The Lamplighters

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What to expect

This audiobook is narrated by Indira Varma and Tom Burke.

As recommended by the BBC Radio 2 Book Club
'A mystery, a love story and a ghost story, all at once. I didn’t want it to end' - S J Watson

They say we'll never know what happened to those men.
They say the sea keeps its secrets . . .

Cornwall, 1972. Three keepers vanish from a remote lighthouse, miles from the shore. The entrance door is locked from the inside. The clocks have stopped. The Principal Keeper’s weather log describes a mighty storm, but the skies have been clear all week.

What happened to those three men, out on the tower? The heavy sea whispers their names. The tide shifts beneath the swell, drowning ghosts. Can their secrets ever be recovered from the waves?

Twenty years later, the women they left behind are still struggling to move on. Helen, Jenny and Michelle should have been united by the tragedy, but instead it drove them apart. And then a writer approaches them. He wants to give them a chance to tell their side of the story. But only in confronting their darkest fears can the truth begin to surface . . .

Inspired by real events, The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex is an intoxicating and suspenseful mystery, an unforgettable story of love and grief that explores the way our fears blur the line between the real and the imagined.

Critics Review

I loved The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex – lighthouse keepers, ghosts, warring widows. It’s a wonderfully smart and atmospheric story
Observer
The novel I've enjoyed most this year
Hilary Mantel
Outstanding. Literary and insanely gripping.
India Knight
A remarkable book, through every page, every character, the writing resonates with the dark, powerful presence of the sea
Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path
Stonex’s story has the mesmerism of a churned winter sea
Sunday Times
Superbly accomplished . . . The Lamplighters is a whodunnit, horror novel, ghost story and fantastically gripping psychological investigation rolled into one. It is also a pitch-perfect piece of writing
Guardian
An intoxicating and beautifully written mystery about love and loss, as moving as it is suspenseful
C.L. Taylor, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Missing
Full of atmosphere and dread, it’s the perfect way to escape right now
Stylist
Atmospheric and suspenseful . . . Part psychological drama, part mystery, part ghost story, The Lamplighters is a triumph
Daily Mail
Beautifully written and evocative, this is a mystery, a love story and a ghost story, all at once. It kept me gripped throughout, and I didn’t want it to end. Wonderful.
S J Watson, bestselling author of Before I Go to Sleep
Riveting . . . Stonex’s clever slow reveal is as much keen psychological drama as it is an intriguing thriller
Independent
The Lamplighters transported me effortlessly to the mysterious Maiden Rock and life on the Cornish coast. Stonex creates a most engaging collection of voices and perspectives that unveil what happened in true pager-turner fashion, a mystery told through vivid prose that had me completely absorbed from start to finish. Haunting, harrowing and heartbreaking, this is a novel that will stay with you.
Ashley Audrain, author of The Push
The Lamplighters draws you in and keeps you utterly gripped, with Stonex's writing particularly excelling in her gorgeous and evocative descriptions of the sea. A haunting, hugely atmospheric book
Heat
Beautiful, absorbing and utterly riveting, The Lamplighters is a hymn to loneliness, to the sea, and to the stories we allow ourselves to believe when we are alone. I treasured every moment of this dazzlingly accomplished and completely unforgettable novel.
Rosie Walsh, author of The Man Who Didn't Call
A really enjoyable literary mystery. Stonex's descriptions of the storms and the sea are wonderful
author of Unsettled Ground
A gorgeous page-turner that is at once a mystery and a novel about mysteries — about how we all write our own endings and suffer betrayals, but still light the lamps so the people we love can find their way home.
Charlotte Rogan, author of The Lifeboat
Wise, beautiful and quietly devastating, The Lamplighters gets under the skin in a way that few books do. Weeks on from reading the last page, it still makes my heart ache
Kate Riordan, author of The Heat Wave
A deeply atmospheric and utterly gripping mystery . . . Superb
Wyl Menmuir, Man Booker Prize longlisted author of The Many
Compulsive, taut, and unforgettable. The Lamplighters is that rare book which is as exquisitely written as it is page-turning. I'm already telling everyone I know to read it.
Lucy Clarke, author of The Sea Sisters
A beautifully written, utterly compelling tale.
Jenny Colgan, Sunday Times bestselling author of Meet Me at the Cupcake Café
The Lamplighters took my breath away. A cracking mystery, perfectly plotted, and oh-so-beautifully written.
Lucy Diamond
Beautifully written, gripping and haunting . . . This genre-defying, literary mystery has it all, including an eerily accurate insight into relationships and marriage – and a haunting look at love, loss and guilt. We loved it.
Woman and Home
The Lamplighters is one of the most magical books I’ve ever read. The writing is dazzlingly good. The mystery is uniquely crafted and utterly beguiling. And it’s full of such tenderness and humanity and grace. I loved it with all my heart.
Emylia Hall, author of The Book of Summers
I can't remember when I last enjoyed a book this much. The Lamplighters is a compulsive, bewitching read. The sea and wind get into your bones, the riddle pulling you through the pages like a tide. Deftly written and atmospheric, I didn't want it to end. Brilliant.
Tor Udall, author of A Thousand Paper Birds
A brilliant page-turner, a compelling mystery laced with the most haunting descriptions of the ocean and life on a remote lighthouse . . . Stonex gradually illuminates each character's story, until the darkest truths are brought into the light and the full spectrum of love, desire, loss and grief is revealed.
Hannah Richell, author of Secrets of the Tides
A beautifully written but totally gripping page-turner
Fabulous Magazine
Gorgeously written
The i
Stonex's spectacular debut wraps a haunting mystery in precise, starkly beautiful prose . . . Seamlessly marrying quotidian detail with ghostly touches, the author captures both the lighthouse’s lure and the damage its isolation and confinement wreak on minds and families. The convincing resolution brings a welcome note of healing.
Publishers Weekly
Immersive, chilling, atmospheric and beautifully written
Harriet Tyce, author of Blood Orange
Lyrical, poetical and intensely gripping. Emma Stonex captures the harsh beauty of the sea and the stark isolation of the tower in this compelling mystery, where sinister shadows cast intrigue over the lives of each of the three men who keep the light.
Fiona Valpy, author of The Beekeeper's Promise
A compelling, deeply evocative mystery
iNews
Stonex is excellent on the tensions between the three men . . . her plot turns with as much precision as Arthur’s beloved timepieces before coming to a satisfying, surprising conclusion. Yet rather than the mystery, it is the complicated relationship between the three women left behind that is most vivid . . . Hatred, distrust, lies and an unexpected sort of love binds these women in an elegant novel that is as interested in the notion of hope and acceptance as it is in murder and revenge.
Observer
Gripping . . . A haunting mystery in the tradition of Wilkie Collins
Sunday Express

Stunning . . . The Lamplighters amounts to much more than a locked-room puzzle. It is about love, loss and betrayal, with a tantalising hint of the supernatural, and the writing – particularly about the sea – is beautiful

The Times

User Reviews

Book 4.6
Narration 4.8
4.0
4.0
An intriguing mystery based on a true unexplained disappearance. Amid shades of the supernatural, as life stories and secrets are revealed through monologues from all six key characters, a more human psychological explanation emerges. As another reviewer mentioned two of the men's voices are not easily distinguished which can be a little confusing in places. But this is a gripping and enjoyable story.
jackdor 23/09/2025
5.0
5.0
There’s something captivating, nostalgic, and fascinating about lighthouses anyway, but the idea of what did actually happen to the three keepers who just disappeared from a light would keep anyone’s imagination in overdrive.

I really enjoyed this story. It was engaging, interesting, and thought provoking. The unspoken words, the misunderstandings, the hurt, the pain, the truth, it was all so heartbreaking.

Narration-wise, the female/male approach was very helpful, otherwise I think there would have been too many different characters to try to keep track of. Both were excellent.
lottiefb 11/05/2025
5.0
5.0
Really loved this. The atmosphere built as the story unfolded, felt like gothic horror in parts, lovely evocative writing and great narration with good accents that sounded very real and didn't detract at all.
NancyH 07/05/2025
5.0
5.0
Very interesting writing style, I wasn't sure what to expect but I found it engaging. Gave you a very good feel of their lighthouse keepers lifestyle.

The narration was excellent, I did have trouble distinguishing two of the male characters. But otherwise excellent.

Love that it is loosely based on a real life mystery.
angusalee 13/04/2025
4.0
5.0
I admit I only downloaded this book because it was partly narrated by the wonderful Tom Burke. Not only does he possess a deep, rich voice, the character he gives to each of the keepers really brings the story to life. I must say Indira Vara was a joy to listen to as well.

The story was engaging and kept me wondering what happened. I do recommend you have a listen.
SotonGal 24/05/2024

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