The Keeper of Lost Things @ruthmariehogan

About The Keeper of Lost Thiings

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 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...

My review of The Keeper of Lost Things

I absolutely adored this beautiful book. It is simply stunning from beginning to end, a real page turner and a book that I will read again and again. 

Laura is slowly recovering from a disastrous marriage and is eventually getting her life beck on track. She was hired as a housekeeper by Anthony Peardew, a writer, who also keeps a large selection of lost things. He too has suffered sorrow in his life, when his beloved Theresa died at a very young age. His need to collect lost things stems from a broken promise that he made to her all those years ago. Together Laura and Anthony form a quiet yet comfortable working relationship, with both equally fond of the other. 

When Anthony sadly dies, Laura inherits his home, Padua, and the collection of Lost Things. But what entails is the story of how she gains more than bricks and mortar. This is a tale of self discovery, friendship and love. 

We meet many a colourful character along the way. We meet Sunshine, a young woman who has Down's syndrome, and I loved the author's description of her, and the fact that we focussed upon her characteristics  as such, rather then the fact that she was disabled, this I found refreshing. I liked Sunshine and her honesty. I think that if you are lucky enough to have a Sunshine in your life, then you need to hang on to them. We also meet Freddy the gardener, and what can I say other than I fell in love with him instantly. 

Running alongside the main plot featuring Laura and Anthony, we also have the story of Eunice and Bomber, who lived in Brighton. Bomber is a book publisher and slightly eccentric and you can't help but love him. Eunuch is very young when she meets him, and is incredibly naïve and vulnerable, but Bomber soon takes her under his wing and a very different type of love story unfolds spanning many decades. To begin with the two stories seem to be entirely separate, but it soon becomes clear that that the two stories are linked. 

The Keeper of Lost Things is quite simply a lovely read. It features interfering charters who we care about, a plot that keeps us hooked and beautiful storytelling. This book truly deserves all of the wonderful praise it has received. Can't wait to read the next book by this author. 

With thanks to the publisher and Bookbridgr for a paperback copy for review purposes

The Keeper of Lost Things was published by Two Roads in paperback on 10 Aug. 2017. It can be found on Amazon here.