The Lamplighters
Author: Emma Stonex
Published by: Picador
Pages: 358
Format: Hardback
My Rating ★★★★
They say we’ll never know what happened to those men. They say the sea keeps its secrets.
Cornwall, 1972.
Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The Principle Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear.
What happened to those three men, out on the tower? The heavy sea whispers their names. The tide shifts beneath the swell, drowning ghosts. Can their secrets ever be recovered from the waves?
Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still struggling to move on. Helen, Jenny and Michelle should have been united by the tragedy. But instead, it drove them apart. When a writer arrives, trying to solve the puzzle, he gives them a chance to tell their side of the story. But only in confronting their darkest fears can the truth begin to surface…
Cornwall, 1972.
Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The Principle Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear.
What happened to those three men, out on the tower? The heavy sea whispers their names. The tide shifts beneath the swell, drowning ghosts. Can their secrets ever be recovered from the waves?
Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still struggling to move on. Helen, Jenny and Michelle should have been united by the tragedy. But instead, it drove them apart. When a writer arrives, trying to solve the puzzle, he gives them a chance to tell their side of the story. But only in confronting their darkest fears can the truth begin to surface…
My thoughts:
Inspired by real events, The Lamplighters is a gripping and suspenseful mystery, and a thrilling story of love and grief that explores the powerful ways fear can blur the line between the real and the imagined.
Emma Stonex, was inspired by the mysterious, unsolved disappearance of three lighthouse keepers in 1900 from a lighthouse in the Outer Hebrides. This fictional novel moves the event instead to a Cornwell lighthouse in the Atlantic, miles from the shore. In 1972, three keepers vanished from Maiden Lighthouse under mysterious circumstances.
The book emphasizes the importance of the three lighthouse keepers' personalities, their ability to get along or at least tolerate their differences. It is a lonely, solitary life spending long periods of time away from wives and girlfriends. The longing for their loved ones on land must be endured, or for some, their isolation may come as a relief.
The detailed description of the sea was enthralling. In vivid, rich prose, it describes the coldness, the grey sky and ocean, its churning waves, the fog, mist, howling wind, and the tossing of the supply vessel. I also enjoyed the atmospheric descriptions of the way of life of the lighthouse keepers. These are based on historical accounts, giving the novel a real sense of authenticity.
We are given chapters from each of the lighthouse keepers. Principal Keeper Arthur, Assistant Keeper Bill and Supernumerary Keeper Vince. Their chapters offer some insight into the realities of life in an isolated island lighthouse and how that plays with the psychological mindset of each men. These were my favourite parts of the book.
In other chapters, we are transported to 1992 as a novelist sets outs to uncover the truth behind the mystery of the men’s disappearance. In these chapters we are introduced to the wives/partner of the men; Helen, Jenny and Michelle. Whilst the perspectives from each woman helps to further set the scene of what the relationships between each of the men was like, I did find these sections of the book a little less engaging. Perhaps I just didn’t find the female characters quite as engaging to read about, but their narratives are undeniably important in fleshing out the full story.
Throughout the novel we are given information about the relationships that the lighthouse keepers have with each other and with their wives or partners back on shore. Each man is carrying different secrets that are slowly revealed over the course of the book, eventually giving an (almost) full picture of what happened up in the lighthouse.
I’m trying hard to avoid spoilers here, so I’ll remain vague on the details. But the tension builds and builds, and I loved the suspense as the dark secrets and deceptions gradually emerged. The deceptions ultimately lead to anger, resentment, and even madness with a supernatural element.
I was so intrigued by the subtle supernatural moments included in several stages of the book, and in my mind, they have the potential to make this a much darker read. These nods to the supernatural really got under my skin and I still have so many questions!
I love a good mystery and knowing this was based on a true story made this book stand out to me even more. The Lamplighters is a beautifully written, atmospheric read with a classic locked room mystery at the heart of it. Excellent.
Overall reaction:
