The Lost Ones

The Lost Ones
Anita Frank

Some houses are never at peace. England, 1917 Reeling from the death of her fiancé, Stella Marcham welcomes the opportunity to stay with her pregnant sister, Madeleine, at her imposing country mansion, Greyswick – but she arrives to discover a house of unease and her sister gripped by fear and suspicion. Before long, strange incidents begin to trouble Stella – sobbing in the night, little footsteps on the stairs – and as events escalate, she finds herself drawn to the tragic history of the house. Aided by a wounded war veteran, Stella sets about uncovering Greyswick’s dark and terrible secrets – secrets the dead whisper from the other side… In the classic tradition of The Woman in Black, Anita Frank weaves a spell-binding debut of family tragedy, loss and redemption. Praise for The Lost Ones ‘Haunting, emotional and exquisitely written’  Amanda Jennings ‘For fans of Henry James and Susan Hill, this chilling supernatural mystery is written in the classic mould.   Intriguing, moving and assured’  Essie Fox ‘I loved it SO MUCH – so creepy and compelling, full of atmosphere and gave me goosebumps…’   Lisa Hall ‘If you liked A Woman in Black, you’ll love this utterly gripping and atmospheric book’ WOMAN&HOME ‘My coffee is stone cold. My palms are sweaty. I’ve raced to the shocking final twist of this lush, beautifully written historical novel. A gripping ghost story with an achingly poignant family mystery at its heart’ Samantha King ‘An assured debut novel combining two well-loved literary genres set in country houses: the haunted house and the Agatha Christie-style whodunnit. Anita Frank’s fiendishly devised plot springs a succession of shocks and revelations that keep you gripped until the final page’ Noel O’Reilly

ANITA FRANK was born in Shropshire and studied English and American History at the University of East Anglia. She lives in Berkshire with her husband and three children and is now a full-time carer for her disabled son. This is her first novel.

The Lost Ones

Anita Frank

ONE PLACE. MANY STORIES

Copyright (#ulink_50717fcf-da81-53b0-94bf-7b04432755cc)

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

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London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019

Copyright © Anita Frank 2019

Anita Frank asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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Ebook Edition © October 2019 ISBN: 9780008341206

Note to Readers (#ulink_2483bd43-3422-5a29-9571-f3c2a62918fd)

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Page numbers taken from the following print edition: ISBN 9780008341220

For Rebecca

Contents

Cover (#u198214d4-c54b-586a-a80c-2a6615103a6c)

About the Author (#u3c14f348-8853-591c-991a-a0c3e51d5db0)

Title Page (#ue19c5e59-2008-5208-b479-4861f3504971)

Copyright (#ulink_77b556d1-2c28-5bb2-9dcd-e491d0f97786)

Note to Readers (#ulink_6a4483b8-bd5c-557a-8d26-1f824bf88f53)

Dedication (#ue5ead5e3-56df-5353-ad26-2af1f809f4bc)

Chapter One (#ulink_1ecb8d84-f427-52be-814d-5d703f9212de)

Chapter Two (#ulink_742ae772-2af6-52e8-82b4-5c1c39e1ab90)

Chapter Three (#ulink_cfe160f4-1554-5d6c-a7cb-cffb173703c5)

Chapter Four (#ulink_ab4d83e9-2754-59ad-a303-1fa84e283ddf)

Chapter Five (#ulink_f17ef7a1-4ed7-550a-bcdb-5cce39fedcee)

Chapter Six (#ulink_41aeadf9-b031-5083-878e-4c38089958ad)

Chapter Seven (#ulink_6e6e2fc1-6ae5-5046-afad-6766f3ee5f97)

Chapter Eight (#ulink_55bc14bf-5f27-5848-a914-12c5d8a46269)

Chapter Nine (#ulink_e48c8f49-5c93-5e70-989f-cd27ddf222f0)

Chapter Ten (#ulink_51734e66-e829-57ac-9730-7f0ad0cdda39)

Chapter Eleven (#ulink_bdfb4e58-fe0c-5a3a-a5c5-a1fa094e4b4a)

Chapter Twelve (#ulink_b44e6810-3bbc-51b3-9923-06a41d579aa7)

Chapter Thirteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen (#litres_trial_promo)