The Lost Village
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- Create Date：2021-05-29 08:51:19
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Camilla Sten
- ISBN：1250249252
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Summary
The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar in this brilliantly disturbing thriller from Camilla Sten， an electrifying new voice in suspense。
Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town， dubbed “The Lost Village，” since she was a little girl。 In 1959， her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy， and ever since， the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left—a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn—have plagued her。 She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened。
But there will be no turning back。
Not long after they’ve set up camp， mysterious things begin to happen。 Equipment is destroyed。 People go missing。 As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack， one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice:
They are not alone。
They’re looking for the truth…
But what if it finds them first？
Documentary filmmaker Alice Lindstedt has been obsessed with the vanishing residents of the old mining town， dubbed “The Lost Village，” since she was a little girl。 In 1959， her grandmother’s entire family disappeared in this mysterious tragedy， and ever since， the unanswered questions surrounding the only two people who were left—a woman stoned to death in the town center and an abandoned newborn—have plagued her。 She’s gathered a small crew of friends in the remote village to make a film about what really happened。
But there will be no turning back。
Not long after they’ve set up camp， mysterious things begin to happen。 Equipment is destroyed。 People go missing。 As doubt breeds fear and their very minds begin to crack， one thing becomes startlingly clear to Alice:
They are not alone。
They’re looking for the truth…
But what if it finds them first？
Reviews
Hardly
，
Bleh
Joe Pappalardo
，
GoodWaited a few months for the book to be published。 Well worth the wait。Creepy with believable and， for the most part， sympathetic characters。 I'll be back for more， Ms。 Sten！！ GoodWaited a few months for the book to be published。 Well worth the wait。Creepy with believable and， for the most part， sympathetic characters。 I'll be back for more， Ms。 Sten！！ 。。。more
Deanna
，
Thanks to Minotaur books & good reads for the advance copy。Wow， so captivating right from the start。 I loved how the characters were very unique， the idea of an abandan village。 I throughly enjoyed and will defintiiely recommend。 The ending was a little far fetched but it would be hard to tie this book up。
Kelly Tomaw
，
Bringing an unpopular opinion here because I was extremely underwhelmed。This book was compared to The Blair Witch Project and Midsommar， so I was intrigued and excited to see where this story would go。 We have Alice， an aspiring documentary filmmaker who is infatuated with the story of the missing/vanished residents of "The Lost Village。" Her grandmothers family disappeared from this village in the 1950's， and all that remained was a hanging woman and an infant found crying inside of a building。 Bringing an unpopular opinion here because I was extremely underwhelmed。This book was compared to The Blair Witch Project and Midsommar， so I was intrigued and excited to see where this story would go。 We have Alice， an aspiring documentary filmmaker who is infatuated with the story of the missing/vanished residents of "The Lost Village。" Her grandmothers family disappeared from this village in the 1950's， and all that remained was a hanging woman and an infant found crying inside of a building。 Alice gathers a team to help her film a documentary on Silvertjarn and The Lost Village， to perhaps uncover the truth behind the disappearance of the towns residents。 This had so much potential for me， however， it fell very flat。 I was never excited to pick this one up and I think it's because it took too long to get even a little exciting。 While this book claims to be about a group of filmmakers making a documentary， no filming happened。 I never got any Blair Witch vibes。 There were so many flashbacks to the village in the 1950's that give some insight in to what happened， however， I felt that it was all poorly executed。 This book was just very strange and I never felt the eerie vibes that others have felt while reading it。 If I'm being honest， this one was like a horror movie that looks good on the trailer， but then when you see the actual movie， you're disappointed that you wasted your time。 Appreciate the e-arc of this one Netgalley， but it's a no from me。 。。。more
M
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Excellent spooky mystery， with a slow burn beginning and a （mostly） satisfying end。 As usual I always want to know more about what happened after but a story has to end some time。 :D
Ione DeOllos
，
This books sucks you into both stories， that of the past and that of the present。 You never see the end coming。
Crystal Stratton
，
It wasn’t perfect。 I could nitpick it down to a low review if I wanted to。 I enjoyed the ride though and I kept coming back for more。 Sometimes the enjoyability wins over flaws。
Andy Whitfield
，
There is always something in an empty village
Ally
，
I know this was meant to be spooky， and it was， but mostly it just made me feel sad。 So much sadness reserved for so many characters。 My one disappointment is that I was hoping for more focus on the film crew angle， but a very engaging and satisfying read despite that。
Alicia A。
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 This book needed a much better editor than the one she had。 I'd like to know how these characters are going to explain what happened in the village because if I were a cop I'd sure be thinking they're all trying to cover up something。 Not to mention， 847 people disappear but no one BOTHERS to look through their houses for clues， so they're just sitting there 60 years later？ No one bothered to search the woods for a SINKHOLE？ The mining engineers who supposedly looked at the mine didn't notice it This book needed a much better editor than the one she had。 I'd like to know how these characters are going to explain what happened in the village because if I were a cop I'd sure be thinking they're all trying to cover up something。 Not to mention， 847 people disappear but no one BOTHERS to look through their houses for clues， so they're just sitting there 60 years later？ No one bothered to search the woods for a SINKHOLE？ The mining engineers who supposedly looked at the mine didn't notice it either？ The "crazy pastor" angle is so cliche。 Not to MENTION: HOW does someone live for 60 YEARS on food leftover in people's houses？ Ugh， I'm hating it more and more the more I write。 。。。more
Jerika
，
I wish you could give half stars on Goodreads， because I'd probably say 3。5; 4 is just too high。 I saw the book advertised online and immediately put it on hold at the library based on just the brief synopsis。 As a concept， fantastic。 And I will absolutely say that the author keeps things interesting enough and quick-moving enough throughout that you don't really want to put it down， you want to keep going。 So I do commend her for that。 The question is just， how well is any of it actually execut I wish you could give half stars on Goodreads， because I'd probably say 3。5; 4 is just too high。 I saw the book advertised online and immediately put it on hold at the library based on just the brief synopsis。 As a concept， fantastic。 And I will absolutely say that the author keeps things interesting enough and quick-moving enough throughout that you don't really want to put it down， you want to keep going。 So I do commend her for that。 The question is just， how well is any of it actually executed？ The back of the book says "Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar，" and I will agree with that， and also say that just like you want to yell at the stupid characters in those movies， you'll want to yell at the stupid people in this book as well。 Of which there are MANY。 Alice in particular is such a frustrating protagonist to follow， but at the same time， we're expected to care about the lives of the other people on the film crew， but we don't know anything about them。 Max and Robert have zero personality， there's nothing that ties them to us， there's no reason for us to care about them except they happen to be there。 We don't feel any emotion towards them。 Tone is the most interesting， but we don't actually get any insight into what's going on with her or how she feels about any of it。The big mystery of the book is where did all 900 residents of this town go， and why？ The book does answer this - about 2/3 of the story is told in present day， and 1/3 is flashbacks。 I don't know I feel about it。 It's such a big mystery， I think it's hard to come up with good enough solution to it。 I'm sure some people loved it。 I think I was a little let down。But if you like horror films， and mysteries， I would recommend reading this - it's a very quick easy read， and is worth the time spent。 。。。more
Pip
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The Lost VillageOkay。 I’m torn in two over this book。 I became so invested in the story， but there is a small part of me that is questioning whether or not it’s。。。’problematic’。This book was a wild， heartbreaking， thriller of a ride。 The blurb of the book grabbed my attention， because what self-respecting thriller fan wouldn’t be enticed by a cult-like sect， a full village disappearing， and a modern day documentary crew trying to solve the mystery？ This is 100% right up my alley。However， I didn’ The Lost VillageOkay。 I’m torn in two over this book。 I became so invested in the story， but there is a small part of me that is questioning whether or not it’s。。。’problematic’。This book was a wild， heartbreaking， thriller of a ride。 The blurb of the book grabbed my attention， because what self-respecting thriller fan wouldn’t be enticed by a cult-like sect， a full village disappearing， and a modern day documentary crew trying to solve the mystery？ This is 100% right up my alley。However， I didn’t expect the emotional journey this story would take me on。 The all too real depiction of mental illness and the fallout from it is painful but all so accurate。 The depiction of abuse towards disabled people in the mid-20th century is also horrifying but believable。 Now， this is where I’m a little torn。 Whilst the depictions of the treatment of mental illness and disability are heartbreakingly accurate of the 1950s， I’m unsure how I feel about the treatment of a mentally ill person in the ‘now’ parts。 I will say I think the storytelling is brilliant when it comes to the main character talking about her depression and how she felt abandoned， I’m unsure if I’m comfortable with the way everyone just jumped to the conclusion that the violent incidents that occurred were the results of another characters psychotic break。 As someone with a lot of experience in mental illnesses and dealing with psychotic breaks， I’m torn between admitting， “yeah， that’s possible，” and “why must we always assumed it’s only ill people who do bad things？”Part of me feels like this is relatively accurate， people do treat differences like something to fear， but I guess it just hurt to read。 My heart kinda broke a little when Max ended up being a complete fuckboy， expecting something in returned for his ‘friendship’。 It was painfully obvious that he had feelings for Alice， but his behaviour in the the last quarter of the book made me so angry。 The fact that he only invested in her project because he had romantic feelings for her made me feel a little sick - only because it’s so accurate of what many females go through every day。 However， for me， the most heartbreaking thing was the treatment of Brigitte， how she was demonised for her disability （which sounds like a form of autism， which would have been undiagnosed and considered strange in the 1950s）。 Her murder broke me。 I did appreciate the fact that as soon as it’s apparent that it wasn’t Tone that was the cause of all the damage， the remnants of the group did try to protect her。 I did feel that much of the main plot was very predictable， but not in a bad way。 It was the kind of story that draws you in and still shocks you。 There were deaths and incidents that I really didn’t expect at all。 。。。more
Doug Stone
，
This was a book club book we chose for the monthly read。 I didn’t expect to like this book， as it started out like a cheesy paranormal film crew in search of what happened to a village where all the inhabitants disappeared years ago。 But Camilla Sten did a great job getting me interested in following intrepid band， the Scoobie gang， in their pursuit。 She even had the characters remark that their project was not to be a cheesy tv show。 The time line shifting back and forth between the end of the This was a book club book we chose for the monthly read。 I didn’t expect to like this book， as it started out like a cheesy paranormal film crew in search of what happened to a village where all the inhabitants disappeared years ago。 But Camilla Sten did a great job getting me interested in following intrepid band， the Scoobie gang， in their pursuit。 She even had the characters remark that their project was not to be a cheesy tv show。 The time line shifting back and forth between the end of the village and current times was done well and communicated clearly。 The location was described very well， and included the shifts from past to present of lots of details， such as an eye-catching green door that the Swedish wife had painted， to its state in the current day， fading and peeling。 Lots of these descriptive details placed us in both times， and served as symbols of time taking its toll。 The main characters were painted well， and had considerable internal demons to deal with。 The plot moved quickly， and while harnessing some horror tropes， still seemed fresh and engrossing。 The style was very cinematographic with plenty of scenes ripe for being filmed， and Sten has sold the screenplay rights in several countries already， so you know she had that in mind during the writing。 The supporting characters had enough depth to make them interesting without having them lose your focus on the main ones。 The reading was easy， and the logistics of the actions of the characters was smooth， not awkward as it sometimes can be with lots of complex activity going on。 Details were released carefully as the plot unfolded。The only part I had some trouble with was the ending， where the genre called out for a big， tragic boom of a resolution， to tie up the related plots across time。 It worked， but did seem very contrived。 Sten had to satisfy her readers I guess。I would give it 3。5 stars， rounded up to 4。 You could read and enjoy this in one night if you wished。 。。。more
Mary Bird
，
The plot was fairly predictable， but the atmosphere was interesting。
Caitlin
，
Some spoilers here！ Some parts of this book were compelling， while the rest was very classic horror story。 So many: Why are you making that decision？ Why are you letting that person go off alone？ What is even murdering these people？ I think Sten wanted to make it seem like something supernatural could be happening， but I could tell the whole time that it was not。 I was more interested in the Silvertjarn disappearance "Then" part of the book than the movie documentary "Now"。 It got more and more Some spoilers here！ Some parts of this book were compelling， while the rest was very classic horror story。 So many: Why are you making that decision？ Why are you letting that person go off alone？ What is even murdering these people？ I think Sten wanted to make it seem like something supernatural could be happening， but I could tell the whole time that it was not。 I was more interested in the Silvertjarn disappearance "Then" part of the book than the movie documentary "Now"。 It got more and more disturbing to learn how the people of the Lost Village twisted their faith for the pastor's purpose。 。。。more
Allison Barnes
，
This book actually made me mad because there was SO MUCH POTENTIAL。 A unique storyline， great descriptions。。 but zero character development and an example of when alternating characters/timeframes is done in such a clunky， awkward way。 Was entertaining enough to keep me reading it， but just fell so， so flat overall and had so much missing。
Rachel
，
Very eerie and creepy！ I loved that it kept flashing back to the past to hint at what happened - I read this in about a day and a half and could not put it down。 Definitely recommend！
Nat
，
Exciting and freaky。 Very atmospheric， good sense of tension and suspense。 Most of the reveals were pretty obvious from early on and I'm not sure that it made a ton of sense who the eventual bad guy was （（view spoiler）[surely wouldn't Aina return to some semblance of normalcy once out from under the thumb of the pastor？ And how did she survive on her own for 20 years when our characters could barely make it 2 days？ I understand that she ate all the villagers' food or whatever but they can't poss Exciting and freaky。 Very atmospheric， good sense of tension and suspense。 Most of the reveals were pretty obvious from early on and I'm not sure that it made a ton of sense who the eventual bad guy was （（view spoiler）[surely wouldn't Aina return to some semblance of normalcy once out from under the thumb of the pastor？ And how did she survive on her own for 20 years when our characters could barely make it 2 days？ I understand that she ate all the villagers' food or whatever but they can't possibly have been keeping a 20-year stock just in case， it doesn't make any sense （hide spoiler）]）。 I thought the characters were pretty well done， although the relationship between Alice and Emmy was the strongest and all the others kind of got left by the wayside-- both guys were pretty boring and lacking any and all personality。 Maybe technically more of a 3 star read but I'm giving it an extra one for the good atmospheric qualities and the real sense of dread that Sten manages to work in。 。。。more
Paula Schumm
，
Alice’s grandmother handed down a story about a ghost town， and filmmaker Alice is desperate to find out the truth。 This novel is suspenseful and mysterious。 Alice and her team try to stay alive while exploring the empty and decaying village。 Recommended。
Robbie Oechslin
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Starts out as an intriguing story。 Character development falls short for me。 I don’t buy the ending。 It was cheap。
Kristen
，
The entire time I was reading it， I couldn’t help but think what a really excellent movie it would make！
Nursebookie
，
The Lost VillageBy Camilla StenI really enjoy Scandinavian horror and thriller tropes and the opening of this book already grabbed me and immersed me into the thrilling and quite scary story line。 I mean an abandoned village where entire families have disappeared， a documentary filmmaker obsessed with the disappearance， and a remote village mining town。 All key ingredients to make this amazing story dual time line story incredible suspenseful that I really enjoyed。 This was fantastic and so well The Lost VillageBy Camilla StenI really enjoy Scandinavian horror and thriller tropes and the opening of this book already grabbed me and immersed me into the thrilling and quite scary story line。 I mean an abandoned village where entire families have disappeared， a documentary filmmaker obsessed with the disappearance， and a remote village mining town。 All key ingredients to make this amazing story dual time line story incredible suspenseful that I really enjoyed。 This was fantastic and so well done。 。。。more
Danielle
，
This was a layered mystery: the main characters past， an auxiliary character who isn't what she seems， and the mystery of the village people that disappeared。 I liked that part。The plot was a little slow in the beginning。 The atmosphere was creepy， and perfect for the plot。The part I didn't like was the main protagonists character/personality: weak and the constant stupid， incessant inner monologue。 There was a big reveal about the main protagonist past about halfway through that made part of he This was a layered mystery: the main characters past， an auxiliary character who isn't what she seems， and the mystery of the village people that disappeared。 I liked that part。The plot was a little slow in the beginning。 The atmosphere was creepy， and perfect for the plot。The part I didn't like was the main protagonists character/personality: weak and the constant stupid， incessant inner monologue。 There was a big reveal about the main protagonist past about halfway through that made part of her characters defining life conflict seem null and void。 I felt like I wasted alot of unnecessary energy On caring about her。 In the end， I was not a fan。The big reveal about the lost village people was unbelievable。 Not really realistic。Horror comes down to one or the other: supernatural？ Or not （ Scooby Doo）。 I like reading new to me thriller/ horror because I don't usually know which the author will take。 （I've found that once authors choose a path their subsequent books follow [except apparently Stephen King] ）。 I won't say which way this book blows as not to spoil the surprise。 😉Personally I dislike thrillers with sketchy， weak， flimsy， or unreliable protagonists。 Now I do realize that in real life， thriller situations would incite that type of behavior in some people。 I just don't want to spend a good portion of my free， peaceful time inside the head of someone I dislike， don't appreciate， am frustrated with， etc。 It's almost not worth the reading to me。 To some people， this doesn't matter and therefore this book would be fabulous！🎉 The book flip-flops between present and past and that keeps the plot propulsive and interesting。 But it's not like whiplash。Also， I didn't like the audio book for two reasons: the narrator and the translation。 This was written by a swedish author and translated into English， but the character names stay Swedish （obvs） and I found it slightly difficult to follow。 But that may be because I enjoy reading instead of listening。 And I also didn't love the narrator as the differentiation between characters didn't seem varied enough and therefore hard to follow。Trigger warnings for religious abuse。 。。。more
Keely Craft
，
Camilla Sten has pulled off a deliciously dark and disturbing plot in The Lost Village。 There were moments I was truly disgusted， but couldn’t stop reading。 I’ll be excited to see a film adaptation for this one！
Pamela P
，
the ending was a little disappointing but overall the book captured my attention and the authors style of writing kept momentum
Kawalker
，
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 The writing was wooden， some of the plot didn’t make sense。 It seemed like a rip-off of the Jonestown suicides decades ago。
Nicole Bravo
，
This book could have been an email。
Jamie
，
Alice grew up hearing her grandmother's stories about her family that disappeared along with the entire village in a remote area of Sweden。 She travels with a small crew to film for a documentary about the place， but things get creepy and start to go horribly wrong。I was sold on the creepy concept of this book along with the underlying mystery。 Old， creepy， abandoned village in the woods？ Mass disappearance？ Amateur documentary makers？ Count me in， and it is creepy and fun。 I like when they are Alice grew up hearing her grandmother's stories about her family that disappeared along with the entire village in a remote area of Sweden。 She travels with a small crew to film for a documentary about the place， but things get creepy and start to go horribly wrong。I was sold on the creepy concept of this book along with the underlying mystery。 Old， creepy， abandoned village in the woods？ Mass disappearance？ Amateur documentary makers？ Count me in， and it is creepy and fun。 I like when they are exploring the abandoned houses and buildings。 There are some cliché moments and aspects of the plot for sure， but I didn't find it cheesy。 There are some concepts around mental health， the stigma of it， and the toll it takes on relationships， which I appreciated。 Some of the friendships come across as a bit more dysfunctional than I think they were meant to be so I questioned some of the conflict and resolution， but I bought into it enough。 As soon as a certain someone appears on the scene， you know where the story is headed， but I didn't figure all of it out。 I was engaged through the end。 。。。more
Emily
，
I DNFd this book around 50%。 I just wasn't interested。 The story had moments of glimmering hope but then it just lost me again and again。 I have so many other books I'm dying to read rigbt now that I didn't want to continue to force myself to read this one when I wasn't enjoying myself。 I DNFd this book around 50%。 I just wasn't interested。 The story had moments of glimmering hope but then it just lost me again and again。 I have so many other books I'm dying to read rigbt now that I didn't want to continue to force myself to read this one when I wasn't enjoying myself。 。。。more
Mandy
，
3。5 stars。 The mystery was interesting， but I wanted it to be scarier。 The reveal was a bit of a letdown。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Lost Village
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Lost Village&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Lost Village&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0