The Flynn family is not a normal family. Everything seems to be falling apart after Catherine and Bud decide to try an open marriage. Bud is living in his car in the driveway while Catherine is pursuing a relationship with the next door neighbour. Abigail, the oldest, is dating a much older man known was “War Crimes Wes”. Middle daughter Louise is deep in the Internet forums and quickly becoming a domestic terrorist in the backyard treehouse. Youngest daughter Harper is brilliant but troubled and increasingly insistent that something sinister is going on in their town.
Overshadowing the Flynn family’s troubles is the local billionaire and shipping magnate, Paul Alabaster. Bud works for him down at the harbour and he and Harper are about to uncover something deeply troubling. All while Abigail gets ready to attend Alabaster’s most exclusive party.
I really loved how much Cash throws caution to the wind and writes a book here that isn’t afraid to try different things and doesn’t feel too worried whether or not the reader will like it. So I feel okay saying that I admire the book but I didn’t really like it. At its best, I found Lost Lambs reminiscent of the writing of David Foster Wallace – a book that is saying some very true things about human nature via some truly ridiculous and unrealistic situations. At its worst, Lost Lambs felt a little too aware of its own quirkiness. It felt like Cash really wanted us to see how strange this world is and so no character could ever act or react in a normal way.
There’s a lot of time spent introducing the characters and their various obsessions and stories and it wasn’t until the last section of the book that the story really felt like it was there and coming together in a cohesive manner. The ultimate reveal of Paul Alabaster and his party and what was going on didn’t feel shocking (I’m not sure if it was supposed to) but sort of inevitable.
MILD SPOILERS:
I was reading this book as a certain horrifying list was being made public and in the news a lot and so reading a book with a billionaire who is trafficking human beings didn’t feel funny or amusing. Alabaster’s actions felt pretty mild in comparison to the real world.
END OF SPOILERS
I appreciate a new voice like Cash’s and I’ll be interested to see what she does next though I’m not sure I’ll rush to read her again.
Karissa Reads Books 
I love fearless authors so might give this a whirl, despite your warning of the characters’ messy lives.
I agree. I have a new policy, which states (in my brain) that I do not read any book that includes the following words in the synopsis: secret, perfect, or missing. If anybody is willing to try something new in their fiction, I’m here for it. I feel the same way about movies anymore. I don’t care if it’s low budget so long as the story is original and connects with the viewer.
I’m fed up with paths to forgiveness, new realities and shocking betrayals in blurbs.
I do prefer to like characters in stories, but I can appreciate authors who take risks. Fearless authors are my absolute favourite, even though their characters are never anyone you’d want to spend time with.