Thank you to NetGalley and publishers for this ARC

I was so excited to read this book and have since recommended it to everyone in both PB and HB format!

A story I heard as a girl whilst on a holiday in Scotland brought to life. Thankyou so much for this story!!

This book was great from the start. As a Cornish girl myself, everything felt genuine and immersive. Its historical scenery and narrative felt ernest and reflects a real, heartbreaking history of Cornish life, where the seas are simultaneously givers of livelihoods and snatchers of it, too. Its supernatural and suspenseful. A great read.

I was intrigued by the premise of this, the apparent twist on a locked room mystery. And to start with, it did keep me reading quickly... until I got distracted by the jumping of POV, and the chapters where the wives were talking to the writer as if it were a transcription of what they said. And once it started in on the affair... I started to wane. There was promise, but it didn’t quite deliver for me. What was with Vinny’s past? What was the White Rook? Did anyone else actually turn up or not? Why did [won’t say their name] act as they did at the end, what was with all the past memories of [other name]? Ultimately I found myself speed reading the last 20%, to be finished with it. It had promise, but sadly didn’t deliver for me.

I received a free ARC copy of this via NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

What a brilliant book! I went into this not knowing much about the book, and what a pleasant surprise it was and held so much more than I was expecting.

If it written brilliantly, almost interview like and I found that really helped you connect with the different characters. The suspense this creates too is amazing and I found myself wanting to devour this book and see what actually happened.

As well as the mystery, this book for me was quite educational as I learnt a lot about life as a lighthouse keeper and what was involved. I have great admiration for the men who did this as it really must have been a dark and isolating job at times.

Emma Stonex does an amazing job of telling the story of these lighthouse keepers and the impact their jobs have in themselves and their loved ones around them.

The Lamplighters is a locked room (lighthouse!) mystery, which had me gripped up to the last page. How could three men go missing from a tower lighthouse, with no way off back to land. There’s no boat, no-one visited them - and what’s more, the lighthouse is locked from the inside when the investigation team arrive.

This is a mystery that affects their wives and partners even 20 years later. A writer contacts the three women and asks them to cooperate with him as he writes a book about the mystery. It seems that all three women held back secrets during the original investigation - but will the uncovering of these secrets make any difference?

The Lamplighters is told in flashbacks, alternating between the present day with the women, and the lead up to the disappearance with the men in the lighthouse. The lighthouse chapters in particular are seriously atmospheric, threatening, even. I had so many ideas as to what could have happened, my opinion changing constantly as more information was revealed. I didn’t guess the actual ending though, even after I’d described the basic storyline of the book to my husband, and he got it in one (note to self: do not discuss mystery books with the husband, AKA “Dr” Poirot…)

Highly recommended.

A novel about the mysterious disappearance of three lighthouse keepers in 1972 and the lasting effects on the women left behind. A slow, dark and uncomfortable read. The author has a beautiful writing style but the story and characters left me feeling disconnected.

I didn't love this - the concept is great, and the real-life research is absorbing. But it's not quite an effective murder mystery; I would still recommend for readers who are looking for something slightly outside the genre.

A good read .The story starts with the disappearance of three men from a lighthouse and what happened to them was a mystery. Twenty years later a writer decides to write a book about it and when he interviews the wives they left behind ,secrets are discovered and their relationships are not what they seemed.Very well written and interesting characters but will anyone really know what really happened and how it affected all those Involved

It’s a rare thing to take a true mystery, and then use that to write a new tale that neither disrespects the memory of that mystery nor renders the new work unoriginal. The author has taken the essence and conjured new characters of such richness that the reader cannot help but have feelings and opinions of them, and be wholly invested in them. At times I found myself willing characters to listen! Or talk! As we all often do when watching a cinematic drama.

I enjoyed the layout of the tale, explicit in the narration of which character and which year we were in.

Finally the design of the book cover and sprayed edges is beautiful and enticing.

I highly recommend this debut novel by Emma Stonex.

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex is inspired by the true story of three lighthouse keepers who mysteriously vanished from the island of Eilean Mor on 26th December 1900. Wilfred Wilson Gibson wrote a poem about the incident, Flannan Isle, published in 1912, and Stonex picks up the basic details and speculates a fresh plot based on a more contemporary version of the tale.

I remember reading the Gibson poem in secondary school, and being captivated by the atmosphere and evocative location, which was further accelerated by the Doctor Who story The Horror of Fang Rock. So for most of my life I have harboured a fondness for the richly textured and infinitely creepy location of the lighthouse. Perhaps it’s a fear of the sea’s power and the hostility of the weather, or maybe it’s just the idea of being stranded on an isolated rock miles from safety and other comforts…

The Lamplighters tells the story of three lighthouse keepers, Arthur, Bill and Vince – all very different characters – who are thrown together in isolation on the Maiden Rock lighthouse, fifteen miles southwest of Land’s End. It is 1972 and the novel is peppered with cultural references to remind us of the time setting. We’re drip-fed information, with individual chapters told from each man’s viewpoint, building an impression of the fractious relationship between them. Slowly key details are revealed. Intersected between are chapters set in 1992, told from the viewpoints of the women involved with these men – respectively Helen, Jenny and Michelle – who are still dealing with the aftermath of their partner’s disappearances, and whom have been contacted by an author who is interested in writing a book about the event. Again, the uneasiness of the women and their strained relationship is well depicted, filling in the gaps their mental states have undergone in the intervening years.

The novel is well researched, and includes fascinating details about the men who worked in the lighthouse service, equally as much covering the mental requirements of the job as well as the physical aspects. In the intervening years the role has almost become redundant, due to technology making it automated, so it feels like we are dealing with a story lost in the mists of time. This is a good I enjoyed. It’s a well-paced novel with believable emotional complexities. I look forward to reading more of Stonex’s future work.

Loved this one. It’s unique, intriguing and keeps you reading until the very end. Such a brilliant book, I will actively await the next one from Stonex!

I wasn't sure if this book was a true story or not it was so convincingly told. The descriptions of life in the lighthouse and the rolling seas around the Cornish coast were so evocative. It's a book that will keep you guessing until the last minute.

A truly haunting and mesmerising book. Part ghost story, party mystery, it had me hooked from the first few pages. A story that stays with you.

This was an intriguing and atmospheric story. I could feel the desolation of the off shore lighthouse and the loneliness of the partners left behind on the shore.

Emma writes beautifully and captures the relationship dynamics wonderfully. The relationships between the men are as beautifully written as the romantic relationships are.

A haunting mystery that kept me guessing until the end, with beautiful writing throughout. I very much enjoyed this.

AD - This copy was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

I cannot believe how long it took me to get to this book, probably because I knew it would be a five star read that I needed to be emotionally ready for! The setting and atmosphere Stonex creates with her descriptions and the way the characters interact with the physical environment of Cornwell and the Atlantic was incredibly well done. The mystery and how it continues to effect the three keepers disappearing has, was so clever and kept me guessing and turning the page. 'The Lamplighters' is a clever, well-written book, and I will devour anything else Stonex writes!

While I was initially very intrigued by this book and always have been interested in mysteries like the real life disappearance of the three light keepers, I found it impossibly hard to follow who was who. The characters just didn't connect for me and when I still couldn't place them halfway through the book, I decided to just skim read to the end. The beginning was good and grabs your attention, but nothing really happens and I found myself getting very bored and forcing myself to read this, not really enjoying it...

Honestly so so good and definitely something I’d recommend to someone who loves and enjoys reading just as much as me!

I really enjoyed this atmospheric book about three lighthouse keepers who mysteriously disappear one stormy winter. I particularly enjoyed the sections set on the lighthouse itself, as we get to know the three different men and watch how being on the lighthouse and so isolated affects them each differently.

I found the interviews with their partners a bit less satisfying, and some of the supernatural elements didn't work well for me at all unfortunately. But overall an enjoyable read.

This was such an interesting mystery book. I liked how it presented the narrative from all the viewpoints of those at the heart of the action. Emma Stonex did a really good job making sure each voice was distinctive and it never felt like the characters sounded the same. I liked how it dealt with all the themes that were brought up and found the final third to be very tense. The lighthouse itself felt like it's own character and i loved how it added so much atmosphere to the story.

The Lamplighters is a book not easily forgotten. I felt sadness, sympathy and I loved the underlying eeriness the sea and tower. As the story unfolded I felt as a reader I really understood each character. A must read