About the Book

MEET THE ‘KEEPER OF LOST THINGS’…
Once a celebrated author of short stories now in his twilight years, Anthony Peardew has spent half his life lovingly collecting lost objects, trying to atone for a promise broken many years before.
Realising he is running out of time, he leaves his house and all its lost treasures to his assistant Laura, the one person he can trust to fulfil his legacy and reunite the thousands of objects with their rightful owners.
But the final wishes of the Keeper of Lost Things have unforeseen repercussions which trigger a most serendipitous series of encounters…

With an unforgettable cast of characters that includes young girls with special powers, handsome gardeners, irritable ghosts and an array of irresistible four-legged friends, The Keeper of Lost Things is a debut novel of endless possibilities and joyful discoveries that will leave you bereft once you’ve finished reading.
WE’RE ALL JUST WAITING TO BE FOUND…

My Thoughts

From the moment I first read the synopsis for this book I knew I had to read it – what a brilliant premise for a novel! I love the idea of someone picking up and keeping safe all the lost things, and the idea of trying to reunite these items with their owners. It kind of made me feel that maybe some of the things I’ve been heartbroken to lose might have been picked up by someone who has looked after them over the years, rather than them having ended up in a bin. I admit that it made my heart sing.

The Keeper of Lost Things has two stories running through it. Anthony is the keeper of lost things – he began collecting lost things after his fiancee Therese died, and has carried on throughout the years. He is clearly still grieving for the love of his life but has channeled his emotion into trying to reunite people with their belongings – he seems to be focusing on this as a way atoning for his own loss. His story broke my heart – I felt such sadness for his loss and his pain. He reminded me a lot of my Grandad, who was forever mending things for people and when my Nan died he was broken himself and nothing could fix him.

‘It had been in his pocket as he stood waiting for Therese on the corner of Great Russell Street. But she never came, and by the time he got home that day, he had lost them both.’

Laura is Anthony’s housekeeper. She is dealing with the aftermath of a break-up and is feeling really low. She loves looking after Anthony and his home, but is shocked to find when Anthony dies that she is to become the holder of the lost things. Through this Laura meets Sunshine, who is a wonderful character. I adored her, her name really does suit her joyful personality.

The other story running throughout the book is about Eunice and Bomber. Their story is from the past and the way their story is woven through the novel with Laura’s story is wonderful. Bomber’s sister Portia is a wannabe novelist and this makes for comedy gold throughout the novel, there honestly were laugh-out-loud moments as Bomber read her latest attempt at writing.

Interspersed among the two story strands are the stories behind some of the lost things that Anthony has found and kept over the years. I loved these short snapshots of the life these items may have had before they were lost, it really made me think about all the times we see lost things in the street and often it seems like rubbish but some of these items will have been loved by their owners and probably much missed. The lost items exist in reality but it’s almost like they’re also metaphors for all the bigger losses we experience in out lives. The items are representatives of the moments that matter in our lives. The items we keep after we’ve lost a loved one became so much more precious because they’re all we have left, and our memories are so wrapped up in each item, so the thought of ever losing those things is almost too much to contemplate. Anthony’s collection of lost things seems filled with all the memories of people he has never met but he knows they need to be safe-guarded. It does give a sense of peace to know that someone like Anthony might be keeping our lost things safe.

The Keeper of Lost Things is one of those novels that will break your heart, but it will mend it again. It will make you cry, it will make you laugh and it will leave you holding your treasured items, and more so the people you love, a little tighter. It’s a beautiful novel, one that everyone will be able to identify with, and it’s one that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

The Keeper of Lost Things is out now!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author

I was born in the house where my parents still live in Bedford.  My sister was so pleased to have a sibling that she threw a thrupenny bit at me.

As a child I read everything I could lay my hands on.  Luckily, my mum worked in a bookshop.  My favourite reads were The Moomintrolls, A Hundred Million Francs, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, and the back of cereal packets, and gravestones.

I passed enough A levels to get a place at Goldsmiths College, University of London, to study English and Drama.  It was brilliant and I loved it. And then I got a proper job.

I worked for ten years in a senior local government position: a square peg in round hole, but it paid the bills and mortgage.

In my early thirties I had a car accident which left me unable to work full-time and convinced me to start writing seriously.

It was all going well, but then in 2012 I got Cancer, which was bloody inconvenient but precipitated an exciting hair journey from bald to a peroxide blonde Annie Lennox crop. When chemo kept me up all night I passed the time writing and the eventual result was The Keeper Of Lost Things.

I live in a chaotic Victorian house with an assortment of rescue dogs and my long-suffering partner.  I am a magpie; always collecting treasures (or ‘junk’ depending on your point of view) and a huge John Betjeman fan.

My favourite word is’ antimacassar’ and I still like reading gravestones.

(Bio and author photo taken from: TwoRoadsBooks.com)