The Photographer of the Lost is quite possibly one of the most haunting and original books I've read this year. It tells the story of three brothers during WWI - Francis, Harry and Will. Will is killed in action, and Francis mortally wounded. But when Francis' widow Edie receives a photograph of him four years after receiving the news that he is missing, presumed killed, she asks Harry for his help in finding out the truth. Harry revisits the scene of his war and we read about the horror and devastation that he witnessed. Returning to villages and towns razed by the enemy troops, it is a sad indictment on the effects of war on all those directly or indirectly involved. Harry, an artist and now a photographer of the lost is tasked with finding the last resting places of soldiers, and sending photographs to grieving relatives. It is a deeply depressing task, but one that brings peace to families needing to reach some kind of closure. For Harry however, there is no peace. He is in love with his brothers widow Edie and is tormented by guilt. He is sure his brother Francis died on the battlefield, but with the mysterious photograph appearing, he begins to wonder if all is not as it seems. The mystery deepens with people he meets along the way, and he cannot rest until he discovers the truth. Edie, herself conflicted, joins Harry in his search, but with a startling discovery, she returns home burdened herself with guilt and sorrow. Do they ever discover the truth about what happened to Francis? Do they ever admit their feelings to one another? Can the horrors of war ever be left in the past? An absolutely stunning novel that I can't recommend enough.

A powerful read. So many people must have lived this story after the end of the 1st World War.
As the story unfolds, we share the despair of our two main characters as they search to establish the truth of what happened to their loved one. Is he alive somewhere or buried; perhaps in an unmarked grave.
We shift between the war dates with all its ravages and what has become their lives in the 20’s - seeking answers.
This book is very well written and demonstrates the human need for closure. It will stir strong emotions. It certainly made me think and with the questions at the end, it would be a good choice for a discussion group.

This lovely novel is about love and how you come to terms with the loss of a loved one. It is set both during and immediately after WW1. Three brothers, Will, Francis and Harry go off to fight in the war but only Harry comes back. He has chosen to be a photographer, taking photos of graves for mourning parents, wives, children and siblings. He is in love with Francis' widow, Edie but she believes Francis to be alive because she has received a photograph of him in an unknown French town.

This was a moving read which never spilled over to sentimentality. I had no idea that the battlefields of the war became tourist attractions so soon after the war, believing it to be a more recent phenomenon. But Scott makes it clear that not only were the bereaved visiting (which you would expect) but there were people there also as tourists. The battlefields and indeed the fighting that went on are described with empathy. If you like war fiction you need to read this. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Every now and then you come across a book that moves you so much that you will never forget it and keep it close so that you can read it over again and again and this book is one of those.
We are reminded each year at Armistice about the fallen and the unknown soldiers but do not think of the women who never got their loved ones back.
This book tells the story of women who in the early years after World War 1 went to the battle fields and cemetery’s of France to look for the evidence that their loved ones were really dead and focusing on Evie who has lost her husband Francis and Harry his brother who survived.
Beautifully written and very poignant it is one of the best books I have read in a very long time in fact my book of the year.

Heartbreaking, the never ending pain of a lost love “missing “. This novel explores the gut wrenching pain of thousands of families left after the First World War without answers and without a grave to mark the life of a family member - assumed dead but posted missing. Closure is impossible and answers unreachable. The characters move between the war and the 1920’s and are delicately portrayed.

A perfect read this Remembrance season. Lest we forget

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this haunting book

world war one and the aftermath....a poignant tale of life after the war and how many wives and families embarked on a journey to find their husband graves

harry was a soldier in that war along with his brothers, harry longed to be an artist but after the war he became a photographer of the lost...bringing he hoped release to families by sending them photos of the graves of the heroes he was requested to find

along the way he relived his memories of his time served in the war...he also is trying to find out what happened to his eldest brother

edie has received a photo of her husband, harrys brother and believe him to be alive but lost...this is also the story of the journey they both take to find him...

a poignant story that does not glorify war in any way but it leaves a mark, as it should

Harry, Will and Francis are 3 brothers who have all joined up for World War 1 and we follow them through their experiences. Edie is married to Francis and is told that he is missing in action. When she received a photograph of Francis through the post with no other details, she wonders if he is still alive and decides to go to France to look for him. Harry is the only survivor of the brothers and has become a photographer since the war ended, he goes to France to photograph graves for grieving loved ones. When he finds out about the photograph, he too joins in the search and tries to keep his true feelings for Edie secret.
The writer has written a descriptive and vivid book, which is also beautifully written and very moving. When the brothers were in the trenches, you could feel their fear and the tension that would have been experienced by them. The writer has also written how Harry is struggling after the war with his nightmares and shakes, all things we now know to be PTSD, which so many soldiers would have experienced at that time.
I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster UK for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into the book as it jumps between 1917 and 1921 but o ce I did it was amazingly. As a debut novel Caroline Scott was brilliant. Her characters appeared truthful and it maid me think of the results of WW1 or in fact any war. This book particularly resonates with the families left at home and those who suffered PTSD as we now know it. Well done Caroline and thanks to her and NetGalley. Please keep writing.

A challenging read as it didn’t flow easily and at one point I nearly stopped but by the end I was really glad to have kept going. In amongst the hidden romance there is the horrors and tragedies of WW1, casualties going missing and families trying to trace their husband, brother, son, uncle, cousin etc coupled with hope that missing doesn’t mean dead.
It was a thought provoking book that I would recommend others to read and persevere with doing so.

Harry and Edie are both seeking the same person - Francis, Harry's brother and Edie's husband, reported missing in action in Flanders in 1917. Edie has received a photo of him in the post with no note attached, just a photo, and she sets off to northern France and Flanders in search of him. Harry, meanwhile, has taken on the task of photographing graves and other significant sites for the relatives of those lost in the Great War. With Harry feeling every location and knowing exactly what happened here, it is maybe not the best occupation for him, but he feels he owes it to those who didn't return to serve their families in some small way when he did survive. However, it becomes more personal as he meets those also in search of someone, Rachel who is looking for her husband, Gabriel who is looking for himself and a reason to return home.

It so often happens that I read a novel and find a news story that is very close to the subject matter and so it was with this novel - Dig Hill 80 located the remains of 110 individuals in Flanders and began a debate over whether the remains should be left there or exhumed and re-buried in an appropriate graveyard nearby. Some say they should be left, but this novel will completely persuade you that they and their families did not want them left and lost but marked and remembered, even those who are known only unto God. Too many people in the novel are preoccupied, obsessed even, with finding the lost and remembering all who fell.

A long novel but filled with twists and turns, it is an adventure story, a lament, a reason to never forget the Great War, a love story, a tragedy, on several levels, and a gentle ghost story. I have never read anything that conjures the memories of the First World War like this novel does. Among all the other themes, it is certainly a triumph and compulsory reading for anyone with an interest in this era, or with an interest in humanity.

This was a moving book that illustrated how the devastation of the first world war impacted on those directly caught up in it, but also those who survived. We witnessed families struggling to come to terms with their loss through the eyes of Harry who searched for evidence of those who had died so that their loved ones could have a photograph of their last resting place. Harry, haunted by his own memories of the devastation and chaos, was also searching for his brother Francis who is reported missing. Very well written and clear characterisation with interesting relationships woven into Harry's journey as he makes his way through France to find the truth for Francis's wife.

The Photographer of the Lost is a fantastic debut from Caroline Scott. It is accomplished and compelling, I was so impressed with the way in which she told her story.
After the Great War many men were missing, presumed dead. Edie’s husband Francis is one of them. She has no grave to visit and is stuck in a strange limbo, unable to grieve fully nor to move forward. She then receives a photograph of Francis in the post from France. It has no note or explanation and she begins to question if he really is dead, what if he survived and has sent her this photograph?
She sets off to find him but nothing will prepare her for war-torn France and she begins to understand a little of the horrors Francis faced.
Harry is Francis’s brother and they fought alongside each other. Harry is back in France photographing graves for those who wish to see their loved ones final resting place. It is a huge burden but he feels it is his responsibility and also he is not ready to go home just yet. Edie asks for his help in her search for Francis and he can’t refuse her. But in helping her, he must face up to the last words he spoke to his brother plus the feelings he has always held for his sister-in-law.
The Photographer of the Lost is so well done. The descriptions of war time and the desolation left behind were rich in detail and vivid. Scott’s descriptions of the actual action were also well done, I felt like she captured the chaos and terror of being on the front line.
Edie and Harry are also ‘lost’ and both searching for different things. Francis ties them together but also places a barrier between them. It was interesting to see how they navigate this complex relationship.
The book is beautifully written, it is poignant without being overly sentimental. Scott has clearly done her research as her portrayal of life at the front line is raw and honest.
I can highly recommend this book, it is so important for this time period to be remembered and written about. The Photographer of the Lost is masterly and memorable, an excellent debut.

I love this period in history and read a lot of books set during WW1, but I had never read one about the photographers who were commissioned by widows, or family members to track down where a loved one had been killed, their grave, or the place where they had been when they wrote their last letter, and take a photograph to send to them.

The story is set during 1921 with flashbacks to 1917 and brought the characters and their suffering very much to life. It was a stark reminder that although the war had been over for three years, the families of those killed, maimed or missing, presumed lost never fully recovered. The attention to detail is incredibly interwoven through the story.

Edie is searching for answers to what happened to her husband, Francis. He is missing, presumed killed in 1917, but someone has sent her a photograph of him, although she doesn't know who, or why. Francis was a photographer and took self-portraits. She is haunted by the thought that he could still be alive, and, if so, where is he and what has he been doing since 1917? She asks his brother Harry for help to track Francis down. Harry is an ex-soldier and fought alongside Francis and their other brother, Will. He is an artist, but since the war has made a living taking photographs and is the photographer in the story.

As he struggles with his own ghosts, Harry searches for the graves of those he's been asked to commemorate, but does as Edie asks and tries to discover what happened to Francis. The undercurrent between the two is beautifully depicted through the book and as you read you will discover more about Harry, Francis and Edie's lives and hopes, and also that there is lot more to people than they might wish you to believe.

I was thoroughly absorbed by this haunting, poignant story of love, grief and the loss of so many futures.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for my arc copy in return for an honest review.

An emotionally heart wrenching novel. Evocative and sorrowful it is beautifully written and a reminder of how the Great War impacted on whole generations. I found myself unable to decide whether I wanted Francis to have survived , given the mental anguish that would have had him suffer, or for his grave to be found.
Although the writing portrays the desolation and confusion left by the war there are also glimmers of hope and rebirth in the lives that have gone on. A strong reminder of my generations need to be forever grateful and thankful for having avoided the horrors of war and it’s aftermath. Highly recommend.

What a beautiful heartbreaking book. Full of live and romance and death this was a wonderful read that I would happily dive back into.

Highly poignant and brimming with authentic detail that tugs at the heart strings. A deeply moving read exploring love, loss and the devastation of war. Excellent.

Although I’ve read lots of books in this genre, sadly this book just did nothing for me. I just felt that although we eventually found out what happened, it took a long time to get there with not much happening in between. Sorry!

This is beautiful and moving. It's very sensitively handled, about the aftermath of the First World War; the grief, loss and confusion in France as citizens are trying to rebuild their lives. It's slow-going in places, however.

This offering from Caroline Scott really offers an interesting study of human nature. With this, as readers we are exposed frequently to opportunities to empathise, or at least, emote, with characters and situations alike. What will the drive of grief lead to? Are gut feeling and inquisition enough to produce outcomes of resolve? Scott does very well to uphold these questions across the scope of the narrative meaning that there is pace to the novel in terms of it's forward trajectory. This is further supplemented by the interchanging focus on different protagonists, as we follow both Edie and Harry's quest for resolution.

Aside from characterisation, this book sits amongst two key backdrops - the first being that of World War I. As ever, when writing of this era, there is a certain nostalgia and sadness which is evoked in the imagery and situations Scott discusses. Equally, there are moments within dialogue amongst characters which press forward those presumptions and politics of the war itself, often adding a stark reminder of the impact of war. That being said, this is a novel about the Great War which sits nicely in the mainstream canon of historical fiction, yet fails to reach readers with the impact or punch we experience in the likes of Barker or Faulks. Moments from 1920, and the post-war period give this book a wider scope and alleviates the potential for the claustrophobic, chaotic time spent with Harry mid-war becoming overwhelming.

Whilst on the outer layer of the storytelling this novel works hard to present a rounded view of war and post-war fallout in families and relationships, it remains, at it's core, a family saga. As entertaining and readable as this therefore is, there are moments when, as a reader personally, I felt depth or true exploration lacked. Don't get me wrong - it's well written, succinct and nothing about character jars or lags. It's intriguing and comfortable as a book choice....it just doesn't quite differentiate itself enough to have the impact other Great War historical fiction I am such a fan of.

#PhotographerOfTheLost #NetGalley

A truly outstanding debut novel .Caroline Scott writes with passion, understanding, empathy and compassion that the reader, me in this instance, really lives it . Set around WWI and it’s aftermath this really is a most beautiful books and one that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys this genre and this time period.,The legacy of the Great War on those left behind,