Lost Property

This book is an emotional and poignant read.
Dot the protagonist works for the TFL lost property office , and she herself is a little lost in life. She is a deep, caring and sensitive character.. Dot was close to her father who has passed away and she is also slowly losing her mother to dementia and she feels her sister Philippa has never cared about her . Dot feels totally alone.

Dot cares about the lost items she deals with , and one day she makes a connection with a gentleman who has lost a hold-all which contains his late wife’s purse. This seems to awaken her feelings about her fathers death, and leads her on an emotive journey .

I found the writing easy to listen to it is free flowing and I enjoyed the narration by Joanna Scanlon. The subjects dealt with in this book are serious and could be upsetting by its nature but it’s written in a sensitive and at times light hearted manner .The characters are genuine and Dot has great depth and towards the end of the book we also see the depth of Phillipa’s character too.

The pivotal quote “ Loss is the price we pay for love” is touching but so true.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Audio for this advance copy.

A very sweet book about relationships and life. Lovable main character who throws herself into work to escape some painful life experiences. Very well crafted story.
I listened to this book as an audio book and found the narrator’s voice so fitting for the book she really brought the characters to life with her accents.

Strong trigger warning - scenes of attempted suicide, suicide, dementia, sexual assault

This book wasn't quite what I was expecting. Whilst a lovely read in places, it is also very, very dark in a lot of others. I listened to the audio version of this book.

Dot works in lost property at TFL and is, shall we say, a little uptight in her role. She's fastidious, a stickler for the rules and even wears her own felt uniform, even though one isn't required in the job. At first I thought she was small minded and had no life experience. How wrong I was. She'd had a life, but she'd lost it.

Once Dot began the trail after Mr Appleby's purse I did like the hunt she went on, not only for the purse but for the people Dot and her family members once were. The narrator was brilliant with wonderful accented voices for the different characters. The book touches on so many important life choices and experiences and was richly written with evocative phrases.

I refer to the trigger warnings, and that it may at times be a little too realistic for some to cope with. Although Dot goes to some dark places along the way ultimately the book has a good and satisfying ending.

What a lovely book, I really enjoyed listening to the book and it was well read. A beautiful story.

Dot works in lost property eager to te h Ute lost items with their owners often going above and beyond, when her own life starts to unravel and Dot has to find herself. A delicious story of finding out who you are and where you belong in the world.

This was a wonderful, unexpected read!
I was expecting a ROM-COM style book, and there were certainly elements of this, but Paris delivers so much more. There were very funny moments, but the humour was needed, and it was provided at just the right time.
The job at Lost Property could not have been more perfect for Dot. It was fascinating to see how her story played out through the items that were handed in or searched for.
This book was utterly heartbreaking at times, Dot's relationship with her parents and sister made for very painful reading, and these have impacted Dot's life in so many ways. The guilt she feels since her father's death is palpable, and this spoke to me so much. My eldest sister passed away last year, and Dot's feelings echoed my own in so many ways.
It was a truly life-affirming read, and I have adored championing Dot and cheering her on through her journey.
Poignant and heartbreaking, I feel like I have lost a friend now I have finished the book.
The audiobook was acted brilliantly, and the narrator was perfect to portray Dot, capturing the humour and pain expertly.
Thanks to Random House UK and NetGalley for the ARCs to review.

If you liked the character Eleanor Oliphant then you will enjoy Dot and the story of her life. How two sisters can live the same life but have completely different memories, however its not too late to repair the damage and move forward, deal with the insecurities and break free. I loved the descriptions of working in a lost property office and the personal story behind every lost glove, umbrella or hold-all. Very moving at times and touches on depression and suicide, the sacrifice of those who care. Humorous at times and then uplifting as Dot comes to terms with her own lost baggage and misplacement. Narration was excellent, story and plot flowed. Thank you #NetGalley for the advanced copy of Audiobook

I love the book - I have to admit that I had read the print copy too. It's a beautiful story and I loved its quirkiness and its different tone. Too many books are all the same these days, especially books aimed at women of a certain age - my age! (Perhaps this is true of men's fiction as well, but I don't read that!) But this novel has a more unique voice and I love that about it.
However, I was a bit disappointed with that narrator. There's no doubt that Joanna Scanlon is a fantastic actor and narrator but I felt her voice was not quite light enough for Dot. This didn't stop me enjoying the recording but it does account for my four stars rather than five.

I’m really not sure how I feel about this book, as it had a lot of serious themes in it, suicide, sexual assault, an elderly parent with dementia, homelessness, sibling rivalry, and depression. I enjoyed the stories of the lost property items and customers that Dot tried to help, but I found some of the story quite hard going at times. It’s supposed to be an uplifting book, and although I found a few parts laugh out loud funny, it was mostly a sad book for me. I loved the narration by Joanna Scanlan, she really brought Dot and all the cast of characters to life perfectly, and I’d definitely listen to other audiobooks narrated by her.

Dot Watson is lost and much of what is missing is hidden in her past. This was a slow listen with much of it coming across as a monologue. There are heavy themes so not a light listen, but enjoyable all the same.

This is a slow burner of a read (or listen), one that pulls you along and you’re thinking it’s ok, but then the emotions sneak up on you. And it sucker punches you in the chest.

A word of caution (see trigger warning and potential spoiler below)!

I must admit at the start I wasn’t really feeling Dot’s story, but you really feel for her as Paris takes her time developing her story and character, you see glimpses of humour but also the heartbreaking grief and loss that Dot has endured and is still severely affected by. She carries so much guilt from her past.

But as you follow Dot on her mission, you see the power of secrets and how they were used to protect her when she was younger.

This is a beautifully, heartbreaking story as Dot starts to heal from her past loss, and understand the truth behind those secrets. Ultimately, it’s about hope, hope for the future, for being a better you, and of hope for your family. But it’s definitely not an easy read!

⚠️ Trigger Warning (and potential spoiler) ⚠️ Deals very heavily with suicide and the after effects on those bereaved, including suicidal thoughts and actions.

Where do I start -this book was an emotional rollercoaster!
I loved ever second of it and it was made more enjoyable because of the amazing abs talented narrator who had me laughing out loud and ready eyed.
This is a passionate tale of real life in the 21st century. A poignant read that takes you on a journey with Dot reliving her life through different eyes.
I felt a real connection and will read again

Dot used to think she had her life planned out, she was going to do anything she wanted, but as a grown up life hasn't worked out at all as she thought. Now she works at the Lost Property Office, taking as much loving care of all the items as if they were her own. She knows the value of something that has been lost and puts all her effort into looking after them and trying to reunite them with their owners.
It's so lovely how Dot describes all the items and imagines who each one could belong to. I liked Dot and was really rooting for her to do something and stand up for herself rather than just put up with some really awful colleagues and her bossy and annoying older sister.
The book was a pleasant read and the narrator had the perfect voice for Dot. It didn't really grip me though and I found some of the revelations a bit unconvincing.

This was a lovely easy audio with great accents, although some of the wording was slightly different to the actual book. I loved Dot and her awkwardness. It is a witty story with some heart breaking stories along the way. This isn't my usual genre but I will definitely look into more by this author because the style of writing is beautiful. The setting was a bit drab and the book wasn't what I thought it would it be, but I'm far from disappointed. It's a roller coaster of Dot's emotions, and I didn't car for her sister much until the last few chapters. I will definitely recommend for a summer read.
Thank you to NetGalley, Helen Paris, Random House UK and Transworld Publishers for this ARC in exchange for a honest review

Thoroughly enjoyable story that I really became engaged with. It was bought to life in my mind even more by being an audiobook

This book is beautiful. I don’t know how I would have felt about it if I had read it but Joanna Scanlan’s narration as Dot could not be more perfect.

Admittedly it is a slow start but once it gets going you realise Dot herself is lost and I couldn’t stop listening. There were times when I had goosebumps it was so provoking.

This book has a similar feel to The Midnight Library. Whilst not containing the supernatural element, this too deals with depression and learning how to take hold of your own life and make things happen. A beautiful book with a lovely end.

This was excellent, beautiful narration and a wonderful but sad tale of loss. Dot was in need for help and a large hug and I was so glad to have discovered her and the amazing lost property service. Highly recommend.
Thank you.

Firstly let me start with the narrator Joanna Scanlan. Bravo! She did a fantastic job of reading this book to me. I thoroughly enjoyed her expressions, and dramatics of each of the characters she voiced throughout. Dot's sister Phillipa was acted out brilliantly and she truly brought her to life. The vivid imagery Helen has written really also helped Joanna narrate and bring the story settings to life for the listener. However with all that said, overall I just did not enjoy the story half as much as I would have liked. I just struggled to connect emotively to Dot throughout. Considering the sensitivity of all the subjects covered in the book, such poignant moments I should have easily connected and felt emotionally stirred but it just did not happen for me. Also the humor in the book I found a bit cringey.

Such a shame as I really wanted to love this book.

Thank you to Netgalley and Penguin Random House for this ACR in return for my honest review.