The Lamplighters

This is the debut novel of Emma Stonex under her own name, although, according to several sources she has published several novels under a pseudonym(s), which I was unable to locate. I felt like this book was a bit of a plod in terms of the pace of the storyline, but the writing is elegantly descriptive, atmospheric and evocative of the lives lived on such a remote fortress surrounded by the sea; character, relationships, and setting development kept me moving on. Part of the problem was that I didn't really like any of the characters, and a key character, the writer, is left an enigma until the very end.

The Guardian obviously liked this book a lot..."Inspired by the mysterious disappearance of three lighthouse keepers off the Hebrides in 1900, The Lamplighters is a whodunnit, horror novel, ghost story and fantastically gripping psychological investigation rolled into one. It is also a pitch-perfect piece of writing." I couldn't have summarized the plot line any better than did their reviewer: "On New Year’s Eve 1972, a boat arrives at the Maiden Rock lighthouse, 15 nautical miles southwest of Land’s End, to relieve assistant keeper and family man Bill Walker from a two-month tour of duty. But Walker, principal keeper Arthur Black and their junior Vincent Bourne have all disappeared without trace, leaving the door barred, the table laid and the clocks stopped at a quarter to nine. Twenty years later, in an attempt to solve the stubborn mystery, a young writer of maritime adventure stories comes to interview the women the lighthousemen left behind..." Likewise, Publishers Weekly gushes "Stonex’s spectacular debut wraps a haunting mystery in precise, starkly beautiful prose." The New York Journal of Books' reviewer delves more into the interpersonal relations that are explored in the book. And finally, here is a bit of an interview discussing Stonex's inspiration for this particular novel.