Damaged heroine at centre of twisted tale of violence
If you’re looking for a book with a heroine you’ll fall head over heels in love with, The Lost Ones may not be the summer read for you.
The B.C.-based thriller tells a griping tale of loss, loss and more loss — as well as a bit of love. But its main character, Nora Watts, is so deeply damaged she’s a tad difficult to fall for.
Despite the lack of affection, this gripping tale stirs a plethora of emotions, mostly suspense, disbelief and pity — not to mention anger for the perils Watts and other women and girls in at-risk situations face.
Fairly early in the novel we learn Watts, an Indigenous woman living in the Downtown Eastside, was a victim of horrific sexual abuse that left her near death and pregnant.
Watts was forced to carry the child to term while under medical supervision, then put the baby girl up for adoption. Fast forward 15 years and Watts’ decision comes back to haunt her when her daughter, Bonnie, goes missing. In the dark of night, Watts learns of the disappearance when she receives a desperate call from the family that adopted the girl.
Watts, who also happens to be a bit of a tracker and truth-finder by profession, reluctantly agrees to meet with the couple who raised her child.
But what first appears to be a tale of a teenage runaway and negligent parenting is revealed throughout the 350-plus page book as a twisted story of pain and violence. Watts, ever the reluctant mother, is pulled deeper into the dark truth. As the network of people she trusts gets smaller and smaller (a number pretty minimal to begin with), she discovers the disappearance has much more to do with herself than she ever could have imagined.
In her debut novel, Kamal touches on several issues that consistently, and rightfully, occupy headline space — and conversations — in this province: the DTES; mining; foreign investment; the disparity of wealth; the disappearance and murder of Indigenous women.
It’s a dark journey of abuse (mental, alcohol, sexual, emotional — the list goes on), but also perseverance. And, quite frankly, it’s one that’s not easy to put down — or forget.