Book Review: The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
I received a review copy from the publisher. This does not affect the contents of my review and all opinions are my own.
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
Mogsy’s Rating: 4 of 5 stars
Genre: Horror
Series: Stand Alone
Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 23, 2021)
Length: 340 pages
Author Information: Website
The Lost Village is a horror suspense novel following an amateur film crew hoping to make a documentary on the mysterious fate of Silvertjarn, a small Swedish mining town in the late 50’s which saw its entire population of about 900 disappear overnight. Only a newborn baby was found left behind in the schoolhouse, her parents unknown.
Now in the present day, a group of young filmmakers are hoping to travel to the village and discover the truth of what happened. As their leader, Alice has a vested interest in the project, and not only because she has already spent much of the funding that was poured into this documentary and needs it to succeed. Silvertjarn was also the hometown of her grandmother, who lost her parents and beloved little sister when everyone disappeared. Alice’s connection to the village had also led her to befriend Tone, the miracle baby that was found, now all grown up and hoping to tag along and uncover her mysterious origins.
Also part of the team is Alice’s good friend Max, who had done quite well for himself after college, and is now a major financial backer of the film. As well, Alice was forced to hire another one of her old contacts from film school, her once best friend Emmy. Following their epic falling out, things were never quite the same between the two women, but Alice needed a production manager and for some reason Emmy was willing to work for her and bring along her partner Robert, an experienced technician. The two of them also didn’t mind taking a pay cut, which was a big plus, since money was tight.
Alice hopes that she will find something in Silvertjarn to make her documentary a hit and launch her career. But when the five of them arrive at the lost village, nothing goes as planned. One of them suffers a serious injury, jeopardizing their whole schedule. Then there are the strange noises, and the glimpses of a stranger among the broken rundown houses. But surely there can’t be anyone else in these woods but them?
The Lost Village is being pitched as The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar, presumably because of the filmmaking angle and the Swedish setting, respectively. But what it really is something entirely different and on its own. I will say that the book was thoroughly enjoyable, even though it was not without its flaws. It is slow-moving, for one, at least at the beginning, but the mood-building and story development was excellent. The plot unfolds via two timelines, one in the present following our movie crew, and one in the past, which is revealed to us gradually through letters and journal entries written by the close relatives of Alice’s grandmother.
I especially enjoyed these flashback sections to the past, showing us what life in Silvertjarn was like before everyone disappeared, including the devastating closure of the local mine which led to many of its residents moving away to find new work. Some of those who stayed became depressed or turned to drink. For the most part though, this was a tight knit community that supported each other through tough times. But then came the arrival of a mysterious and charismatic new pastor, who changes the fate of the village forever.
Given all that transpires in the past, it’s no wonder I found that timeline more enticing. In fact, one of the criticisms I have is that for about three quarters of the book, much of the present timeline feels uneventful and dull in comparison. When Alice and her team arrive in Silvertjarn, they find a whole lot of nothing. This quiet, eerie and lonely atmosphere was effective only up to a point, however, as tensions around the camp quickly devolve into incessant bickering and handwringing. For a film crew, they also don’t seem to do much or know anything about filmmaking. Granted, this could be due to the problems they run into, but with all these concerns about their limited time, you’d think these characters would have more agency.
Fortunately, the pacing picks up dramatically the closer we get to the ending, as more shocking developments occur in the present and horrible revelations also come to light in the past. The ending could have gone in a number of possible directions, but I thought things came together in the best way they could have. Overall, despite some pacing issues and unevenness in the interest generated between its two timelines, The Lost Village was a good read, for it made up for its minor shortcomings with an intriguing hook and great atmosphere.
The BiblioSanctum 
I bought books by this author to my mother but I haven’t read them yet. Maybe I should
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Oh that’s great! You should, and let me know what her other books are like 😀
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I was really interested in reading this but.. if most of the book is uneventful? Not so much.
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Unfortunately, the present timeline took a while to build-up – the past timeline was pretty nerve wracking straight off the bat though!
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Ahh, I see.. Thank you! Maybe I will still give it a try.
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I’ve seen this one around and it looked super creepy! So I’ve been curious haha. Even though the present day POV sounds like it needs a little jump start I’m glad to hear things pick up by the end- and that the older POV is so good. Excited to get this one!
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It is creepy, even though it takes a while to build up. Worth it in the end though!
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It sounds creepy and interesting, though it is a little weird that the film crew doesn’t know anything about filming. Hmmm okay, so would you recommend it?
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Yeah I would recommend it, for patrient readers who don’t mind a slowburn build-up 😀
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The core concept for this book is nothing short of fascinating: nothing like a haunted village (or house, or *anything*) to pique my interest! Thanks for sharing 🙂
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Yes, I agree! Loved the “haunted” village/ghost town concept as well 🙂
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Looks like you’re on a roll with horrors lately, Mogsy! 🙂
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Yeah, I’m loving the trend!
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I couldn’t fit this in last month but I hope to pick it up later, it sounds really good, plus a 4 star rating from you is excellent!
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Yes, even with its hiccups, I enjoyed it a lot!
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I was really interested in reading this.
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I hope you’ll get to check it out!
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I guesss I could find it in Swedish?
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Oh they have it…
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Yeah they should have it – I might be wrong, but this might have been translated in the first place.
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Glad to see you enjoyed this one. I agree, it was a bit slower in the beginning, not enough to bother me but it was noticable. I didn’t really think it was much of a horror, but it had enough suspence and mystery to keep me entertained. I very much pictured them as amateur wannabe filmmakers trying to fund and create their first film, so I wasn’t as surprised by their lack of experience. Looking back I do think I might have been a little too generous with my rating, but I did definitely enjoy it.
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That’s pretty much how I felt – the pacing issues were definitely noticeable, but I didn’t mind them too much either, considering how well the past sequences were done. I didn’t mind so much that they didn’t do much in the present. I think they were amateurs too, but the lack of technical filmmaking involved still surprised me.
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Adding to my TBR right now!
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Awesome!
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This does sound really good apart from the pacing issues! Excellent review!
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Thank you!
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Pingback: Bookshelf Roundup: 04/17/21: Stacking the Shelves & Recent Reads | The BiblioSanctum
You had me at The Blair Witch Project meets Midsommar, although you said it wasn’t quite that pairing, but still!
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That blurb does make it sound enticing, doesn’t it! 😀
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This is a book that I was interested in but at the same time I never liked The Blair Witch so that comparison definitely distracted me – in the wrong type of way. Happy to see you enjoyed this one even with the slight sluggish feel.
Lynn 😀
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