Lost: A Novel of Suspense [Hardcover]

Michael Robotham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2006

Suspect, Michael Robotham’s “lightning-paced debut” (Entertainment Weekly) was universally hailed as “taut and fast-moving” (Washington Post) first novel. Now Robotham delivers a first-rate psychological thriller in Lost, a worthy follow-up to Suspect.

On a cold London night, homicide detective Vincent Ruiz is fished out of the Thames with a bullet in his leg and no memory of the circumstances surrounding the shooting. In his pocket is a photograph of Mickey Carlyle, a seven-year-old girl kidnapped three years before and presumed dead. It’s anybody’s guess what Ruiz was up to—especially when a blood-spattered boat discovered nearby makes it clear that Ruiz was not the sole casualty. But with Mickey’s killer convicted and behind bars, no one wants the case reopened. Ruiz’s only hope of unraveling the puzzle is to retrace his steps and re-create the night of the shooting. Under investigation by his colleagues and accused of faking amnesia, Ruiz turns to Joe O'Loughlin, hoping that the psychologist can help unlock his memory. Step by step, the pieces come together, revealing a twisted trail of grief, vengeance, and the search for redemption.
A riveting thriller, Lost combines a fast-paced plot with searing insights into human psychology.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Det. Insp. Vincent Ruiz (a supporting character in Robotham's debut, Suspect) is hauled out of the Thames with a bullet wound in his leg and no memory of a shooting, let alone how he wound up in the water in Robotham's fine, moody second thriller. Keebal, a nasty cop from internal affairs, hounds Ruiz from the start, and everyone seems to know something Ruiz doesn't. When psychologist Joe O'Loughlin (the protagonist of Suspect) shows Ruiz a picture of young Mickey Carlyle—a seven-year-old girl kidnapped three years earlier whom everyone but Ruiz thinks is dead—he figures there must be some connection between her case and his shooting. Despite his injuries, Ruiz retraces this investigation with the help of his partner, a young Sikh woman named Ali. The past returns in dribs and drabs and none too gently. Mickey is the daughter of a Russian-born crime lord, Aleksei Kuznet; a cache of diamonds and a man known as a "grooming paedophile" also figure prominently in the splintered plot. The warm relationship between Ruiz and Joe, who suffers from Parkinson's, counterpoints the main story line's grit. Robotham works some good wrinkles into Ruiz's relationship with Ali and an empathetic nurse, too. The result is a thoughtful and subtle thriller, with convincing, three-dimensional characters. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School Robotham's second mystery features some of the cast from Suspect (Doubleday, 2005), including Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz and clinical psychologist Joseph O'Loughlin. The fast-paced action opens with a half-dead Ruiz being fished out of the Thames. When he awakens from his coma, he has no memory of why he was in the river, almost dead from a bullet wound to his leg, nor can he remember anything from the week leading up to his injury. With the help of O'Loughlin, Ruiz begins piecing together details that show he was following up on the disappearance of eight-year-old Mickey Carlyle. The only problem? Mickey disappeared three years earlier, and a sexual predator has been convicted of her murder. As Ruiz retraces his steps, he relives several incidents from his past that are linked to his need to investigate a closed case. This is a fast-paced thriller with plenty of adventure; Ruiz's hunt for answers takes him deep into the sewers below London and into the cold waters of the Thames. The characters are complex; Ruiz, the son of a Gypsy woman raped by German soldiers in World War II, is haunted by the childhood drowning of his half-brother, even though he's estranged from his own children. Robotham understands that some quests are worth any sacrifice no matter how long the odds of success might be. This is a subtle and taut thriller with convincing characters and strong psychological components. Erin Dennington, Chantilly Regional Library, Fairfax County, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 324 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (February 7, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385508662
• ISBN-13: 978-0385508667
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #400,200 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Michael Robotham began his career an investigative journalist in Australia and Britain. He later became a ghostwriter, collaborating on more than a dozen bestselling autobiographies for pop stars, actors, decorated soldiers and politicians.

Michael's first psychological thriller 'SUSPECT' sold more than a million copies around the world. His second novel 'LOST' won the Ned Kelly Award for Australia's best crime novel in 2005 - an award he won again in 2008 with 'SHATTER'. He has twice been short-listed for the UK Steel dagger in 2007 ('THE NIGHT FERRY') and 2008 ('SHATTER').

Michael currently lives in Sydney with his wife and three daughters.

His website is: www.michaelrobotham.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deservedly Won the Ned Kelly Award, February 8, 2006

By 

Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lost: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

After delivering a pulsating debut thriller with The Suspect and introducing us to a couple of characters in Dr Joseph O'Loughlin and DI Vincent Ruiz , who are as opposite to one another as you would want to meet, Michael Robotham has followed up with Lost another riveting thriller.

Lost carries on with O'Loughlin and Ruiz again featuring very prominently. But Robotham has performed a sneaky little switch. In The Suspect, the story was told from the first person perspective of Joe O'Loughlin, a clinical psychologist who had recently been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. The first person perspective is again used in Lost, but this time, the story is being told by Vincent Ruiz and Ruiz is a much more abrasive, in your face character with a very dry sense of humour, as evidenced by the following observation:

"My stepfather died at a bus stop in Bradford in October 1995. He had a stroke on his way to see a heart specialist. See what happens when buses don't run on time?"

The story opens as Detective Inspector Vincent Ruiz is being pulled out of the Thames. He is in a pretty bad way thanks in large part to the bullet that had passed through his leg. He wakes from surgery to find that he has no memory of the incident or of the week leading up to it.

With the help of friend and clinical psychologist Dr Joseph O'Loughlin, Ruiz can piece together enough details to work out that he was working on the disappearance of 8 year old Mickey Carlyle and he was on the Thames to make a kidnapping payoff. The problem with this scenario is that the Mickey Carlyle case was closed 3 years ago and a man is already in prison for the young girl's murder. From what he can gather he has been working the case alone, independent of the police department, a fact that has made him extremely unpopular with his superiors.

The moment Ruiz is capable of walking he checks himself out of the hospital, anxious to begin retracing his own steps in a bid to recall the circumstances leading up to his accident. Thanks to a couple of memory flashes, Ruiz is almost certain that Mickey is still alive and being held by her captors. But Chief Superintendent Campbell Smith is having none of it, ordering Ruiz to drop the case of face suspension from the force.

As Ruiz retraces his steps he tends to replay some old and significant memories of his life, some of them painful, bringing together a more complete awareness of himself. In effect, losing his memory has helped him find himself. Meanwhile, his hunt for answers takes him: into the sewers of London deep below the city streets; into the Thames; onto the trail of a dangerous mobster, and; into the life of a pedophile.

Set at a reasonably moderate pace, Lost is shrouded in mystery as the majority of the storyline focuses on the frustration of Ruiz as he struggles with memories that lie just out of reach. Bit by bit he retraces his steps with the excitement provided by unsuccessful attempts made on his life.

Robotham writes with an easy, practiced style that combines the intensity of extreme danger with a witty, dry delivery. It's intense and relentless providing an engrossing story with an unknown element that remains in place right up until the final few chapters.

A strong rapport is enjoyed , antagonists in the earlier book, The Suspect. Ruiz's rough demeanor is counterbalanced by the more composed O'Loughlin who has a talent for reading other people's unconscious mannerisms to gain intimate insights that make for some fascinating reading. When Ruiz enlists the help of DC Alisha Barba, a young police officer who has been overlooked for promotion too often, a further solid partnership is created with the presence of the young female police officer providing a sounding board for Ruiz's theories.

Where the story falls down is in the area of plausibility. The gunshot wound sustained by Vincent Ruiz in the opening scene would be enough to cripple a man for months, yet not only is Ruiz back on his feet in days but he is in vigorous pursuit of assailants followed by grueling trips through sewers thrown in with barely a though given to his ruined leg. The only concession made to the pain was the occasional popping of a morphine pill which appeared to be enough to grant superhuman powers of recovery.

Lost won the 2005 Ned Kelly Award for Best Crime Novel (the Australian equivalent the Edgar Awards) and delivers an outstanding thriller with complex characters, pressure coming from both within the police force and from a dangerous unknown assailant and a strong unexpected ending. This is a very satisfying novel that I found compulsive reading and would recommend it to all psychological thriller fans.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Deserves to be read as a set - Along with the author's debut novel, Suspect, February 21, 2006

By 

K. Corn "reviewer" (midwest, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lost: A Novel of Suspense (Hardcover)

Both this book, Lost, and a previous book, Suspect, are written in first person. The main difference between the central characters are their values, viewpoints and outlooks on life. I liked Suspect better than Lost - but only marginally.

In Lost, Robotham seems to be a more mature, focused writer, finally revealing the full strength of the promise he showed in his debut novel. This time around, a detective (Inspector Ruiz) suffers from amnesia, not sure how he survived a near drowning and with only brief traces of memories at the edge of his consciousness. The truth emerges in bits and pieces.

If you like mysteries which have strong psychological components, you'll like this one. It has both action and suspense and characters that draw you in.

However, I think you'll get the most out of it if you read Suspect first. The two books really do deserve to be read as a set. Each CAN stand on its own but why miss out on the chance to get even more from each book? They truly complement one another.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Lost: a fast moving thriller, July 13, 2007

By 

J. Cameron-Smith "Expect the Unexpected" (ACT, Australia) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lost (Paperback)

Those familiar with Mr Robotham's first novel will recognise some of the key characters in this one. While Joe O'Loughlin has a supporting role in 'Lost', I found his character far more likeable in this novel.

The race against time as Vincent Ruiz recovers his memory and tries to make sense of a number of different events while solving what appears to be a closed investigation makes for an absorbing page turner.

Mr Robotham writes well. His primary characters are well developed, if not always likeable, and the story moves at a rapid pace. I am looking forward to his third novel!

Recommended.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith