The Lost Village: A Novel

Written by Camilla Sten

Narrated by Angela Dawe

"Listen to Angela Dawe’s eerie narration of the first seven minutes of Camilla Sten’s 'The Lost Village' - I defy you to stop there."- The Seattle Times

"Narrator Angela Dawe raises the stakes in this atmospheric horror novel...Her varying pacing amps up the suspense, and her flexible voice breathes life into the multitude of characters, regardless of gender and age. Horror listeners will be on the edge of their seats." -- AudioFile Magazine, Earphones Award winner

A Most Anticipated Book Goodreads * Publishers Weekly * Crime Reads * Popsugar * Bookish

A Library Reads Pick!

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?

Come find out.

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

"An enthralling and claustrophobic read. Camilla Sten has written a lurid thriller that will send shivers down your spine.” -- M.T. Edvardsson, author of A Nearly Normal Family

"Come for the mounting horror and scares, but stay for a devastating examination of the nature of family secrets." -- New York Times Book Review

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Audio
• Translator: Alexandra Fleming
• Release date: Mar 23, 2021
• ISBN: 9781250790064

Camilla Sten

CAMILLA STEN (she/her) has been writing stories since she was a young girl. In 2019, Camilla published the now internationally acclaimed, hair-raising novel, The Lost Village. Rights for The Lost Village have been sold to nineteen territories around the world including film and TV. Her third novel for adults, The Resting Place, was one of Goodreads Most Popular Horror of 2022 and the same year Camilla was longlisted for the prestigious Viktor Crime Award in Germany. An ever prolific author, Camilla has released the third part in her YA series and continues to write new crime novels.

Reviews for The Lost Village

[Amanda Dale · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Why was this book so similar to Abandon by Blake Crouch? Also I can’t stand books that tease a potential supernatural element the entire time that never comes to fruition.

[Jenny · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Stunningly atmospheric!
For a while there I really didn't know where the story was heading, then I gasped out loud and the ride did NOT let up. Definitely 5 enthusiastic stars.

[Rlynoyb · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The description given to this book is rather misleading. "Listen to Angela Dawe’s eerie narration of the first seven minutes of Camilla Sten’s 'The Lost Village' - I defy you to stop there." (this is of course for the audio version). Whilst the narrator is very good, the story is not exactly off to a racing start. It took me quite some time to get interested in the story. Once I did it was suspenseful and creepy. Unfortunately the last several chapters really go off the rails. There are an awful lot of plot holes and Alice gets more annoying and whiny the further the story progresses. I still have a lot of questions about this story such as, what happened to all the cats and dogs in the town? This was never really explained. I find it hard to believe some of what is revealed at the end was possible after sixty years! This book started out a three for me, moved to a four and ended with a two. I wouldn't really recommend this story because overall it might not be worth your time if at the end you are left saying whiskey, tango, foxtrot.

[LordCaptainBamboo · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It felt long. It was kind of boring most the time. It seemed like it might be supernatural, which might be interesting, but then it wasn't and somehow that made less sense than if it were. The narrator is good though. It's rather realistic for lots of people I guess, but the main character's inability to just talk to the other characters was irritating. That may mostly be me, I just can't understand characters at cross purposes, it feels like wasted time. Also I didn't like much some of how it talks about depression and specifically those who take care of the depressed. I've always been the former and never the latter, but I still know quite well that a person can only help someone so much before they need to take care of themselves first. But it did seem to get better on that front later. Anyway it wasn't bad per se, but I won't probably won't remember it long.

[Keura Langston · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked this book!!!
It definitely had me walking around a basically empty hospital overnight at work with my head on a swivel ? creeped out big time
The ending kind of sucked for me JUST A LITTLE but still good never the less…..
I might have expected more because I seen so many people on Facebook hype this book up sooo much and I think I might’ve been looking for something more but
it’s worth the read if you ask me

[Tula Shamhart · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Lost Village completely drew me into this atmospheric, claustrophobic, engaging mystery. I loved it.

[Kasey Ashton · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fun listen and engaging. Makes for a good summer read

[Sarah · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was a do-over for me. First time I got to chapter 3 and was not feeling it. Then I kept seeing my favorite booktokers likeing it, so I gave it another try. I'm glad I did. I do enjoy a quiet church turned cult story every so often. It was predictable in a sense, but I felt it was still exciting and made me want to continue to find out exactly what the hell was going on.

[Darcia Helle · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I’m grumpy because one of my most anticipated reads this year fell way short.

The Lost Village is told in two timelines: 1959 and now. We remain mostly in the present timeline, with occasional flashbacks to the past that lead us to the moment when the entire town disappeared.

I wish the book had been solely about the group of people in 1959. Their story fascinated me. The present timeline, not so much.

From the beginning, we have a vague ominous undercurrent. We know something isn’t right. Something bad is going to happen. Yet, nothing happens, bad or otherwise, for the longest time. All we have are a group of people who dislike each other and behave like they’re in a bad B-rated horror movie.

The pace picks up around the halfway point, and the final third of the book is where everything happens. Unfortunately, the things that happen are… Well, no spoilers here, so I’ll just say I couldn’t roll with it.

The conclusion—when we find out what happened to the people who lived in the town and who’s responsible for the current chaos—made me roll my eyes so hard they hurt.

On the bright side, the narration is quite good.

[Subhojeet Bhadra · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this Audiobook!! The characters were really loveable & the atmosphere created was really spooky.

[yasemin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book had all the makings for a great horror story. It has been compared to The Blair Witch Project, which I can see because it does have similarly eerie vibes; however, the story did fall short for me. I feel like there was not enough character development, which would have helped the story a lot. There were times the author would bring something up that would have benefited the book, but then it was never mentioned again. I’m not going to give examples to avoid spoilers. I also think the author would have benefited to include more about the creepiness of the village itself. It would have set the mood better. Overall, this book had a good premise that fell a little short.

[Elizabeth LaPlante · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars! With flashbacks between then and now you slowly piece together the mystery of the vanishing town. The ending wasn’t predictable and the characters had distinct voices & backstories. I’d definitely recommend, but won’t read again.

[MistinaChristina · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Good book. Didn’t care for the ending. The resolution seemed unlikely. Let me listening though. I’d recommend it.

[Ravyn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The ending was astounding and exiting the Characters were deeply moving

[Gita Gass · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Positive: skillfully written book, nice prose narrated superbly
Negative: plot that has been regurgitated gazillion times in different variations. Flat storyline with predictable developments and outcome. Didn't find the book thrilling at all.

[Nina Quartuccio · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I would actually call this horror light. No more horror than a murder mystery. The story was well written and the character development strong. The narrator was an enhancement to a very average plot which gave this rating an extra star. I was kept interested enough to finish the audiobook but only because the narrator was so good

[Callie Sitek · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed the twists and turns of the plot. Didn’t expect the ending!

[Kathi Scribner · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pretty good but a little drawn out otherwise not bad.

[Tina Vars · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The atmosphere was great but some major elements were predictable to me. I wouldn't read it again but the first time around was enlightening. I don't think I will think of clinical depression in the same way again.

[Lani Kapusta · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Trash. Stop making mentally ill people villains. Boring, slow, unsatisfying ending