The Lost is a collection of four short stories, from four different authors.  The theme?  All four stories deal with someone or something that's "lost".  That word can take on so many different meanings, and these four stories certainly represent several different kinds of "being lost".

The four stories are Missing In Death by J.D. Robb, The Dog Days of Laurie Summer by Patricia Gaffney, Lost in Paradise by Mary Blayney, and Legacy by Ruth Ryan Langan. 

Missing In Death is part of Robb's "In Death" series.  It's also available as a stand-alone book.  Like all books in the series, this one takes place in the future (2060) and features Lieutenant Eve Dallas, a detective in New York.  In this case, she's investigating a murder that takes place on a ferry.  But more important than the actual murder investigation is the dilemma that faces Eve once she has the bad guy. 

This story is "ok", but if you're not familiar with the rest of the series, it will be difficult to understand the full extent of Eve's dilemma, as it relies upon knowing her background.  While the story touches upon the issues, without the full background, readers will feel a little... "lost".

The Dog Days of Laurie Summer is one of the strangest tales I've read in quite some time.  Laurie Summer takes a hard fall and ends up in a coma.  Her family visits her, and hopes for the best, but a year goes by with no changes.  At least none that can be seen on the outside.  This story is told from Laurie's point of view, and it turns out that a whole lot is happening to Laurie on the inside.  While her physical body remains in that hospital bed Laurie actually gets to go home with her family and spend that year by their sides... they just don't know it.  How is this possible?  You'll have to read this strange story, to find out. 

I have to admit, I didn't love this story.   Sure, I wanted to know how it would end, and I hoped Laurie would be able to wake up - in her own body - and rejoin her family for good.  But I wasn't in love with the whole "other-worldly" concept of this story.  The grain of salt I had to swallow was just too large.

Lost In Paradise:  A man is living under a curse.  His punishment: living in a castle, acting as the leader, on an Island paradise.  Doesn't sound like much of a curse, does it?  But Sebastian can't ever leave the Island.  And he can't enjoy much of the modern world, pretty much locked into time as well as space.  His only hope?  The love of a woman, pure of mind and body.  Nurse Isabelle has no idea what she's in for, when she agrees to spend a year on this Island.  Can she save Sebastian?

Yikes.  This is not really my type of story.  I suppose it would have been ok, if the characters were at all likeable or sympathetic.  But I hated Sebastian.  His personality was such that I would have run screaming in the opposite direction the first time I met him, and he was rude to me.  And while Isabelle isn't nearly so bad, she's dumb as dirt, and makes some horrendous decisions.  Even the Island's "Healer" with whom Isabelle is assigned to work is nasty as can be!  I would have hopped on the next boat and said "See ya" to the Island, the nasty healer, and the really nasty cursed man!

Legacy:  Imagine you've just buried your second parent.  Then a courier comes to your door and announces that your entire past has been a lie.  Your parents aren't who you thought they were, and there's a grandfather you never knew existed, who wants to meet you, half-way around the world.  That's what happens to Aidan in this story. 

It was an interesting premise, and the story started out well enough.  In fact, it really could have been a beautiful, touching story about family ties, and finding one's true past. But, instead, it devolved into a romance story that really did nothing for me.  In the end, this story disappointed on several levels. 

There you have it - four stories about people who, in one way or another, are "lost".  Sadly, none of the stories were really great.  In fact, most of them were quite disappointing.  While I liked the fact that these stories brought four different authors together, under a common theme, the stories were just too weak.  As a result, I must give this book a non-recommendation.  


  

Recommended: No