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 . . .

This was such a fascinating book based on a true story!

It is a very detailed and well-researched novel, which not only explores the mystery behind the disappearance of the three men but also their personal lives.

The narration alternates between the viewpoints of the three keepers and their wives, allowing the readers to get an insight into their lives, their struggles with loneliness and isolation as well as the challenges they faced in trying to lead a normal life across the years.

A tense and unsettling atmosphere is maintained throughout the book, which provides the perfect setting for the unexpected twist at the end to reveal all the hidden secrets.

Overall, a very informative read about the life of a lighthouse keeper, something which I hadn’t really thought of before reading this book.

Thank You NetGalley and Pan Macmillan for this ARC!

I want to start by giving this book its due. It's intriguing and compelling; I thought it was compulsive, in its own way. The mystery at the heart of it -- the locked room mystery, the disappearance of three lighthouse keepers (something which did happen, only in Scotland instead of Cornwall, as in here) is extremely readable. Its thrilling and I thought the atmosphere created here was good. The sense of place was very well-done and I think it was evoked well. I also did not, necessarily, think this was badly-written. This is an extremely low rating, but I'm not giving it to say that this is an author I would never revisit. I thought some of the prose was lyrical and I enjoyed the juggling of different characters here, which never seemed too stressed or laboured.

It has an atmospheric Gothicness to it, which I appreciated.

With all that said: I hated it! It crept up on, my total disdain for this book. First and foremost, I found it cool to read. There would be an argument, I suppose, that this could come from the setting itself. It is, after all, a book almost entirely about what isolation does to the human psyche BUT AT THE SAME TIME...I just felt a complete and utter emotional distance. The mystery was what kept me reading, not the characters themselves. I was interested in several of them, to start, but it was quickly peeled away. I am not someone who requires a likeable character in any way, but it wasn't even that they were necessarily all unlikeable as much as they were literal wet fish. I thought some of them were so thinly sketched.

I also have a real problem with the women in this book. I'll be honest: I didn't like Jenny, who I thought was obviously mean and bitter, but I thought there was just something so odd about her. I'm hesitant to say that I thought the treatment of women bordered on misogynistic, but it just really didn't sit right with me. I think it's because the characters themselves felt so thinly sketched and that I felt everything about them was so wrapped up in the men and their families. Part of this may come from the fact there's so many POVs shown in the novel, so a full fleshing out would be hard to do, but it didn't sit well with me at all. There's significant showing rather than telling -- Helen is apparently a strong, independent woman, her marriage with Arthur worked so well allegedly because they were fine on their own as well as together, but I felt like, by the end of the book, her whole character was reduced down to her interactions with the men and her antagonistic relationship with Jenny. And again...Jenny is just such a caricature of a mean, bitter women who relied so totally on her husband. I really did give some allowance for the time period, for her particular background, and I can see that maybe other people were emotionally involved, or moved, or could connect, but the characters left me so thoroughly disdainful here.

With regards to the plot, I have to say, I just also didn't care for it. I wanted to discover the mystery so much, but when it came I was so bored. I feel like it was a bad choice to have so many of the present day sections occur in a one sided dialogue with an unnamed writer. To be sure, it played into the isolationist theme but it was such an odd way of reading, in the middle of the book. It didn't let me feel any closer to those characters. In the 1972 section, I feel like there was so much hinted at which just ultimately didn't work for me. Primarily, I'm talking about the character of the 'silver man'/Sid. I do understand that this is used by the author as representative of breaks in reality and mental health. I get that! For me, it felt underdone and somehow hamfisted. It threw me out of the book so much. I rolled my eyes at my imaginary audience who are always perceiving me ala The Truman Show.

Mostly, I just feel like this premise was so intriguing and I can understand why a lot of people will like this novel and what they will get out of it. For me, the characters were thin, the plot was thinner, everything was so dull and the emotions were so flat that they got swept away on the current of the writing. Like I say, I think there's some good writing in this but I honestly never felt positively throughout the reading experience. So! There ya go I guess.

I received an ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It took me months to get round to reading it and that's my b.

I really love books that are set in my neighbouring county of Cornwall and I am fascinated with lighthouses so I was delighted to be invited to the blog tour by Amber at Midas PR. Thank you to Picador for my copy of the proof in return for a fair and honest review.

The book begins with a boat going out to the Maiden Rock Lighthouse, a tower in the sea, to collect Bill and take over a relief keeper. When they get there no-one is there to meet them and on further investigation nobody is at the tower. There are only two plates set for dinner and the clocks both are stopped at eight forty five. The place is clean and tidy with no sign of any violence or disturbance, in fact it is eerily ordered.

Based on the disappearance of three keepers from the Eilean Mor, rock light in the Outer Hebrides in 1900. This novel is very detailed and is a read you need to concentrate on, so that you do not miss anything important to the story.

Three men disappeared that day, Arthur, Bill and Vince. The book switches between 1992 the present day and 1972 when they disappeared. In 1992 an author is researching the disappearance for a book he is writing and the women who were left behind are still living in limbo. Helen, Jenny and Michelle are all trying to get on with life, twenty years later, but the mystery does not allow them to do this fully. Helen and Jenny don’t get on and Jenny doesn’t want anything to do with the book. She likes to imagine that Bill is still alive and will return one day.

A beautifully crafted novel, it not only looks at the disappearance but it looks at the relationships between the keepers and their families and in the aftermath the keepers families. It also hides so many secrets not just the one that happened on that day but much deeper and hidden secrets.

I had always thought of lighthouses to be romantic places from the outside but the picture painted by author is claustrophobic and all absorbing. A brutal experience, twenty four hours a day monitoring the light and the tower. The weather could be brutal and being away the from their families for weeks at a time. Also the isolation and the psychological impact of that isolation is really shown through the writing and the characters.

This is a really well written and interesting book that really kept my attention and the research was detailed and well thought out. I really enjoy a locked room mystery and this one kept me on my toes all the way through. Lots of clues and red herrings made it an engrossing and involved read.

Holy Moly!! This is one of those books that leaves you feeling bereft when it ends! The characters take over your every thought and you're left experiencing every kind of emotion as you read their stories unfold in front of your eyes. And all set against the backdrop of an imposing lighthouse and the unpredictability of the sea.

The story is told as now and then! Looking back at the families of the men who worked on the lighthouse and how they dealt with the mystery of the men's disappearance on one fateful night. There's no sign of a struggle, they left no trace behind ... so where did they go and what happened to them? The book is based on a real life event, but the author has a wonderful time reimagining the events surrounding the disappearance and the impact on the families left behind.

With the story being told from both the viewpoint of the men as they worked on the lighthouse, and to the women dealing with life married to them and the years that followed after their disappearance, you really get a wonderful sense of how the isolation the men often felt, alongside how the women coped and tried to come to terms with their lives after - their own theories of what happened and the letters shared between the women as their friendships shattered.

There's so much going on within each chapter and revelation. I loved the way the story came back to life as the mystery was looked into by a writer who wanted to try and get to the bottom of it all. Old wounds are reopened and feelings have to be confronted.

A wonderfully evocative book that has a little bit of every genre in it and I adored every single second of it!!

Having seen great reviews for this debut book, I was pleased to be able to start reading it myself. Very quickly we start to discover more about the men who vanished and the thoughts of the women they left behind. As the secrets and stories are slowly revealed the reader starts to find out what happened over the last few weeks before the men disappeared.

The suspense in the book builds beautifully and the writing created a story that I didn’t want to put down. The book brings to life the lifestyle of the lighthouse keepers, the daily routines and the difficulties of coping with being back in the ‘real world’. There are many elements to the story and I was kept guessing until the end.

A fascinating story that I’m happy to recommend. I look forward to reading more by Emma Stonex in the future.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to NetGalley and publisher Pan Macmillan in exchange for an honest review.

I knew requesting this book was a bit of a risk. I don't typically enjoy historical fiction but I found the temptation of a lighthouse disappearance too tantalising to resist. When I began reading it, I was worried I had made a mistake. I was initially going to DNF this book but then I couldn't. Something was making me read on, despite the features I don't typically enjoy in fiction. I couldn't put it down.

I will say, I think it's important to know going in that the mystery of this book is a little...unsatisfying. Even though I picked it up for its mystery element, that wasn't what kept me reading with the characters and the prose being the strongest factors for me. Stoney manages to create a really interesting atmosphere throughout the book, one is which is very compelling and draws you in. The characters aren't the most developed but they feel real and three dimensional. What we don't learn about the characters actually feeds quite strongly into that atmosphere I talked about and the general nature of the mystery of this book.

It's hard for me to say much more about this book because it is one of those where I think you either like books like this or you don't. If you like books with a somewhat dreamy atmosphere, a mystery driving but not being the center of the plot, and a lot of character exploration and moments, then I would say give this a try. If you want a super intricate mystery or a book heavy on historical elements, then this probably isn't what you're looking for. Having said that, it did surprise me so it might be worth giving a try if you like the sound of the blurb.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5 stars

4.5 stars
The lamplighters shifts between two time frames, Cornwall 1972 where the keepers are working on an offshore tower lighthouse, and twenty years later where their partners are still trying to work out the mystery of what happened to the three men as they tell their stories to a writer. .
So many questions have been left all this time unanswered. Where could the men have gone?, why was the door locked from the inside?, why have the two clocks have stopped at the same time?, and a then there is the fictitious stormy weather log, what has actually truthfully happened?.
This is a story of the loneliness and isolation of working on a lighthouse and then the onshore community made upon the men's families left behind. It's filled with suspense, love and grief and the blurred line between fact and fiction is explored. It is dark but very poignant but most of all set by the sea makes it hugely atmospheric.
Beautifully written. A book I would highly recommend.
My thanks go to the publisher, author and Netgalley for providing this arc in return for my honest review.

An atmospheric mystery based around a true story transplanted into a fictional Cornish lighthouse. What attracted me initially to the story was the knowledge that the Cornish coastline is quite nefarious throughout history for wrecking ships (sometimes purposefully) so the idea of a lighthouse mystery intrigued me. While not exactly what I was expecting, and at times a little blurred or vague, the result was a good read as an attempt at a theory as to what happened to the real lighthouse disappearance of Eilean Mor.

In 1972 all three keepers disappeared from a remote lighthouse. Mysteriously, all the doors were locked from the inside, the clocks stopped and displayed the same time and there was strange log entries about a storm that never existed.
Twenty years later the wives of the keepers still don’t know the truth about what happened but the men’s employers aren’t keen on them finding out either.
I thoroughly enjoyed the book and it kept me enthralled from beginning to end. It switched between all the characters, covering the “then” and “now’ aspects of their lives leading up to the disappearance and afterwards.
The reader learned that relationships between certain characters were not all they seemed and still influenced friendships twenty years later.
A clever twist at the end reveals what actually happened that day in 1972. Both well written and researched and enabled some insight into the lives of lighthouse keepers and their families.

Story based on the event of 3 lighthouse keepers that went missing in the 1900's. Even though i did enjoy parts of this book, i feel it did not fully grip me. Reads from the perspective of 2 timeline, 1 in which the lighthouse keepers describe the trials and tribulations of living the lighthouse dream (which was often very depressing and dreary, not so much based on being in the lighthouse itself, but mostly from the things that had happened to the men earlier on in life, they tried to escape from)
The other timeline is told from the perspective of the women in their lives and the man who is writing a book, twenty years later, based on the disappearance of the men and how this has impacted on the lives of their families.
Thought provoking at times, due to the solitary nature of the job and how this can have a profound effect

Fantastically atmospheric, great characterisation and an intriguing mystery. Rather wonderful!

Like many people, I've always been intrigued and delighted by lighthouses, and the opening lines of this book sent a shiver down my spine.

Three lighthouse keepers in the 18th century were on duty, alone on the island, and one day disappeared. No one knows what happened to them. This real life mystery inspired an imaginary tale of keepers on an island in 1972. 

The men were due to be relieved from duty but when the next shift arrived at the lighthouse, there was no sign of them, just stopped clocks and the table set for supper. 

Years later, we meet the wives and families as they still struggle to make sense of what happened to the men. They're invited to relive the disappearance by a writer, keen to detail the events and learn their side of the story. But the women have to confront secrets, guilt and sorrow. And will we ever discover what really happened?

We also step into the lives of the men as they cope with the daily tasks and challenges of their job, how they view the relationships back on the mainland, and the banter and rivalry between them in these close confines.

It's an amazing novel. It's full of atmosphere with a timelessness, a mystique and otherworldliness of lighthouses and the sea. Fantastic! I couldn't put it down and was sorry to come to the end. Already itching to read it again!

A haunting tale of loneliness and grief. The historical research is detailed and fascinating. The sea itself is a separate character- menacing and powerful and always there. The affect of the sea on the men at the tower and on their wives at home is described in atmospheric detail.

This is the best book I’ve read in lockdown. Fascinating premise for a story. Memorable characters. Will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. Look forward to reading other books by this author. Will be recommending this book to customers as soon as we get back to work.

I loved the shifting of the book's narrative between the men's perspective in 1972 and the women in 1992; so let me explain... the base of this story comes from the actual disappearance of lighthouse men in the 1900s from a lighthouse situated in the Outer Hebrides. Stonex takes this mystery and weaves her own vision of events into 'The Lamplighters' and she's created an excellent read with a driven narrative. We begin to peace together the parts of the whole story via interviews with those left behind and the narrative of the past.
I love books set by the sea; the isolated and tempestuous setting of this story is really atmospheric and bleak, and it also offers the psychological journey of being in such an environment. Overall, I found this quite a haunting read, and I kept thinking about it after I closed the final page. With themes of love, loss. grief and hidden truths and I would happily recommend this book.

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.!

“When you're with the sea everyday, it takes whatever’s inside you and shines it back.”

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.
20 years later, the women they left behind are still struggling to come to terms with what happened. 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.
I absolutely loved this story. I was involved from the first sentence all the way to the last. It was heartbreaking, emotional, thrilling and incredibly atmospheric. Based on the real events of December 1900, where 3 keepers disappeared in similar circumstances, which is currently unsolved, I feel like it was such an intriguing way to build up a story.
The characters are all so rich and wonderfully written. I love the way the conversations were written with the journalist and the letters from Helen to the others. It was so interesting to see their histories come out of individual conversations and how heartbreaking it was to know that the truth may never be known to some.
I wasn't sure how Stonex would bring the story to a close, but I loved how she did it and it was unexpected to say the least, a definite curveball! I do feel like there could have been more to the deaths of the keepers, more detail and more build up but it was so well written it really is a minor complaint.
I don't think I have read anything quite like this for a long time, a story that I felt like I was there on the lighthouse with them drinking in that sea air and feeling the longing and grief alongside each and every character.
TW: unexplained disappearances, infidelity, cancer, rape (mentioned in passing), child death, grief, drug abuse and animal abuse.
Overall, a top read for me this year so far and close to being a perfect read and an ideal story for anyone who is a historical fiction or even a thriller fan.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
4.5/5

In 1972 three men disappeared from an off-shore lighthouse. The doors were locked from the inside, the clocks had stopped & there was no sign of the keepers. Twenty years later a writer comes to investigate this mystery & to talk to the women who were left behind. The story is told from various points of view & from shore to the light.

I loved this book. The story of the keepers on the Flannen Isles has always intrigued me & this homage to the story totally met my expectations. I found it fascinating reading about life out on the lighthouse. The way the incident still haunted the women involved was well told. Although all the characters weren't likeable they all had their story to tell, Thanks to Netgalley & the publisher for letting me read & review this super book.

This book took me a while to get into, but I was so glad I did. All the characters are realistic and well developed and the story was well written. Recommended.

I finally got around to reading this and have just finished, a few weeks after publication. This is an intriguing mystery, one which is about 3 lighthouse keepers who disappear from their lighthouse off the coast of Cornwall. it is fictional, but Stonex has evidently done a lot of research, and it seems to be loosely based on the disappearance of men from a Scottish lighthouse many years ago.
The men - Arthur, the principal lighthouse keeper, Bill and Vince, all vanish without explanation one stormy day in December 1972. Towards the end of the novel, Stonex does reveal what happened - but this is not known by the other characters: Helen, Arthur's wife; Jennifer, Bill's wife, and Michelle, girlfriend of Vince. The structure of this novel is complex. It moves from 1972, focusing on the men and their lives, as well as their backstories, through to the 1990s, twenty years later, and the lives of the three women.
'The Lamplighters' is beautifully atmospheric, particularly towards the end. In many ways, I wanted to award this five stars - the only thing that holds me back from this accolade is the switching of narrative viewpoints which, although necessary, tends to overcomplicate and confuse the plot at times. Regardless, Stonex's book is haunting and memorable, and above all shows the lengths that people will go to to live a life, as well as the intensity of living in close quarters and all that this can bring to those involved.

I was gripped. I still really want to know what happened to the trio this book was written about. A beautiful balance between sea and land, woman and man, past and present - I loved the shifting narrative voice. I'd recommend!