The Bottom Line: A perfect choice for fans of Wayward Pines and Twin Peaks, Lost Grove is a hypnotic murder mystery that crackles with supernatural intrigue.
Shortly after his father’s debilitating stroke, Seth Wolf resigned from his post as a homicide detective in the San Francisco Police Department. His return to hometown Lost Grove – home to 1,500 residents, quaint Victorian homes, farms and nearby picturesque beaches – comes with apprehension. Theoretically, his new role as sergeant would give him a less-demanding schedule, making it easier for him to help run the pharmacy his family had owned for four decades.
But everything changes when the body of college student Sarah Elizabeth Grahams is found at nearby Mourner’s Beach. Upon being summoned to the scene after someone left an unnerving note alerting police to the body’s location, Seth is filled with a sense of deja vu. Seventeen years earlier, Seth had been rescued from a cave by the very man he now works for, police chief Bill Richards.
Seth notes that the dead woman’s nude body is in remarkably good condition. The positioning seems intentional. Soon, he finds that there is no water in her lungs, suggesting that she was likely dead before being placed on the beach. Topping it off, it soon comes out that no one had seen her in two years, and she has no social media accounts – a rarity among a college girl in 2021. As subsequent chapters reveal, Sarah is the product of a mountain of as-yet-undiscovered secrets.
Authors Charlotte Zang and Alex Knudsen have inhabited the town of Lost Grove with more than just a single alluring murder mystery. This eerie California hamlet has rustic charm, but also seems to afflect some of its residents with highly disturbing visions. It’s home to Mary, who suffers from a rare condition that manifests itself in the form of cravings she cannot satisfy, such as blood and raw meat. And let’s not forget about the Green Man, who is said to steal children and replace them with replicas that appear similar, but are not human. All the while, she keeps Seth relatively grounded. While he’s seen and experienced the unexplained in his short life, he exists as a steady, if troubled, sober-minded investigator at an increasingly strange party.
Zang’s story is relayed in both linear narration as well as in “retrospectives,” chapters that showcase in-depth studies of key characters through telling scenes and relevant exposition. The overall effect creates a world that is highly reminiscent of Twin Peaks or Wayward Pines in the best possible way. From the curiously worded note indicating where to find Sarah’s body, to revelations about unexplained weirdness happening in Devil’s Cradle State Park, the novel feels both realistic and otherworldly all at once. Highly recommended.
