Review: Lost Grove by Charlotte Zang & Alex Knudsen

A wickedly twisted thriller with a gritty gothic edge, Lost Grove: Part One by Charlotte Zang and Alex Knudsen is a dark dream for fans of contemporary horror.

The sleepy coastal town of Lost Grove, with more secrets than people, is a classically ominous setting for a supernatural whodunit, including a stubbornly determined prodigal sleuth with a big city reputation, and a bizarre link to the murder victim. The appearance of a pale corpse on Mourner’s Beach sends Sergeant Seth Wolfe down a rabbit hole of memory into unsettling visions and dreams from his youth that began after a near-death experience on that very same stretch of sand.

The mysterious mutilation of this local girl, Sarah Elizabeth, sends the peaceful town reeling, but her death is only the leading edge of the shadow creeping into this apparently innocent hamlet. Nothing travels faster than gossip in a small town, and it isn’t long before the body on the beach is on everyone’s lips, making the investigation a minefield of red herrings, cagey suspects, and old secrets best left unearthed. Mere months into his new post as the resident crime-solver, Seth must unravel the haunted knots of his hometown, unaware of the horrors he might find – or begin to remember.

The Orbriallis Institute looms large in Lost Grove – a place of purported healing for the body and mind – but eerie reports from inside the walls suggest a remit closer to the realm of psychological warfare…or something even darker. Noble Andalusian, a star athlete who knows more about the corpse than he’s willing to admit, ends up involved in another harrowing hunt for truth, along with his curious pals, as more clues and bodies begin surfacing in relation to the sanatorium nearby. The disturbing tendency of people to get lost in the town’s “cursed” woods, and the local lore of abducted children being operated on for dark experiments adds to the swirling sense of dread descending on these interconnected lives. From serial killer suspicions and supernatural suspects to spine-chilling conspiracies and body-snatching paranoia, this genre-bending thriller is an unpredictable ride.

While there are some plot elements that demand a suspension of disbelief, the vast majority of the narrative is realistic enough to be engrossing and believable, despite the hints at otherworldly forces, which only adds to the overall sense of horrific dread. The interplay of close-knit friendships, rekindled flames, nosy neighbors and trusted mentors gives a tangible intimacy to the storytelling and dialogue, lending even more authenticity to the story. The slow-burning pace and attention to detail allow for full immersion in the setting, which is necessary to keep up with the plot’s subtly entangled parts, which build to an unpredictable climax.

On a technical level, there is space for improvement, from minor pronoun confusion to tense disagreements and occasional vocabulary redundancy. There are also some eyebrow-raising moments of narration that seem incongruous with character personalities or the overall tone of the writing. Despite such minor stumbles, the sinister storyline laced with vicious cults, mental illness, amateur sleuthing, and divine forces makes for a multilayered and gripping read that will satisfy readers of both psychological thrillers and horror fiction.