I loved The Lamplighters by Emma Stonex – lighthouse keepers, ghosts, warring widows. It’s a wonderfully smart and atmospheric story

The novel I’ve enjoyed most this year

Outstanding. Literary and insanely gripping.

A remarkable book, through every page, every character, the writing resonates with the dark, powerful presence of the sea

Stonex’s story has the mesmerism of a churned winter sea

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

An intoxicating and beautifully written mystery about love and loss, as moving as it is suspenseful

Full of atmosphere and dread, it’s the perfect way to escape right now

Atmospheric and suspenseful . . . Part psychological drama, part mystery, part ghost story, The Lamplighters is a triumph

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.

Riveting . . . Stonex’s clever slow reveal is as much keen psychological drama as it is an intriguing thriller

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.

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

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.

A really enjoyable literary mystery. Stonex’s descriptions of the storms and the sea are wonderful

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.

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

A deeply atmospheric and utterly gripping mystery . . . Superb

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.

A beautifully written, utterly compelling tale.

The Lamplighters took my breath away. A cracking mystery, perfectly plotted, and oh-so-beautifully written.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A beautifully written but totally gripping page-turner

Gorgeously written

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.

Immersive, chilling, atmospheric and beautifully written

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.

A compelling, deeply evocative mystery

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.

Gripping . . . A haunting mystery in the tradition of Wilkie Collins

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