the book less enjoyable. Alice was a weak leader, and she should have called the whole thing off pretty early. on. She was so single-minded she didn't realize something pretty important about Tone that even I figured out!
The past stories were also creepy, and ultimately heartbreaking. Both the past and the present stories were great, but the ending was so implausible it ruined the stories for me.
I liked the writing, though, and would try another book by this author.
2.5 stars rounded up to three

Alice Lindstedt makes documentaries. It only makes sense that she would make a documentary about what came to be called The Lost Village, the small village in which every one of its 900 inhabitants disappeared overnight without a trace. Alice has heard about this village’s mystery since she was a small girl, because everyone in her grandmother’s family lived in that small town and disappeared that day in 1959. Not one of those missing inhabitants was ever found, except for a dead woman tied to a pole in the town center and a newborn baby found abandoned in a room in the schoolhouse. But, when Alice takes her crew to the abandoned town, strange things start happening. Are they imagining things, or is the deserted small town inhabited after all?

This is an incredibly exciting book. Narrated in turn by a town inhabitant in 1959 and by Alice in the present, as she takes her filming crew in, the reader is allowed to learn, enticingly little by little, about the mystery of the town. It is so exciting, I read it in only a couple of days. The characters are very real, and the settings are memorable and vivid! It was deliciously scary, and it will haunt me for a long time to come! I could not put this one down!

Thanks to netgalley.com for a free copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.

Creepy suspenseful tale featuring a documentary film crew and a village where all inhabitants disappeared. Atmospheric.

Disclaimer: I received an arc of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This was another one I kept seeing as highly anticipated but kind of fell a little flat for me. It definitely held attention and flowed nicely - and the story matter itself was so intriguing and macabre that I had high hopes while reading.

I feel like it just never got there - never really climaxed and had that "oh my gosh!" Moment where a book seals the deal for you. I felt like I was holding out for something great and unique that just never came.

The ending was extremely underwhelming but overall the story was just okay.

I'd recommend but it's definitely not a book you need to rush out and get. More so something to use as filler.

Loved this eerie tale of a village that disappears under mysterious circumstances. How can hundreds of people disappear into thin air? That's what Alice Lindstedt seeks to find out when she brings her documentary crew to scout out the ghost town of Silvertjarn. The remote abandoned village serves as an excellent setting for this unsettling, disturbing tale. Lots of scares and tension. Ironic that the characters have come to make a film, as this book would translate so well onto the screen!
Many thanks to Netgalley for providing this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This novel reads more horror than mystery/thriller. Has a familiar vibe, similar to other stories but with clever and entertaining twists.

Location is a small mining town in Sweden whose mine has closed and the residents are slowly relocating. But what has happened to the remaining residents. A granddaughter whose grandmother’s sister is one of the missing residents wants to make a documentary trying to find answers. She and a film crew go to check out the town. The author takes us through the abandoned buildings while also recounting the final year before the disappearance. Strange happenings begin to occur, is it one of the film crew or a former resident. An enjoyable read with a surprising and satisfying ending. Only complaint is mental health issues of two of the characters. I would have liked an explanation or removal.

Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed since she was a little girl with the mystery behind the vanished residents of an old mining town dubbed “The Lost Village”. Her grandmother was from that town but was living in Stockholm at the time of the disappearance, in which she lost her mother, father and little sister. Alice grew up on stories of the town and when her grandmother died she found all the research about the disappearances in which she found out about the only survivor which was an abandoned newborn girl and that the only body recovered was a woman who was stoned to death in the town square and left tied to a pole. Alice heads to the town with a crew of 4 Max, Robert, Emmy and Tone so they can scout the location and drum up some buzz for the project to attract some funding so she can get the film made. But not long after setting up camp, weird things start happening like the walkie talkies get weird interference, they start seeing what might be a person lurking outside the tents or vans in the middle of the night. But there is no turning back once they start.

Oh man this was a wild ride. I thought I knew what was going on and I was kind of right but not at the same time. The chapters alternate between Now and Then which is Alice and the crew in the town in the present time and Then which is Alice’s great grandmother Elsa’s POV as well as letters from Aina Elsa’s youngest daughter to Margareta who is Alice’s Grandmother. It was so creepy and the plot unfolded really well. All the alternating POV really fleshed out everyone’s mindset and gave us the background we needed to piece the puzzle together. All in all, a really good read and not what I was expecting in the best way.

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and

Special thanks to NetGalley, Goodreads and the publisher for a free ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: Mar 23, 2021
<i> Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has always wanted to find out the secrets in her grandmother’s past, the secrets her grandmother refuses to reveal, around her life in Silvertarn. A former mining community, Silvertarn slowly turned into a ghost town after the mine shut down. Legend has it that one day, seemingly without rhyme or reason, all of the residents of Silvertarn had disappeared; the only survivor seemingly being Alice’s grandmother and an orphaned newborn. Desperate for answers, Alice leads a team to uncover the secrets of her grandmother’s past, and hopefully make a name for herself in the filmmaking world. But soon, strange things start happening and her friends are slowly being killed off—but by who? What is the real secret of the town of Silvertarn? </i>
Camilla Sten is not a new novelist, however “The Lost Village” appears to be the only one translated to English <i> (by translator Alexandra Fleming) </i>.
Although this novel has been compared to “The Blair Witch Project”, I found a lot more similarities to “Silent Hill”, the video game turned movie starring Sean Bean from a few years ago. The abandoned town, the sect of people who had once lived there, and the religious connotations behind it all. The only “Blair Witch”-y part of it was the documentary filmmaking crew.
I enjoyed the characters in this novel, although I felt that they weren’t entirely developed. The novel reads like a sequel in that it feels like the characters have already formed a relationship in previous novels that we aren’t privy to <i>(especially Max and Alice)</i>. I wanted to know more about them and their history, but instead we get a random selection of characters with backgrounds that we don’t know about. Of course, the character of Birgitta stole my soul, as she struggled alone with what was clearly autism, before people understood what the disorder was. Her hardship and rejections were devastating to me, and Sten portrayed her well.
Overall, the novel was definitely creepy, and I thoroughly enjoyed all of the explorations that the group made throughout the abandoned churches, homes and schools. I found Sten’s depiction of mental health in the novel to be a bit stereotyped however, as the character of Tone <i> (who had a diagnosed mental disorder) </i> was automatically labeled as the villain due to her “tendency to violent behaviours”. It was conflicting for me that Sten could portray Birgitta so accurately, and yet be so off base when it came to Tone.
“The Lost Village” had some elements that were really well done. It was dark and atmospheric and I enjoyed the ghost town vibes. However, some of the characters were poorly developed, and I found some of the plot to be far-reaching <i> (seems the author was trying to add a few twists in there that weren’t organic to the plot, and some exaggerations were made) </i>. This novel is definitely worth a read though, and should be explored!

Thank you net galley for giving my a ARC in exchange for a honest review.

From the start I really enjoyed this book. The setting was beautiful and also creepy. The book did start out a little slow in the beginning but it didn't effect the story for me. I also really enjoyed the flashbacks to the past because that helped you to figure out what happened in the town and why the villagers suddenly just went missing without a trace. It is sad however what happened to those teens there. As a horror lover I really did enjoy this book form start to finish. There were a lot of good scary parts of the book, but also a lot of details that allowed you to understand why things were the way they were.

I really really enjoyed “The Lost Village” by Camilla Sten. It was a fast paced read that kept me glued to the pages until the very end. The characters were well fleshed out and you really found yourself caring what happened to them all. I also really enjoyed how I wasn’t quite certain if it was going to flip into horror or not and was pleased with the outcome. I’m a sucker for reading about cults and documentary filmmakers who may have too much bravado and this book delivered. The translation was also very very well done. I’ll be looking for future Camilla Sten titles for sure.

3 stars

This novel is billed as a mashup of _The Blair Witch Project_ (BWP) and _Midsommar_, and that description hooked me. Unfortunately, I did not find the description to reflect the novel, and I did not love the construction of the mystery.

The premise does have a BWP vibe in that a young woman and several contacts/friends from her past go into a small town where something strange happened in an attempt to make a documentary. While the m.c., Alice, seems to have a clear interest in the project, she is also a terrible planner and has chosen to bring along some folks who are...not well chosen. At times, it feels like Alice should have seen some of this coming. She really should have had some more in-depth conversations and/or worked through some issues with nearly all of these folks BEFORE trusting them to take part in this venture.

As far as the plot is concerned, the premise is promising, but there is nothing surprising here. It felt too formulaic and predictable for me, and I found the _Midsommar_ comparison odd. Not everything Swedish gets to automatically be connected to that masterpiece, FYI: this included.

This is a cool concept, but if you are interested because of the description and/or you need believable, developed relationships between characters and some mystery involved in, well, your mystery novels, you may experience some of the same frustrations I did.

This is a dark one to be sure. It is horribly mysterious and makes your hairs on the back of your neck tingle. I did find it a very sad book and the end was quite horrible. I cannot say that I enjoyed it as such but it held my attention throughout. It was a very interesting read
Not sure of wishing to repeat the experience though.

Thank you Minotaur Books for granting my wish and allowing me the pleasure of reading and reviewing the eARC of 'The Lost Village!'

I devoured Sten's novel and was completely engrossed in the story from start to finish. It had everything I wanted: creepy village, international destination; mystery; murder! The Lost Village takes place in an abandoned small village in Sweden. One summer day in 1959 the entire town disappears without a trace leaving behind a dead body and an infant child. Years later a descendent from the lost village returns with a film crew with intentions of creating a documentary. That is until strange things begin happening while scouting the location.... *cue creepy music*

I greatly enjoyed this horror/thriller/mystery. The main protagonist was flawed and unlikeable at times but it made the story real. I enjoyed the character development and the suspense it created. Though I could see the twist begin to form, I was still a bit surprised by the end of the story. It was haunting and a bit disturbing at times. I have listed the trigger warnings below for readers to keep in mind if any subjects present discomfort while reading.

Highly recommend!

Trigger Warnings: suicide, depression, anxiety, discrimination/violence again persons with disabilities

This novel was full of horror, suspense, and a very unexpected plot twist. The author did an amazing job at explaining how nearly 900 occupants of a town went missing 60 years ago. The whole book gave me goosebumps and made me check to see if my doors were locked. Be warned, once you pick up the novel it is hard to put down.

My only complaint was comparing it to "The Blair Witch Project" and "Midsommar." I personally despised both those movies, which made me reluctant to read the book.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press and allowing me to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I’m not huge into scary movies, so I’ve never seen The Blair Witch project. But when it comes to scary stories, I do love horror books with copious amounts of suspense!

Alice is determined to make it in the film world. In an attempt to make her name in the documentary world, she’s gone in search of the mysterious town know as ‘The Lost Village’; where 60 years ago the entire town vanished overnight. With the help of a group of her friends, Alice is finally realizing her dream. But as the group starts to unravel the truth of the town strange events start to take place and things start to go missing. Is someone still living in the town? If so how have they gone unknown for the past 60 years.

Told in alternating time periods and alternating point of views , the back and forth really added depth to the story line. It also pulled me straight into the mystery that the past timeline is alluding to. The pacing of this book is fabulous and really adds to the horror & suspense of the story. While I didn’t get totally freaked out by this story, there is plenty of tension to make you jumpy. It even has a a very supernatural vibe without actually creeping into the fantasy realm.

I did enjoy this book but I was left wanting just a bit more from the story. The ending did surprise me and I did become invested into the story even if I was not extremely connected to Alice, our main character. I would totally jump on watching this as a television series though, and think it would make a great script.


The The Lost Village hits shelves March 23, 2021. Huge thank you to Minotaur Books for my Advanced Copy in exchange for my honest review. If you liked this review please let me know either by commenting below or by visiting my instagram @speakingof_books.

A solid thriller with cold, creepy Swedish vibes (because, well, it is Swedish lol) perfect for someone wanting Scandinoir or a Midsommar-y book (with less gore). It did leave a few things I was unsure of, and comes with a few trigger warnings, that said.

The progression was slow and creepy, with a small, five person documentary crew arriving in a famous "lost village" where 900+ residents disappeared in 1959. The main POV is Alice, granddaughter of one of the "survivors"--who missed whatever happened because she'd been living in Stockholm at the time. But Alice wants to figure out what happened to her great-grandmother, great-aunt, and everyone else and hopefully also find her big break, re: making a documentary feature. This trip is to get preliminary footage to hopefully get funded.

Things start off well enough but then creepy things start happening--are they really hearing footsteps, laughter, seeing people in the rain? Or is one of the crew keeping a horrible secret?

The start was slow, but going in knowing the premise, it's a delicious build as small things happen... then Alice & co make more and more discoveries. The narrative is intercut with a third person POV of Elsa, Alice's great-grandmother in the last year before the village disappeared. All you, the reader, and Alice know going in is that they found a woman stoned to death in the town square and an abandoned newborn. I hit a point round 30 percent and then couldn't put the book down for hours--I had to make myself stop at 60% and go to bed, ha.

This is one where the answers were satisfying, however, I think my favorite part was the escalation in act two? It was such a delicious read. It was still a good third act, but I was left with some head scratching/questions that if I think too hard about, it kind of unravels. So you do have to suspend disbelief a tick to roll with the logic at the end. Ultimately that aspect diminished the book for me a bit--I'm having a really hard time with the logic bits. But I still enjoyed the reading experience and recommend it to those looking for creepy horror.

This was a pretty gripping story. I wasn't sure while reading if there were paranormal things going on or a psychopath causing the problem or even if it was one of the group. I also love mysteries where people disappear without a trace and was intrigued that a whole town would go missing.

The story bounces between now as Alice and her crew travel to an abandoned village in an attempt to discover what happened, and the village's past where we slowly see what happened to the people. I liked the back and forth, it was easy to keep track of when we were and seeing first hand what happened was more interesting than seeing Alice learn about it.

Alice is a bit of a mess and not a perfect character, but I liked that she was driven to find out what happened and that she cared about her friends and wanted them safe. There were a few creepy moments that had me checking the shadows as I read and the ending was well done. I think this would make a really cool movie and I'm looking forward to more books from this author!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

In The Lost Village, a filmmaker takes a small crew to document a a deserted village only to find out they are not alone. This novel started out with a creepy vibe and a very strong sense of place; however, the characters and plot did not quite come together for me.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!