The Valley of Lost Stories

 
Four mothers, Nathalie, Alexandra, Emmie and Pen take a holiday together with their children at a faded Art Deco style hotel in a remote valley west of the Blue Mountains run by Macie, an old school friend of Alexandra. From the outset, it is clear that there is something eerie about the place and the isolated mining ghost town where it is located.

The current day narrative is told from the points of view of the four women. A past narrative tells the story of another woman, Jean, who has an encounter at the hotel in 1948 that has a bearing on what will happen to the others.

Each mother has personal issues to deal with. Pen is a single parent who has difficulty relating to her sensitive son; Nathalie is trying to save a faltering marriage; Alexandra lives in the shadow of a famous husband; Emmie longs for another child and also risks the group friendship with her social media postings.

The novel takes a while to get into its stride as you become familiar with the individuals and learn about the mysterious disappearances linked to the hotel’s history. When one of the mothers also vanishes, the pace picks up.

As with many other novels of this genre, all the effort seems to be concentrated in slowly building the suspense with not enough attention paid to detail in the final resolution. The rushed conclusion almost feels like a postscript with unanswered questions. Otherwise, an enjoyable well-paced read.
 
Three-and-a-half stars.
 
amazon.com

amazon.co.uk

Booktopia

---