What Was Lost, Catherine OFlynn
What Was Lost, Catherine OFlynn
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What Was Lost

Author: Catherine O’Flynn

Narrator: Catherine Skinner

Unabridged: 6 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 06/24/2008

Synopsis

In the 1980s, Kate Meaney is hard at work as a junior detective. Busy trailing "suspects" and carefully observing everything around her at the newly opened Green Oaks shopping mall, she forms an unlikely friendship with Adrian, the son of a local shopkeeper. But when this curious, independent-spirited young girl disappears, Adrian falls under suspicion and is hounded out of his home by the press. Then, in 2003, Adrian's sister Lisa—stuck in a dead-end relationship—is working as a manager at Your Music, a discount record store. Every day she tears her hair out at the outrageous behavior of her customers and colleagues. But along with a security guard, Kurt, she becomes entranced by the little girl glimpsed on the mall's surveillance cameras. As their after-hours friendship intensifies, Lisa and Kurt investigate how these sightings might be connected to the unsettling history of Green Oaks itself.

About Catherine O’Flynn

Catherine O’Flynn’s debut novel, What Was Lost, won the Costa First Novel Award in 2007, was shortlisted for the Guardian First Book Award, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize and the Orange Prize. She lives in Birmingham, England.

About Catherine Skinner

Catherine Skinner’s theater credits include The Crucible (Royal Shakespeare Company), The Witches (National Tour), Hay Fever (Theatre Royal Haymarket), and Forward (Birmingham Rep). She can be heard as Liza in Love Chat and Annie in One Day on BBC Radio and seen on television as Natalie in BBC’s The Rotter’s Club.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Paul

There were various important aspects of this book which I frankly did not believe - unhappily, the character (however endearing) of 10 year old Kate is one of them. She wanders around town and occasionally stays out all night with zero adult supervision and is hugely braver and more intent and conce......more

Goodreads review by Mon

A few weeks ago, Borders across Sydney had a massive 75-90% off clearance sales. Not expecting anything good, I went into them looking for anything that looked like it would last more than 10 pages before I trash it in the bin and still, somehow, ended up with just 4 books. One of them was Don DeLil......more

Goodreads review by Amanda

This book was recommended to me after my husband heard it being talked about on the radio and I was instantly intrigued!! Kate aged 10 lives with her Grandmother Ivy after her dad died of a stroke. She runs “Falcon Investigations”. All she wants to be is a Private Investigator, Kate spends most of he......more

Goodreads review by Kinga

It has to be said that no other literature portrays their small towns and suburbia in quite such dreary terms as the British literature. This novel opens with chapters featuring Kate, a little girl detective - a typically precocious child that books and movies favour. She could be very annoying, as......more

Quotes

“An off-beat quirky little mystery which punches way above its weight…The author’s achingly astute observations on consumerism make this far more than a generic mystery and the icing on the cake is a twist in the tail which I really didn’t see coming.” Marian Keyes, New York Times bestselling author

“Stirring and beautifully crafted…Gripping to the end, the book is both a chilling mystery and a poignant examination of the effects of loss and loneliness.” Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“O’Flynn has created an ensemble cast of fully developed and engaging characters—children, adults, and adolescents—and placed them in a plot that twists and turns more than the underground and locked stretches of the mall. And she creates sentences and verbal images that are both finely honed and flawlessly flowing. This is a book with high appeal to mystery and suspense fans, and also to anyone who appreciates fine writing or mesmerizing storytelling.” School Library Journal

“What Was Lost is a terrific, wonderful book and I loved every page of it.” Douglas Coupland, author of The Gum Thief

“What Was Lost is a delight to read—poignant, suspenseful, funny,  and smart…[It] is a moving novel, bespeaking not only the energy and inventiveness of its author but also the power of good old realism.” Los Angeles Times

“The bravest and most appealing adolescent this side of The Lovely Bones, aspiring detective Kate Meaney vanishes partway through Catherine O’Flynn’s mesmerizing debut novel, What Was Lost…There are many ways to feel invisible, we learn from this gentle, sharp-sighted tale of love and loneliness. And there are many ways to be found.” O, The Oprah Magazine

“At once moving and wickedly funny, [What Was Lost] is one dazzling debut.” People (4 stars)

“O’Flynn elevates common characters into fascinating studies of people and their circumstances. Her portrayal of Kate Meany, a young girl who spends her days playing detective, is vivid and heart-wrenching. The author’s tender sense of humor shines through her writing, providing relief from the sadness of the story.” RT Book Reviews (4 stars)

Awards

  • Man Booker Prize
  • Guardian First Book Award
  • Orange Prize
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