Vancouver Sun

GRIPPING NOVEL PROBES SOCIAL ISSUES

Unforgetta­ble story of loss, and a little love, refuses to deliver a lovable heroine

- ALEESHA HARRIS Aharris@postmedia.com

The Lost Ones

By Sheena Kamal Harper Collins If you’re looking for a book with a heroine that you’ll fall head over heels in love with, The Lost Ones may not be the summer read for you.

The Vancouver (and broader B.C.)-based thriller tells a gripping 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.

But despite the lack of affection, there is a plethora of emotions in this novel: mostly suspense, disbelief and pity — not to mention anger — for the perils Watts and other women and girls in at-risk situations notoriousl­y face.

Fairly early in the novel we learn Watts, an Indigenous woman living in the Downtown Eastside, was a victim of a horrific sexual abuse encounter that left her near death and pregnant.

Watts was forced to carry the child to term while under medical supervisio­n and then put the baby girl up for adoption after delivery.

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 husband and wife who have been raising her child.

But what first appears to be a tale of a teenage runaway and negligent parenting unfolds throughout the 350-plus page book to reveal a twisted story of pain and violence.

Watts, ever the reluctant mother, is pulled deeper into the dark truth surroundin­g her estranged daughter’s disappeara­nce.

As the network of people she trusts gets smaller and smaller (that number was 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 Downtown Eastside, mining, foreign investment, the disparity of wealth, and 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.

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