The Lost Story

By Meg Shaffer
** Publication Date 16 July 2024**

5 stars

Oh Meg Shaffer, I don’t know how you do it, but your stories really keep me entranced. This book is truly a fairy tale, right down to the ending. You gave us suspense and mystery and bright, shiny things. But also a little bit of Grimm with the Bright Boys. Fabulous.

Fifteen years ago two boys went missing in the woods of West Virginia. Six months later they reappeared out of nowhere. They had grown considerably in such a short period of time. Other than a few days in the hospital, they were fine. At least physically.

Jeremy and his mother went back to England to allow him time to be out of the spotlight of a small town. Ralph went home to his mom in rural West Virginia, his dad had passed away while he was gone. The two didn’t speak for fifteen years.

Emilie was adopted at a very young age by a wonderful woman who raised her in a well to do household wanting for nothing. After her mom passed, Emilie found out she’d had a sister prior to her adoption. The sister had gone missing in the same forest as Jeremy and Ralph. When Emilie finds out that Jeremy spends his time locating lost girls, Emilie approaches him to help her find her missing sister, Shannon. 

After Jeremy initially declines, he shows up and agrees to help. Because Jeremy knows Emilie’s sister. And she’s not really missing. But he’s going to need Ralph’s help to locate her. The same Ralph that he’s been avoiding for fifteen long years.

As I said this is a magical little fairy tale. A fairy tale for the older set. LGBTQ themes are present, so if that’s a problem for you, you may want to skip this one. Otherwise, indulge and enjoy. It’s a trip into a fantasy world that sounds like we all might want to visit someday. Yes, this story is far-fetched and unbelievable, but isn't that what fairy tales are all about?