The Lost Girl Paperback – International Edition, May 29, 2018

I have loved reading Carol Drinkwater’s books for years. Hands down, this is her best book. The characters are interesting and I feel as if I am there in the south of France in the 1940s and 50s. The story is not like the typical book you read today -it is quite lovely and very different. I devoured it.

This isn't my favorite book of hers. The story seemed a bit dull, to be honest. But I'll still read her books!

Didn't want it to end. Loved the characters and the setting in the South of France

The Lost Girl by Carol Drinkwater is a layered and emotional story about relationships, both romantic and familial, and the horrors that existed in the past and now exist in the present. This is a story that will make you stop and think, really think about what has happened among the pages, it will make you hold your loved ones a little bit closer once you have stopped reading it, and it will make you realise that you should never put off until tomorrow what you can do now.Four years ago, Kurtiz's life was blown apart when her teenage daughter disappeared without a trace. On assignment abroad as a photographer at the time, Kurtiz rushed back but as days turned into months it became harder to remain optimistic. But Kurtiz was determined to keep searching and refused to believe that something horrific had happened to her little girl. With her marriage floundering before Lizzie's disappearance, it completely ended since she vanished. But when Kurtiz gets a tip-off from an old friend who she had distanced herself from, she finds herself in Paris waiting for her ex to find their daughter and bring them together. But what should be a happy reunion is destroyed when terrorists attack the city of light in a co-ordinated attack and Kurtiz finds herself rushing around in the madness trying to find those she loves. With the help of a quirky old lady, who shines a light on her own troubled past in an effort to distract Kurtiz and herself from the horror around them, it is just possible that hope will find a way through ...THE LOST GIRL by Carol Drinkwater has a lot of emotional elements running throughout this story - the loss of a daughter, the ordeals and abuse that Marguerite experienced and lived through which especially resonates today where women are finding their voices, and the horror of a terrorist attack that really happened which destroyed so many people's lives - but the author deals with it all in a beautiful and sensitive way and I definitely shed a tear along the way. The story flowed effortlessly from past to present and back again and added another extra special element to the narrative.​Kurtiz is a tough character and as a mum, my heart broke for her, but she wasn't always likeable and made plenty of mistakes which makes her all the more relatable. Marguerite is a wonderful character as she recounts her life, love, and losses to us all and she definitely wormed her way into my heart.The drama in this story is intense but also sprinkled throughout with hope and happiness, and I did not expect the ending in any way which is always wonderful.THE LOST GIRL by Carol Drinkwater is a superbly written story about fear, loss, love, and hope, and I could not put it down.

Carol Drinkwater is a seasoned writer, but this is the first of her work I have had the pleasure of reading - it will not be the last.Written with a confident hand, the story of The Lost Girl, concerns Kurtiz (or KZ as she is affectionately nicknamed) a mother and a career women, who during the peak years of her career went on an assignment to return home to a destroyed life when her daughter goes missing and her husband falls apart.The reader is taken into the novel four years later, on the night Kurtiz finds herself in Paris, awaiting news from her estranged husband, Oliver, as to whether he has tracked down the daughter many have written off as dead.  But it is a night that does not go to plan when Paris, and Kurtiz, finds itself under siege by a serious of terrorist attacks, one at the venue Kurtiz is hoping Oliver has been reunited with the long lost Lizzie. By chance Kurtiz has a brief encounter with Marguerite, an elderly lady who in her hey day was a small time, but well known actress.  Marguerite takes to Kurtiz and as the tragic events of the night unravel the two are forced together where Marguerite's story is told.  I really enjoyed the structure of this novel, which could have easily become quite confusing but does not, where the memories of Marguerite are punctuated with the present day and the plight of Kurtiz, and also the history of Kurtiz, as she tries to look back and work out why Lizzie would have disappeared in the first place, as she tries to track down her husband and potentially her daughter.As you may well assume, the title of the novel - The Lost Girl - would refer to quite literally the lost girl - Kurtiz's daughter, Lizzie.  But as you progress you realise it is applicable to all three of the females in the plot.  They were all once young women, finding themselves in situations they did not anticipate and dealt with these in very different ways.I didn't particularly warm to the character of Kurtiz, even at the end, when I feel the author tried hard to explain the reason she made the choices she did, the things she did, or didn't do so that you felt some sympathy for her.  The same can be said of Marguerite initially, although I did warm to her as the story progressed and I could really imagine her, as an elderly women, glamourous in every way and remorseful of her behaviour as a young, naïve and inexperienced young girl.The setting for the 'memories' of Marguerite are beautiful and wonderfully enticing, I could really imagine standing looking over Charlie's land as the scent of rose petals and jasmine drifted on the air and it really did make me feel wistful for Marguerite.In a way the overall plot is a little on the unbelievable side, I won't say why because I do not want to give anything away, however, if you are happy to wave a hand of 'I don't care' to really enjoy a story taking you on a journey of womenhood and motherhood then you will thoroughly enjoy this.

Ms Drinkwater wrote this moving story, a novel partly set in the real November 2015 Paris attacks, and also in post-war Provence. She has a knack for describing things well without the need of too many words. I received it just before Christmas, and read through the night on Christmas! An excellent, exciting read!!

Every so often I like to take a break from my crime and thriller reads and dip into something just a touch different. I must admit that when i agreed to the tour, I'd only taken a cursory glance at the blurb but what I did read of it attracted me straight away. When I sat down to read I wasn't sure what to expect, Carol Drinkwater is a completely new author to me. What I found was a book which drew me in, characters that engaged me and a story that is as moving for its time spent reminiscing about the past every bit as much as the scenes set in the present day. I did not surface for several hours until I had devoured every page, both saddened by the sense of loss and warmed by the feeling of optimism which I drew from the closing pages.The modern day events are set in Paris in November 2015 on that fateful night which is so indelibly printed upon our memories, the night of the attacks on the restaurants, stadium and concert venue, The Bataclan. Kurtiz has gone to Paris in search of her daughter Lizzie who has been missing for four years. She arrives just ahead of the attacks and while she waits for word from her husband finds herself talking to an old woman, Marguerite Courtenay. After witnessing the attack on a restaurant in the Rue de Charonne, Kurtiz's life is thrown into turmoil and Marguerite provides her such emotional support while also recounting her own story and that of her first husband, Charlie.Kurtiz's story is spread over several years. While most takes place in 2015, we are also taken back through significant moments in her life, from the day she meets her husband, Oliver, to the events which would culminate in her daughter's disappearance. I found it quite easy to empathise with Kurtiz, with the terror she was feeling that night, the emotional loss of being separated from her daughter, but also the compulsion within her to catalogue all that was happening around her, her instincts honed from time spent working in war zones and areas of conflict. She is a woman with an inner strength, but above all else a mother and the loss of Lizzie was hard for her to swallow.In Marguerite we have an entirely different character and I couldn't help but like the colourful old lady, someone who showed so much compassion and concern for Kurtiz having only just met her. Most of her story is set in the post war years between 1947 and 1953 where she meets her future husband Charlie. Charlie is a man with secrets, Marguerite a woman with ambition. Her ambition is to become a famous actress, and ambition which nearly breaks her and almost halts their budding love before it truly begins. Sadly her story is nothing unusual, grotesquely recognisable even in the present day, and although brief, what happens to her is harrowing. Her story is poignant, tempered with loss and tragedy of her own, but her memories of those years and of her beloved Charlie are mostly beautiful. It is these passages, with one notable exception, which I enjoyed the most.Carol Drinkwater has done a fantastic job of capturing the sense of that night in Paris without sensationalising it or trivialising it for entertainment. You can feel Kurtiz's panic and that of those around her. The confusion and overwhelming nature of what has happened upon the residents of Paris. It is not the central element of the story, although it does inform what happens, but it is never far from your mind.I'm not sure quite where I would pitch this book as it is not quite a historical fiction novel, although much of it takes place in the past, not quite a family saga and not crime although it does feature a missing person. What it absolutely is, is a compelling and engaging read with brilliantly crafted characters, beautiful and vivid descriptions of the landscape which make the narrative sing and two emotionally charged stories which intersect in the most unexpected of ways. There was a moment, one simple comment, in which I knew what I suspected would happen, the ultimate truth that we would find, but by this time I was so drawn into the story that I barely gave it a second thought. This is a terrific story and one I would definitely recommend.

Interesting and different! Not the usual Carol Drinkwater but I enjoyed it all the same. Hope she writes more books like this...

What a wonderful story, beautifully told, and with a great ending!!!The characters are strong with interwoven story lines creating a riddle one cannot wait to be solved. Lovely descriptions of the Provençal countryside. I thoroughly enjoyed this book.It would make a great movie!

I liked it! I loved the 1940s and 50s descriptions and storyline in post war France,one could almost smell the Jasmine! I didn't identify at all with Kurtiz (the English "heroine"). I found her selfish and couldn't blame the daughter for leaving her and the shallow husband to it. But the Charlie and Marguerite storyline (post war) was quite enchanting. I'd guessed the connection(with the two women) but won't spoil it. There was some clever scene setting of Paris 2015 which made a good backdrop for the two women to come together. But here, again, I found Kurtiz's actions somewhat unfathomable.. The ending was a bit too "fairytale" but in this day and age I can forgive a little fairy dust in a novel....