It’s an absolute pleasure today to be joining the blog tour and sharing my review of the latest book from Samantha Tonge, Lost Luggage: published by Boldwood Books on 22nd September, it’s now available as an ebook (free via Kindle Unlimited), in paperback, and as an audiobook. My thanks to Rachel at Rachel’s Random Resources for the invitation and support, and to the publishers for my advance reading e-copy (provided via netgalley).
I read and enjoyed a couple of Sam’s earlier books – I reviewed How To Get Hitched in Ten Days in 2016 (review here), and in 2018 also enjoyed One Summer in Rome (you can read that review again here). And after a bit of a break, I rediscovered her writing in 2021 with Summer Secrets at Streamside Cottage (you can read my review here) – not the light romance I’d rather been expecting, different and original, blending dark secrets and thriller elements into a story that I really enjoyed. I was delighted when I heard that she’d been signed by Boldwood – and her first book with them, Under One Roof, was an absolute delight, delving into the complexities of family relationships with some really excellent character development and the best of storytelling (you can read my full review again here). I was really looking forward to seeing what she did next…
One lost suitcase. Two strangers. And a notebook that will change lives.
For almost fifty years, sisters Dolly and Greta have lived together – getting each other through the good times and the bad.
Except this year, Greta isn’t there and Dolly is feeling lost and alone. In memory of her sister, Dolly heads to the lost luggage auction where she and Greta go each Christmas. But her bid reveals a gift she never imagined.
Amongst the clothes is the notebook of a reclusive woman who has hardly been outside for an entire year, but who isn’t ready to give up on life. The notebook’s contents resonate with Dolly. With the support of her neighbours, retired Leroy and eleven year old Flo, Dolly decides to take on the year of firsts Phoebe had planned.
But, can you have a year of firsts when you’re seventy-two? And is Dolly ready to discover the notebook’s secrets, or are some secrets better left lost at the airport?
Seventy-two year old Dolly is still immersed in grief following the death of her sister Greta – as Christmas draws closer, her faithful friend Leroy is about to go on a trip to his former Caribbean home, so she feels lonelier than ever. Eleven year old Flo, a close neighbour, is always around to brighten her days – and there’s always Maurice the goldfish – but there are those other days when it’s difficult to keep going. But something she and her sister did every Christmas was visit the annual sale of unclaimed lost luggage – the cases repurposed as items of furniture in their now neglected home – where they sometimes found treasure among the detritus from other people’s lives.
This year, the case she buys belongs to Phoebe – among the clothing (including an expensive gilet she rather likes, and a flashy pair of trainers) she finds a notebook, where Phoebe has recorded her plans for restarting her own life and experiencing a “year of firsts”. She makes it her mission to reunite Phoebe with her notebook, and the only possible way seems to be to involve herself in the activities she’d set out on its pages. And that’s how she finds herself taking the floor in a balloon debate (well coached by Flo – who will keep going to Guides only if Dolly does something equally uncomfortable…) and then spending an awkward evening at a speed-dating event (with even more coaching from the wonderful Flo). And, by the time she finds Phoebe, Dolly’s lonely life has been rather transformed as she finds herself and a new sense of purpose – until that’s almost derailed by an unexpected reminder of her past and a few uncomfortable discoveries.
The characterisation in this book is just superb – the author made it so easy to identify with the seventy-two year old and the eleven year old, and their exchanges are simply wonderful, each of them supporting the other. But it’s a nicely multi-generational tale too – Phoebe’s a younger character, and Flo’s parents (who really don’t seem to see how special she is) feature in the story too. And I really loved Leroy – he’d lost sight of what would really bring him happiness too, and I really enjoyed his journey. As for Dolly’s story – I really don’t want to spoil it for others, but there are moments of sheer joy and others that’ll move you to tears. The friendships are quite wonderful – there’s immense love and support between them all, the family they’ve all chosen to be part of – and the whole story just makes your heart overflow. The writing is excellent – there’s a lovely humour running through the whole story, some perfectly handled emotional moments, and a few particularly difficult issues very sensitively dealt with.
As the story built, every character won their place in my heart – I felt quite a sense of loss when the story ended and I had to finally set the book aside. Just gorgeous – tremendously engaging, heartwarming and very moving, and life-affirming in every way. I loved it.
About the author
Samantha Tonge is the bestselling and award-winning author of over 15 romantic fiction titles published by HQ, and most recently Aria. Her first book for Boldwood, Under One Roof, was published in February 2022 and her move to Boldwood marks a broadening of her writing into multi-generational woman’s fiction. She lives in Manchester with her family.
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Bookbub | Newsletter sign up
What a wonderful review Anne. I loved Sam’s last book Under One Roof and shall look forward to reading this x