Lost and Found by Brooke Davis
As Millie sits among the giant, military-style bras in the busy department store she reads through her Book of Dead Things and thinks back on how she could have made her Mother’s life easier. Things have been different since her Dad died but that was ok, Millie would make things better, as soon as her Mum came back for her. Even as the store closes and the underwear section is plunged into darkness she continues hiding, knowing her Mother will come back for her at any moment.
Karl has been alone since his wife died and feeling like a burden under his son’s roof he chooses to move into a retirement home. It doesn’t take him long to realise the terrible mistake he’s made, he has a million things to achieve before he belongs in a place like that. He leaves as quickly as he can and ends up at the department store.
When Agatha’s husband passed away she replaced him with routine and anger. She never leaves the house, shouting insults at passersby and carries out her strict daily routine of measuring wrinkles and wobbly bits. Then one day she sees the neighbour’s little girl return to her home across the road all alone and she knows something is terribly wrong.
A handful of pages into Lost and Found and Millie had totally stolen my heart. She’s an innocent little girl with a fascination with death that turns even darker with her Father’s passing. Her youth and bubbliness keep her away from ‘Goth’ territory but people are unnerved by her all the same. As a reader this misunderstanding just makes you love her even more, to the point where I was quite disappointed to move onto the other two main characters.
Agatha and Karl have both lost their partners but have survived in very different ways. Karl is desperate to experience new things and push himself, whereas Agatha is stuck in her ways and believes she’s happiest closeted inside her routines. As they team up to help Millie they can’t help but clash.
What unites this threesome of weird and wonderful characters is loss and regret. Young or old, they are all haunted by death and the mistakes they feel they have made in the past. Saying that this book is not a glum pondering tale but a fast, funny and touching romp. Lost and Found is sure to appeal to readers of Rachel Joyce and deserves to be just as popular. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that we might see more of Millie in the future.
Buy Lost and Found by Brooke Davis