Inspired by a true story, The Lamplighters is a fascinating tale, full of suspence and intrigue.

I really enjoyed the story, the relationships between the lighthouse men and the wives they left behind.

The three lamp lighters are all hiding something from the other two.

I requested and received a temporary digital Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley, the publisher and the author in exchange for an honest review.

The main plot running through this book is love and loss, but throughout the book I had a slight chill running down my spine. I was moved by the women’s passion for their men- I thought the setting was spot on to create the chill needed to bring this book to Life. Very moving and well written.

This was a very interesting story with an original theme about the people who work in lighthouses and those who are left behind at home. It is a combination of fiction with some factual elements thrown in. It was a bit hard going at times as the subject matter was pretty intense but an interesting read.

I liked the premise of the book, a mystery surrounding the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers based on a true story. The rescuers arrive to find the door locked from the inside, places set for dinner and clocks stopped at the same time. No evidence of foul play. The author sets this up nicely. The story then starts to switch back and forth in time, a book researcher arrives to try and unravel the mystery as we discover how the women left behind have been continuing with their lives. This is where it starts to fall down for me. There isn’t much character development and because of this, it is quite hard to find any of the characters likeable or really understand their backstory. There are plenty of dramatic moments but many of these moments go unexplained and unexplored, it hints at paranormal but then goes off the boil. It’s frustrating because these elements could have made it a really good book. Oh well. I may go back and read it to try and understand who Sid was!

An excellent Story part fiction part fact with a wonderful mix of characters who lives all be come intertwined by one huge tragedy, driven by folk laws & other smaller tragedies, Loves , Loses, Ghosts & Mysteries that keep you hanging onto the edge of your seat. The Story shows the power that the Sea has over all of us ! It shows the games it can play with those who work upon it & those left behind on Shore . I have to say a big Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reading copy,it is a Book I will be recommending to several friends & I know that they will be enthralled by it ,just as I have been . <img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/11bc11d0026952991f96874534f30a6fb6dbed74" width="80" height="80" alt="25 Book Reviews" title="25 Book Reviews"/>, <img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/ef856e6ce35e6d2d729539aa1808a5fb4326a415" width="80" height="80" alt="Reviews Published" title="Reviews Published"/>, <img src="https://www.netgalley.com/badge/aa60c7e77cc330186f26ea1f647542df8af8326a" width="80" height="80" alt="Professional Reader" title="Professional Reader"/>, #GoodReads , # NetGalley , #FB, #Instagram #Amazon.co.uk.

In 1972 the three lighthouse keepers from Maiden Rock tower lighthouse vanish. The table is set for dinner, the door is locked from the inside and the clocks are all stopped at the same time. Yet there is no sign of the men. Twenty years later an author is writing about the mysterious disappearance and speaks with the wives and girlfriend left behind. As secrets and resentments are revealed will the solution be something mundane or supernatural?

An interesting take on a lighthouse mystery. Told from multiple viewpoints the story pieces together slowly until the closing section. While I enjoyed the story for me the characters are the main problem - you never really get to know the men and the wives in particular are quite unlikeable.

Based on a true event, the story is woven around the known facts of a missing with a ‘what might have been scenario’. I found the way the story was told interesting, but didn’t really get into the characters thinking which would have made it more meaningful. Overall 4 stars for me.

I was lucky enough to get to read #TheLamplighters prior to publication. It is such an interesting and very different book. I was absolutely intrigued and would definitely recommend it.
Set in 1972 and the years that follow, this is the story of three men who mysteriously disappear from a lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall. The fact that it was inspired by real events was particularly intriguing. It had me from the opening pages and I didn’t want to put it down.
Told from the point of view of all of those involved including the wives left behind, I was desperate to find out what happened.
The book is really well written and I found the descriptions of life in a lighthouse absolutely fascinating. I had no idea! It has left me keen to find out more. When this pandemic is over I want to go and see some light houses for myself.
This really is a book for everyone. I would buy it for my friends, for my dad, and for my daughter. I can’t wait to discuss it with my book club friends.
Thank you so much to @Picador and Pan Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this excellent and original book.

Anyone interested in tracking down that elusive 'perfect' novel would do well to start here. Everything about The Lamplighters shines and beguiles. The story is gripping and the characters are more believable than plenty of people I've met in real life. Each one holds a secret capable of sending dominoes tumbling in everyone else's lives. So far, so wonderful. But then you take a look at the way each sentence is constructed, the language and implications been laid down like a net of tripwires, literary devices as landmines. Everything about The Lamplighters is just so beautifully done. Who is Emma Stonex and where has she been all my reading life?

I cannot wait to hear the Audible version of this novel Oh, and was there ever a more perfect story for a Netflix series? There must surely be someone out there somewhere already casting it now.

With many thanks to Netflix and the publisher for letting me see an advance copy.

An intensely-felt, remarkable novel, that drags you in and drowns you in secrets and intensity of emotion just like the angry seas it describes. Based on true events, the story is set in the 1970s and is about three lighthouse keepers, Bill, Vince and Arthur and how they mysteriously go missing, The clock is set to a time that has a painful meaning to one of them, the table is set for two people only and the outer doors are locked from within,. What happened to lead them to their deaths and why? Their lives are miniscule and tedious, locked up together for months on end in the middle of a rock in the stormy sea, outwardly coping well with the close quarters they live in but each one a hothouse of intense feeling, secret desires, needs and hidden lives. We learn about their marriages to Helen, Jenny and Michelle who are all housed near each other on land, waiting for their husbands to come home - these women also hide secrets from each other and from their husbands. None of them know how the others truly feel about them and what they will do to each other to get what they need. This is one of the best novels I have read this year.

I really enjoyed this mysterious, atmospheric read about the strange disappearance of three lighthouse keepers.

The book flits from the events leading up to the disappearance, to 20 years later when an author tries to unpick the tale, with accounts from the wives and girlfriends of the men.

The tension mounts as we learn more about the three men and their relationships and lives both on and off the lighthouse tower.

Lots of detail about the conditions brought the tale to life, particularly poignant as we head into our own lockdown again and certainly puts things into perspective!

I had hoped for a slightly more gripping ending to solving the mystery, but on reflection it was as it should be, with unanswered questions left for all involved. Messy yes, but more true to life than a dramatic finale would give.

All in all it was a good read and I would recommend it. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I loved this book. I adore anything to do with lighthouses, and this novel certainly didn't disappoint. Well-written, with compelling and believable characters, this book will keep you up late, desperate to finish it. I learned a lot about the lives of lighthouse-keepers, but above all I was completely drawn into the story, and the lives of the characters. I look forward to reading more from this author.

Three men disappear from a lighthouse in Cornwall in 1972. One day they are there, the next they're gone. The door is locked from the inside, the clocks have stopped at the same time and the table is set for two. Fast forward to a writer trying to solve the mystery of their disappearance by interviewing the women they left behind.
The premise of this book sounded mysterious and interesting, however it is very slow paced, with endless detail. The story is told mainly in the first person but it is frequently difficult to tell which of the six main characters are telling it. I stuck with it as I was interested in any twists in the plot or conclusions. The ending however, was totally as I expected.

I am afraid this book did not fulfil it's early potential. I have always been fascinated by lighthouses and Flannan Isle has been a favourite poem of mine for many years. I was very keen to read the book. Alas I found the gabbling style of "conversation" to be horrible. You had no real idea who was doing the "talking" and to whom - the reader or the character in the book I found it to be quite hard to focus on the story.
I am sorry, but this book was not for me.

This is the mysterious tale of how 3 lighthousekeepers disappeared without trace from a "maiden" lighthouse (that is a lighthouse on a rock out to sea) off the coast of Cornwall. It it based on a real life event but transposed from Scotland to the far west of Cornwall

This is told through the first person accounts of the 3 wives who years later have no rewal answers that is until a writer wants to tell their story and one of the wives agrees.

As a depiction of that disappeared way of life it was an interesting read however for me the slow reveal was a bit too slow and i found myself losing some interest about half way through..

There were some parts which showed more literary quality . I think this will appeal particularly to people who love this area of Cornwall or who re interested in lighthousekeeping.

Three men mysteriously disappear from a lighthouse, no clues are found, everything is clean and tidy, the door is locked from the inside, the clocks have stopped at the same time so what happened? The wives should be united but don't seem to like each other. When a writer appears trying to find out the truth we find that none of them are the people that we thought and secrets begin to emerge. How well do we know anyone we spend time with?

I struggled with this book in the beginning as I could not get my head around the characters – who was married to who etc. Not sure why but once I had it in my brain I enjoyed the story. Living in a close community brings with it all sorts of issues. It is about men manning a lighthouse for weeks on end and their families being left on their own to manage the world without their partners. Some cope and some do not. Different characters in a confined space will also lead to discourse and this is what happened when a new person, Vince, jointed the lighthouse and who had a mixed past. Then something unfolds which causes trouble in the community and I had it in my mind what was going to happen. No wrong – the author took the book down a different path and made the reading of the book intriguing. Yes definitely worth a read

Based on a true story, The Lamplighters is a fictionalised version in which three lighthouse keepers mysteriously disappear from their lighthouse in 1972 and are never found.. The rescue team find the door locked from the inside.
Sorry, I failed to engage with the characters and found the plot-line to be all too predictable.
But Stones, by using a writer gathering the background for his book 20 years after the event, has come up with an original concept. It means we, the readers, are effectively eavesdropping on his conversations with the wives and families of the vanished men. This certainly gives an immediacy to the story and to that extent keeps one engaged. It's just a pity that the mystery of what happened is so unsatisfactory when it is ultimately revealed.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read of this book.
This book had me gripped from the first page ! The history and the mystery were all it took for me to read this book in one day. There aren’t many books I would read again but this is one of them.
Not going to give anything away with this review, only to say read this book !

Don't know how the author managed to make a whole book about this. It did not hold my interest couldn't empathise with the characters and the mystery was no real mystery.