The Island Of Lost Girls by Alex Marwood

La Kastellana is a Mediterranean island, steeped in tradition and playground of the super rich. Islanders are indebted to the wealthy and turn a blind eye to what goes on. Over the space of a few days a mother from England turns up looking for her missing daughter and some of the residents of the island decide that they've had enough of being treated as servants.

When I first started The Island Of Lost Girls I wasn't really enamoured of the story. I think this was because of the number of different threads over a variety of timelines. I'm so glad I stuck with the book though because once I'd sorted everything out in my head I was absolutely gripped.

The story is primarily about a clash of cultures. The small island is home to a thousand residents who live a simple life, as they have done for hundreds of years. Deference is shown to the ruling class of the island, traditions are still followed. When the island becomes a playground for the super rich the residents are then treated as servants. The rich have no respect for traditions and act as if they own everything.

The majority of the story focuses on Mercedes, a young girl growing up on the island, and Tatiana, the daughter of a rich and powerful man. Initially the girls strike up an unlikely friendship, but over time Tatiana begins to treat Mercedes as a plaything and eventually a slave. The reader follows Mercedes as she is initially awestruck by everything the rich have access to but then grows to realise that beautiful on the outside doesn't necessarily mean beautiful on the inside.

Through Mercedes we see the contrast in the way women are treated by society. Among the residents women are held to a higher standard than men and punished if they bring shame to their families. Women have few rights. The rich, however, bring beautiful young women to the island. Women who should have everything going for them but are treated as commodities.

The young women who are shipped to the island to "party" provide the thriller element of the novel. Thankfully the author chooses not to go into graphic detail but the descriptions will still have your pulse racing and fill you with shock and anger. I almost cheered out loud at the conclusion but I really wanted a little more detail about what happened to Tatiana at the end.

The Island Of Lost Girls by Alex Marwood will be published on 14th July 2022 in hardback, ebook and audio format. My thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for a review copy.