The Sunday Times Bestseller 2021. As recommended by the BBC Radio 2 Book Club
'The novel I've enjoyed most this year' - Hilary Mantel
'A mystery, a love story and a ghost story, all at once. Wonderful' - S J Watson
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 Principal Keeper's weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear all week.
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. And then a writer approaches them. He wants to give them a chance to tell their side of the story. But only in confronting their darkest fears can the truth begin to surface . . .
Inspired by real events, The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex is an intoxicating and suspenseful mystery, an unforgettable story of love and grief that explores the way our fears blur the line between the real and the imagined.
'Gripping' - Guardian
'Riveting' - Independent
'Excellent' - Observer
'A triumph' - Daily Mail
'Stunning' - The Times
Rezensionen / Stimmen
I loved The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex - lighthouse keepers, ghosts, warring widows. It's a wonderfully smart and atmospheric story * Observer * The novel I've enjoyed most this year -- Hilary Mantel Outstanding. Literary and insanely gripping. -- India Knight A remarkable book, through every page, every character, the writing resonates with the dark, powerful presence of the sea -- Raynor Winn, author of <i>The Salt Path</i> Stonex's story has the mesmerism of a churned winter sea * Sunday Times * Superbly accomplished . . . The Lamplighters is a whodunnit, horror novel, ghost story and fantastically gripping psychological investigation rolled into one. It is also a pitch-perfect piece of writing * Guardian * An intoxicating and beautifully written mystery about love and loss, as moving as it is suspenseful -- C.L. Taylor, <i>Sunday Times</i> bestselling author of <i>The Missing</i> Full of atmosphere and dread, it's the perfect way to escape right now * Stylist * Atmospheric and suspenseful . . . Part psychological drama, part mystery, part ghost story, The Lamplighters is a triumph * Daily Mail * Beautifully written and evocative, this is a mystery, a love story and a ghost story, all at once. It kept me gripped throughout, and I didn't want it to end. Wonderful. -- S J Watson, bestselling author of <i>Before I Go to Sleep</i> Riveting . . . Stonex's clever slow reveal is as much keen psychological drama as it is an intriguing thriller * Independent * The Lamplighters transported me effortlessly to the mysterious Maiden Rock and life on the Cornish coast. Stonex creates a most engaging collection of voices and perspectives that unveil what happened in true pager-turner fashion, a mystery told through vivid prose that had me completely absorbed from start to finish. Haunting, harrowing and heartbreaking, this is a novel that will stay with you. -- Ashley Audrain, author of <i>The Push</i> The Lamplighters draws you in and keeps you utterly gripped, with Stonex's writing particularly excelling in her gorgeous and evocative descriptions of the sea. A haunting, hugely atmospheric book * Heat * Beautiful, absorbing and utterly riveting, The Lamplighters is a hymn to loneliness, to the sea, and to the stories we allow ourselves to believe when we are alone. I treasured every moment of this dazzlingly accomplished and completely unforgettable novel. -- Rosie Walsh, author of <i>The Man Who Didn't Call</i> A really enjoyable literary mystery. Stonex's descriptions of the storms and the sea are wonderful -- Claire Fuller * author of Unsettled Ground * A gorgeous page-turner that is at once a mystery and a novel about mysteries - about how we all write our own endings and suffer betrayals, but still light the lamps so the people we love can find their way home. -- Charlotte Rogan, author of <i>The Lifeboat</i> Wise, beautiful and quietly devastating, The Lamplighters gets under the skin in a way that few books do. Weeks on from reading the last page, it still makes my heart ache -- Kate Riordan, author of <i>The Heat Wave</i> A deeply atmospheric and utterly gripping mystery . . . Superb -- Wyl Menmuir, Man Booker Prize longlisted author of <i>The Many</i> Compulsive, taut, and unforgettable. The Lamplighters is that rare book which is as exquisitely written as it is page-turning. I'm already telling everyone I know to read it. -- Lucy Clarke, author of <i>The Sea Sisters</i> A beautifully written, utterly compelling tale. -- Jenny Colgan, <i>Sunday Times </i>bestselling author of <i>Meet Me at the Cupcake Cafe</i> The Lamplighters took my breath away. A cracking mystery, perfectly plotted, and oh-so-beautifully written. -- Lucy Diamond Beautifully written, gripping and haunting . . . This genre-defying, literary mystery has it all, including an eerily accurate insight into relationships and marriage - and a haunting look at love, loss and guilt. We loved it. * Woman and Home * The Lamplighters is one of the most magical books I've ever read. The writing is dazzlingly good. The mystery is uniquely crafted and utterly beguiling. And it's full of such tenderness and humanity and grace. I loved it with all my heart. -- Emylia Hall, author of <i>The Book of Summers</i> I can't remember when I last enjoyed a book this much. The Lamplighters is a compulsive, bewitching read. The sea and wind get into your bones, the riddle pulling you through the pages like a tide. Deftly written and atmospheric, I didn't want it to end. Brilliant. -- Tor Udall, author of<i> A Thousand Paper Birds</i> A brilliant page-turner, a compelling mystery laced with the most haunting descriptions of the ocean and life on a remote lighthouse . . . Stonex gradually illuminates each character's story, until the darkest truths are brought into the light and the full spectrum of love, desire, loss and grief is revealed. -- Hannah Richell, author of <i>Secrets of the Tides</i> A beautifully written but totally gripping page-turner * Fabulous Magazine * Gorgeously written * The i * Stonex's spectacular debut wraps a haunting mystery in precise, starkly beautiful prose . . . Seamlessly marrying quotidian detail with ghostly touches, the author captures both the lighthouse's lure and the damage its isolation and confinement wreak on minds and families. The convincing resolution brings a welcome note of healing. * Publishers Weekly * Immersive, chilling, atmospheric and beautifully written -- Harriet Tyce, author of <i>Blood Orange</i> Lyrical, poetical and intensely gripping. Emma Stonex captures the harsh beauty of the sea and the stark isolation of the tower in this compelling mystery, where sinister shadows cast intrigue over the lives of each of the three men who keep the light. -- Fiona Valpy, author of <i>The Beekeeper's Promise</i> A compelling, deeply evocative mystery * iNews * Stonex is excellent on the tensions between the three men . . . her plot turns with as much precision as Arthur's beloved timepieces before coming to a satisfying, surprising conclusion. Yet rather than the mystery, it is the complicated relationship between the three women left behind that is most vivid . . . Hatred, distrust, lies and an unexpected sort of love binds these women in an elegant novel that is as interested in the notion of hope and acceptance as it is in murder and revenge. * Observer * Gripping . . . A haunting mystery in the tradition of Wilkie Collins * Sunday Express * Stunning . . . The Lamplighters amounts to much more than a locked-room puzzle. It is about love, loss and betrayal, with a tantalising hint of the supernatural, and the writing - particularly about the sea - is beautiful * The Times *
Emma Stonex was born in 1983 and grew up in Northamptonshire. Before becoming a writer, she worked as an editor at a major publishing house. The Lamplighters left harbour after a lifelong passion for lighthouses and everything to do with the sea; it has been translated into more than twenty languages. She lives in the South West with her family.
