Title: The Lantern
Author: Deborah Lawrenson
Narrators: Kristine Ryan & Gerianne Raphael
Genre: Gothic; Fiction
Pages: 400
Audio: 10.7 hours
Year: 2011
Publisher: Harper Audio
Source: Review copy from publisher
Rating: 4/5
Summary:
Eve and Dom meet on vacation. They quickly fall in love and move to an old farm – Les Genévriers – in rural France. But pretty soon Eve realizes how little she knows about Dom and his life before her.
Benedicte grew up at Les Genévriers with her sister Marta and her brother Pierre, both long gone from the family farm. When they start to haunt her, Benedicte recalls her story and reveals the secrets of Les Genévriers.
My Thoughts:
You know how some books grab you from the start and while others slowly pull you in? The Lantern is the latter. While the writing is always superb, the book moves slowly and I wasn’t really sure what to make of it until I was more than halfway through. It was then that I realized I NEEDED to know the mystery. By the end, I had a hard time putting it down.
The Lantern is reminiscent of du Rebecca (and makes no attempt to hide this similarity). It is a gothic story told in modern times with that little-bit-creepy-yet-so-addicting feeling. If you enjoy novels like Rebecca and The Thirteenth Tale, I think you will like this one, although it didn’t quite reach their lofty levels in my estimation.
Audio Thoughts:
I think this book would have been a struggle for me in print, but the audio was so lovely that even when the story was slow, I enjoyed listening. Kristine Ryan was phenomenal. Her soft voice perfectly captured Eve with her unique American/English/French accent (even more impressive as it turns out she is simply American). I was also impressed with Gerianne Raphael and thankful for the two different narrators, which clearly distinguished the two separate story lines.
Others’ Thoughts: Book-a-Rama (print); Raging Bibliomania (print); Devourer of Books (audio); S. Krishna’s Books (print)
Buy It Now: Amazon
my books. my life. 
I’m almost done with my current read and think I’ll be picking this one up next! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
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I really loved this book too, and wondered what was up with the husband the whole time I crazily flipped through the pages. I even liked the end, though it was reminiscent of a very famous movie. Very atmospheric book. I loved this review!
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Well, I was a lover of Rebecca and The Thirteenth Tale, so I have a feeling I’m going to have good luck with it. I did just receive it from the library, so I will upload and get right on it when I finish my current listen. It will be perfect for RIP!
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Good to know this one starts more slowly. I’ve heard such good things about it that I’d have been disappointed if I wasn’t able to het into it right away.
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Interesting. I read it in print and commented in my review that I felt it would be better as an audio production. I still liked it a lot in print, but I think I would have enjoyed it more if I had listened to it.
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