The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex

 

The Lamplighters is the debut novel from former editor Emma Stonex. The book is inspired by the real-life disappearance of three lighthouse keepers from a Cornish tower. They disappeared without a trace; the tower was locked from the inside and two clocks had stopped at exactly the same time.  Learn more about those real-life events now.

 

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex summary

 

1971-1972 – Three lighthouse keepers man a tower close to Land’s End. Their shift isn’t unusual; they carry out their routines as normal. However, when the next crew arrives to take over, the tower is empty. Plates are on the table, their possessions are all still there, but the men are nowhere to be found.

1992 – Twenty years after the disappearance of the lighthouse keepers, a bestselling fiction author decides to tell their story. He heads to the Cornish village to investigate, but some are happier to see him than others.

The three men left behind wives and girlfriends; all of them scarred by their disappearance. Helen, Jenny and Michelle were thrown together but didn’t necessarily get along. While the men worked in the tower, they had their own lives to lead. They all hold their secrets tight, but some secrets can’t stay hidden forever.

 

The Lamplighters quotes

 

“In all my years I’ve realised there are two kinds of people. The ones who hear a creak in a dark, lonely house, and shut the windows because it must have been the wind. And the ones who hear a creak in a dark, lonely house, light a candle, and go to take a look.”

“It’s the small things that keep a marriage going: things that don’t cost a lot but that tell the other person you love them and don’t ask for anything in return.”

“Nothing changed, in the aftermath of loss. Songs kept getting written. Books kept getting read. Wars didn’t stop….Life renewed itself, over and over, without sympathy. Time surged on in its usual rhythms, those comings and goings, beginnings and ends, sensible progressions that fixed things in place, without a thought to the whistling in the woods on the outskirts of town….”

“In all my years I’ve realized there are two kinds of people. The ones who hear a creak in a dark, lonely house, and shut the windows because it must have been the wind. And the ones who hear a creak in a dark, lonely house, light a candle, and go to take a look.”

 

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex Review

 

The Lamplighters is an atmospheric genre-bending mix of mystery, historical drama and mystery. Although I’ve never had the opportunity to be at sea, I’ve always had a soft spot for novels set around the ocean. I really enjoyed this new angle of being so close to the water, but with the added claustrophobia and isolation of not even being able to journey anywhere. Emma Stonex beautifully captures the type of skills and personalities needed to cope with that environment.

The two timeframes are interwoven, so the reader is drip-fed information and details of the characters’ lives. Although it might appear that the men are the main characters from the blurb, I felt quite the opposite. It was the women’s stories that really grabbed my attention. It’s their chapters that expose the secrets and lies they all told to each other.

 

Is The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex worth reading?

 

The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex is a captivating and beautifully written novel that is definitely worth reading. Its inspiration being a real-life mystery only adds to the intrigue. The slow-burning mystery is a secondary plot line to the women and their relationships with the men. At the heart of this book is a story of loss and the consequences of when people are unable to communicate. Haunting, atmospheric and sad, The Lamplighters is a beautiful novel that makes me hope there’s more to come from Emma Stonex.

 

If you like The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex, you’d love The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermott.

Buy your copy of The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex.