The Lost

The Lost
by Jack Ketchum

List Price: ~~$7.99~~
Our Price: $2.00
You Save: $5.99 (75%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions

Book Summary Information

Author: Jack Ketchum
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-04
ISBN: 0843961546
Number of pages: 394
Publisher: Leisure Books

Book Reviews of The Lost

Book Review: Ray Pye, Monster Extraordinaire
Summary: 5 Stars

Jack Ketchum is one of those rare writers that never disappoints. "The Lost" is a close second right behind "Off Season" as my favorite book from him. Previously released by Cemetery Dance and now by Leisure Books, leaders in the world of horror publishers, it reads more like a suspense novel rather than a horror book. Its ultra violent third act itself might just push it over the fence as a horror book after all.

Its main protagonist/antagonist is Ray Pye, one of the most despicable characters in recent memory. One night in 1965, Ray, along with his sometime girlfriend Jennifer and his best friend Tim (acting solely as witnesses), shoots two camping women on the suspicion that they might be lesbians. He kills one of them on the spot while the other one escapes, only to die later on in the hospital. Four years pass and one of the cops on the investigation is still trying to catch the murderer. His only suspect is Ray Pye and he doesn't have any evidence to put him away.

Some might find this book slow moving because after the double murder, it takes a good two hundred pages for the plot to really thicken. But believe me, it's well worth it and the fact that the characters and events are so well developed leads to a much stronger and much more explosive third act than you could ever expect. Layer by layer, Ketchum weaves a compelling tale involving many characters. We follow Ed Anderson, a retired cop who worked on the double murder case. He's dating a girl named Sally who is young enough to be his granddaughter. His ex-partner Charlie Shilling is on Ray's trail and hovers over him like a hawk, always edging on the thin line of the law to get his man. Ray, aside from his drug dealing and sleeping around, is after a new girl in town, Katherine. She's the first time he's ever had a challenge in the dating department and he begins obsessing about her. We also get a glimpse of how sick Ray really is when he seems to be getting off on hearing the grisly details of the Charles Manson - Sharon Tate murders--an event that will echo all the way to the third act. Meanwhile, Tim and Jennifer never orbit too far from Ray, but a storm is brewing and their relationship will be put to the test.

Ketchum's portrayal of Ray as a troubled young man trying to deal with his feelings of inadequacy (he always wears cowboy boots to gain a few inches, amongst other things) paint a crystal clear picture of what a monster man can be. The novel moves at a good pace, even though there isn't much action or a whole lot of gruesomeness in between the first and third act. What goes on between the characters is so engaging that you'll catch yourself saying "one more chapter" until you've reached the finale. All the different roads traveled by the characters will crisscross, culminating into a cleverly orchestrated chaos; one that will stay fresh in your mind days after the book is closed. If you're a fan of Ketchum, you have to pick up "The Lost"; it's the author at the top of his game. If you're a horror aficionado, I think you'll get your fill as well. This is a brutal book that doesn't flinch from its excesses.

Alan Draven,
Author of Bitternest

Write your own review

Summary of The Lost

It was the summer of 1965. Ray, Tim, and Jennifer were just three teenage friends hanging out in the campgrounds, drinking a little. But Tim and Jennifer didn't know what their friend Ray had in mind. And if they'd known, they wouldn't have thought he was serious. Then they saw what he did to the two girls at the neighboring campsite--and knew he was dead serious.

Four years later, the 60s were drawing to a close. No one ever charged Ray with the murders in the campgrounds, but there was one cop determined to make him pay. Ray figured he was in the clear. Tim and Jennifer thought the worst was behind them, that the horrors were all in the past. They were wrong. The worst was yet to come.

Horror Books

Book Subjects

Similar Books and other products

Offspring: The Sequel to Off Season
by Jack Ketchum
Overlook Connection Press; Published: 2006-10-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.99
Price in other shops: ~~$13.99~~

The Girl Next Door
by Jack Ketchum
Overlook Connection Press; Published: 2003-07-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.88
Price in other shops: ~~$19.95~~

Ladies Night
by Jack Ketchum
Gauntlet Press; Published: 2000-10-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.97
Price in other shops: ~~$16.95~~

Cover
by Jack Ketchum
Leisure Books; Published: 2009-06; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.00
Price in other shops: ~~$7.99~~

Peaceable Kingdom
by Jack Ketchum
Leisure Books; Published: 2003-08; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops: ~~$7.99~~

Red
by Jack Ketchum
Leisure Books; Published: 2002-08; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.95
Price in other shops: ~~$7.99~~

Joyride
by Jack Ketchum
Leisure Books; Published: 2010-06; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $9.05

She Wakes
by Jack Ketchum
Leisure Books; Published: 2004-09; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $5.37
Price in other shops: ~~$7.99~~

The Woman
by Jack Ketchum, Lucky McKee
DP; Published: 2011-05-02; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.83
Price in other shops: ~~$14.00~~

Off Season
by Jack Ketchum
Leisure Books; Published: 2006-06; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $1.99
Price in other shops: ~~$6.99~~