I loved the quirkiness of this story.

Dot is complex … much more than what we see on the outside. She’s lost her sparkle and has stopped engaging in life, controlling everything she can to feel safe and secure. I was so intrigued to find out what was behind this need to hide … and liked that it was a while before we found out. By that time, I was already emotionally invested in Dot and her life and felt her burrow even deeper into my heart.

After a hard-hitting scene in the basement, John Appleby and his late wife’s purse gives Dot the motivation she needs to push past her ennui and go on an adventure. I enjoyed watching the changes as her quest unfolds.

I loved this sentence (an observation from Dot on the Tube):

“<snip> but one woman in a plum duffel reads an actual book, held close to her face as if she is stealing the story.”

It’s like that sometimes isn’t it!

I loved Dot’s observations about the lost property that comes into the London Transport Lost Property. And what she does sometimes when it’s re-claimed. Inspired! Big Jim is a reminder for us all not to make judgements based on appearances 🙂

So many emotions! Scenes with key people in her life and when she is alone had me in tears. Despite the melancholic themes to Lost Property, the humorous writing style takes off the edge. I do like a story that strips back the emotions that often, we’re not willing to acknowledge or deal with. Dot has a lot to come to terms with but despite the darkness, her story is full of hope, new life and new connections.

I found this book a little sad and boring. I thought it was going to be a lighthearted 'nice' read but it was more about the main character Dot finding herself and overcoming unresolved issues from her childhood. Not sure what I was expecting from it but it wasn't what I got. The story may appeal to others but for me it lacked humour and excitement.

I thought this book was an ok read. I expected the story to be more about the tales of lost property rather than the personal struggles of Dot.

I do think this would be an ideal train read, plus it’ll remind you make sure you have all of your belongings with you.

This was a lovely book and centres on Dot and her family. Dot works in the Lost Property Office for London transport and really gives her all to her job as she really enjoys it and loves reuniting the lost items with their owners. There’s a touch of melancholy about Dot and her situation and as the story unfolds you realise why and yes the book is sad in places but it’s also uplifting and heartwarming ! Dot’s Dad has died and her Mum who she lives with has dementia. She also has a sister Philippa who is married with 2 children. As the story progresses we learn that Dot left home earlier on to study languages in France and while there had a romance but due to circumstances at home she had to leave quite abruptly I felt because of this, it goes some way to explaining why Dot has the air of melancholy. The book switches pace slightly when Dot’s Mum has to go into care and we get to see Dot and Philippa’s relationship and how Philippa being the big sister comes across as bossy and controlling which explains a lot. On the work front a new Boss takes over which upsets the applecart and causes big changes for Dot. Wanting a change she decides to try and reunite a briefcase with a customer who told her the sad story about the contents and she felt such a rapport with him she tries her best to find him herself due to his address going missing in the files. We then find out what has led Dot to this point in her life and we witness her eventual climb out of the life she has carved for herself and also her finding herself and happiness again. This was such a good book and you felt like you were going on an emotional journey with Dot and the characters and situations felt true to life. I really recommend this book and will read other books by this author.

This book was lovely. Dot, the main character is portrayed in such a wonderful way that I am sure we can all recognise someone we know in Dot. Her job is to reunite lost things with their owners. As the story unfolds we find out more about Dot and her family. The book brings a lot of serious themes to the fore as well as humour. A thoroughly enjoyable read.

“All the items handed in to Lost Property bear the imprints of their owners, but none more so than the lost clothes. Look at the hope suspended in socks still arching the shape of missing feet, the cardigan cuffs aching to close around absent wrists, questioning elbows in the sleeves of a lost shirt! Feel the idiosyncratic knot of a shoelace, smell the trace of perfume on a silk scarf.”

Dot’s life has become a bit stuck. The big dreams she once had are beginning to fade away as she works each day in the Baker Street Lost Property office. Until one day someone enters her life and unlocks a new determination inside her. After all, everything that’s lost belongs somewhere. Maybe now it’s Dot’s turn to be found.

I began reading with expectations of discovering something unique but was unprepared for the beauty of this work.

The Lost Property Office, holding thousands of lost material memories, is somewhere between a museum and a library. As we understand the events from Dot’s past, her profound connection to this place begins to make sense.

Helen Paris has an absolutely hypnotic way with words. There is sentence after sentence that tugs at your heart. The setting at a lost property office offers a peek into people lives through the objects they’ve lost which Paris brings to life in a delightfully uplifting way.

A beautifully written journey of loss, this is funny and light-hearted, while also showing the necessity of overcoming grief, finding forgiveness and rediscovering oneself.

This ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Transworld Publishers.

I felt a bit like I was still waiting for this book to get going when it ended. The premise was just great but it didn’t work out like that.

I was very happy to receive 'Lost Property' by @helenfrancesparis for the last book of May. Thank you to the author, publisher and @NetGalley. It's easy to read this and think of those lovely but somewhat damaged characters Eleanor Oliphant from the eponymous novel and Susan Green from 'The Cactus', but Dot Watson is one who is on a true journey of healing from the scars of her past.

Dot is in France when she hears of the tragic death of her father. Grief-stricken she returns home, lost and guilt-ridden. Putting her life on hold, she takes a job in the Lost Property Office of TfL. Categorising and organising is a welcome distraction for Dot who is not only dealing with grief but also with her mother's dementia. Gail, Dot's mother is so well constructed and her story of loss and longing through music is one to bring a tear to the eye.

When the elderly Mr Appleby meets with Dot she sets out on a mission to find his yellow hold-all. She pulls out all of the stops to help him and in turn helps herself. His late wife's purse is not the only thing lost - Dot herself is lost and in need of this mission to purge herself from grief and find her new self.

There are some difficult subjects raised in this book but done so in a very sensitive way. A brilliant debut and one I am thankful to have spent time with.

Dot had always dreamed of travelling and studying abroad, but when her father commits suicide while she’s living in Paris, all Dot’s dreams fade and she returns to London, finding a job in the Lost Property office of London Transport. Over the following years, she becomes more and more entrenched in lost property, and nothing else, until it all breaks down. Can Dot rebuild her life and find a way to return to her travelling ways?

I really enjoyed Lost Property. The chapter headings are lost property tags, with items lost and found including her Mum’s memory and her inhibition! There’s a multitude of interesting characters, with slimy boss Neil Burrows, who deserves everything he gets, and Dot’s sister Phillipa, still struggling to be the big sister and protect Dot.

I’d love to know whether the real London Transport Lost Property was housed in such an interesting building, and if there really was a basement full of unclaimed detritus. At times funny, moving and entertaining, Lost Property is a great read.

Although I didn't think this book was going to be for me, I was wrong. Very different to what I would normally read but it was very well written and it turned out to be enjoyable so I was glad I finished it instead of giving up. I will give it 4 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for this ARC.

Dot finds herself working in a lost property office for London Transport. She's responsible for making it possible to reunite items with their owner. I loved the personalised way that the items become important to you- they all have a history and you are left sad that they are languishing in a depot waiting to be claimed!
The characters are lovely , you can visualise the mix of people who work together and the people coming in to see if their treasured items have been found and waiting to be reunited.
Dot's life hasn't worked out the way she planned. She has lived abroad, but family issues changed the course. Her sister sounds a bit interfering and disapproving, She's also caring for her mum, who has just moved into a care home. There are some very touching scenes between them.

Dot takes her work very seriously and when an elderly gentleman wants to be reunited with a bag with sentimental value, she is devastated that their system lets them down. She goes to extreme measures to reunite them.
A very unusual premise for a book, but I felt very invested in the items waiting in the lost property aisles.

Dot works in lost property, but really she is as lost as the umbrellas that have been left in the trains. She has so many unresolved issues with her family and her past. This is the story of her gradually finding herself.

I fell in love with LOST PROPERTY by Helen Paris and especially with Dot. I took a journey through loss and healing alongside her. I felt every bit of her pain and I understood all decisions she took.
Every item in LOST PROPERTY has a story and a meaning. I loved Mr Appleby and his wit and I secretly hoped for Dot to find love again. This is one emotionally rich story that made me laugh but also brought tears in my eyes. It is such a powerful story about loss and reconnection

What a lovely read. Dot Watson has worked in a Transport for London Lost Property office all her adult life and is as much of a fixture as the lost umbrellas. A bit of an oddity in her plain (self imposed) work uniform and taking no chances whether with her pen clipped to her pocket, handkerchief pinned on or her safe life. We learn that Dot was a languages student and enjoyed her youth living in Paris but came home when her dad died. We learn the circumstances of his death, and how Dot, his favourite, blamed herself. Her mum, Gail, is in a care home with dementia and gradually losing bits of herself. What stood out for me is how Dot and older sister Phiippa grew up in the same house with completely different experiences and memories. Dot is as lost as the property she protects and it takes a crisis to find herself. A truly lovely read that had me crying by the end. I loved how it was laid out too with each chapter headed by a different lost or found item. #netgalley #lostproperty

This was a lovely, comforting read and I had been looking forward to this book for a while. The main character is Dot Watson who works in the Lost Property department for Transport for London. Initially I thought she was a bit of an Eleanor Oliphant character but I was wrong... Dot is grieving the death of her beloved father and, having put off her plans to travel the world, she has found comfort in reuniting lost items with their owners. Her relationship with her sister is strained and her mother is in a care home with dementia. So Dot focuses on her work and little else.

The beautiful thing about this book is seeing Dot rediscover her joy of life and watching as she reconnects with others. She is such a likeable character and I was really rooting for her throughout this book.

This is a warm and uplifting story. Beautifully written, easy to read and get ‘lost’ in! Thank you to @netgalley for my copy in exchange for an honest review.

I would’ve probably rated this book higher if I’d gone into it knowing a bit more about the subject matter. I feel like this was advertised as a light romcom style book when it was nothing of the sort.

Also there was one plot line that if I had known about beforehand or had some warning about I wouldn’t have picked it up at the time I did because it was all a bit too close to home and really not what I needed. I chose this thinking it would be a light, easy read and it really really really was not.

Read and reviewed in exchange for a free copy from NetGalley. Whilst this took awhile to get into, I did enjoy this book. The narration reminded me of Eleanor Oliphant, and I found myself more invested in Dot and the events as it went along. The writing of one scene in particular was powerful and moving.

Lost Property by Helen Paris is a book about a young woman called Dot and a particularly challenging period of her life. When we meet her, she is working in the TfL Lost Property Office, living in her mother's flat and not on best of terms with her sister. As the story unfolds we discover how she came to be where we meet her, and follwo her on her journey. I loved how well we got to know Dot and how this swept the reader up in the storyline. A complex and at times challenging debut from Helen Paris but well worth a read.
With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in return for an honest review.

‘All the things I could have done, people I could have met, places I could have gone. I gaze around and see - nobody. No one. Just me and a pile of lost things. All abandoned, left, forgotten.’

Lost Property follows Dot who’s life hasn’t quite gone as planned and she is working through some very distressing feelings of loss. The structure and routine from her work in lost property provide the order and comfort she seeks. That is ... until one particular incident forces her to reevaluate everything she thought to be true.

‘Nothing matters nowadays, does it? It’s all disposable, meaningless. Lost something you care about? Just get another! Get two! Replace it and move on!’

I have to state from the outset, this was not the book I was expecting. At some point it lost me a little but then came home strongly in the end. The thing is, this book deals with some really dark and heart wrenching topics that I had not been prepared for. This is no light, fun read regarding lost items with a little romance thrown in. At times, I found it difficult to read faced with topics of grief, suicide, dementia, sibling rivlay, depression, loss, regret - that is a lot to take in. You have to sign on to take the journey with Dot as she tries to come to terms and reclaim her life. At times it is slow going, at times it is downright dark and depressing, but ultimately you crave to see Dot come out the other side.

‘I guess I don’t think it’s about right and wrong - just that we need to be a bit more fluid. Sometimes it can help to step into the world they are in, rather than always forcing them into ours.’


This book is like being on a rollercoaster with its peaks and troughs. Yet with a great cast of secondary characters it offers a story of the importance of the people in our lives, those that shape us and the shared memories that come to mean so much. In that loss we hold on - sometimes too tightly - to an object that provides a portal to the past, so that they and all we shared are never lost and nor should we become so.

‘Life gives us so much,’ Mr Appleby says, ‘chance, excitement and hope. But woven through it all is loss. If you try to pull out that thread, the whole thing unravels. Loss is the price we pay for love.’









This review is based on a complimentary copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The quoted material may have changed in the final release.

A beautifully written book right here, and Dot has to be one of my favourite characters to date, what a truly gorgeous person she is!

Loved the storyline and plot and everything about the book, Dot is such a lovely person, I wish there were more people In the world like her!!! I cant fault the book, sad in places but also made me smile too and I liked that it had a happy ending 😃

I’d love to read more about Dot and so I hope I hope I get my wish!!!!