Alice Lindstedt is an amateur filmmaker who’s taking on a passion project about the village of Silvertjarn, a lost village where every single member mysteriously disappeared without a trace in the ’50s save for one woman who had been stoned in the town square. Alice’s grandmother had grown up in the village and told her stories of it growing up — this made Alice want to uncover the mystery. She rounds up a small crew with money from her Kickstarter backers and they drive out to scout out filming locations and get shots for the documentary trailer. Weird things immediately begin to happen and the group quickly realizes there may be a greater force at work in the village. The book bounces between present day and the 1950s, right before the disappearance took place with POVs from Alice in the present and Elsa, Alice’s great-grandmother, in the past. As Alice uncovers the secrets of Silvertjarn in the present day, Elsa explains how everything came to be in the past.
I loved the atmosphere of “The Lost Village” and it made me feel as if I was isolated from civilization with the rest of the characters — the village is creepy and unsettling to say the least. The twist at the end will have you at the edge of your seat. The climax was a little lackluster for me but it wasn’t enough for me to bump down a star in my four-star rating. It was still chilling and left me thinking about it for awhile afterward.
Three words that describe this book: Creepy, suspenseful, dark
You might want to pick this book up if: If you enjoy a good, atmospheric horror story with a dark subplot.
-Bailey
This reader review was submitted as part of Adult Summer Reading. We will continue to share reviews throughout the year.
