Ruth Hogan

Collecting things dropped or left behind by others and writing stories about them as a tribute to the fiancée who died the day he lost one of her keepsakes, a man bequeaths his estate to his unsuspecting assistant, who bonds with new neighbors while attempting to reunite the objects with their owners.

Andrew Peardew collects things dropped or left behind by others and writing stories about them. He does this as a tribute to the fiancée who died the day he lost one of her keepsakes. When a dying Andrew bequeaths his estate to his assistant, Laura, she begins to bond with new neighbors while attempting to reunite the objects with their owners.

a novel

The keeper of lost things

A charming, clever, and quietly moving debut novel of of endless possibilities and joyful discoveries that explores the promises we make and break, losing and finding ourselves, the objects that hold magic and meaning for our lives, and the surprising connections that bind us. Lime green plastic flower-shaped hair bobbles—Found, on the playing field, Derrywood Park, 2nd September. Bone china cup and saucer—Found, on a bench in Riveria Public Gardens, 31st October. Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancée, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost objects—the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidently left behind—and writing stories about them. Now, in the twilight of his life, Anthony worries that he has not fully discharged his duty to reconcile all the lost things with their owners. As the end nears, he bequeaths his secret life’s mission to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, leaving her his house and and all its lost treasures, including an irritable ghost. Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners. Long ago, Eunice found a trinket on the London pavement and kept it through the years. Now, with her own end drawing near, she has lost something precious—a tragic twist of fate that forces her to break a promise she once made. As the Keeper of Lost Objects, Laura holds the key to Anthony and Eunice’s redemption. But can she unlock the past and make the connections that will lay their spirits to rest? Full of character, wit, and wisdom, The Keeper of Lost Things is heartwarming tale that will enchant fans of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Garden Spells, Mrs Queen Takes the Train, and The Silver Linings Playbook.

A Novel

The Keeper of Lost Things

Sam 🌙

This one was a bit hit and miss for me. I started off really enjoying what I found to be a charming little story about a chap and his collection of lost things. However, as the story progressed I found there was just something about this book that was turning me off. I think that it became a bit too much about the “supernatural” and too little was explored around the collection. Not one I’d recommend unfortunately.

Karen Norek 

Caroline Oestergaard

This was really sweet! A brilliant story of love, loss and friendship. Loved how the two parts crossed over, although I thought it happened a bit too late to really be able to enjoy their combined story. Brilliant nonetheless.

It was not bad and I'm sure someone would love it, but it just wasn't my "cup of lovely tea". It's a proper book, with lovely characters and a nice storyline but it was a little too predictable and all over the place. 

Elsie

This was such a beautiful read. It made me think about all the ways in which we are connected. I was particularly moved by Eunice and Bombers story as it reminded me to focus on the good times and how each day with our loved ones is a gift. I thought about the uniqueness of everyone’s stories and what story I someday would like to leave. I  hope that someday I create a home as beautiful as Padua or at least a space as welcoming and full of life and stories. I also hope that I’ll have a sunshine to keep me on my toes, and perhaps a Freddie and Carrot too. 

Kai Hidalgo

Full of character, wit, and wisdom, The Keeper of Lost Things is heartwarming tale that will enchant fans of The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, Garden Spells, Mrs Queen Takes the Train, and The Silver Linings Playbook. Lime green plastic flower-shaped hair bobbles—Found, on the playing field, Derrywood Park, 2nd September. Bone china cup and saucer—Found, on a bench in Riveria Public Gardens, 31st October. Anthony Peardew is the keeper of lost things. Forty years ago, he carelessly lost a keepsake from his beloved fiancée, Therese. That very same day, she died unexpectedly. Brokenhearted, Anthony sought consolation in rescuing lost objects—the things others have dropped, misplaced, or accidently left behind—and writing stories about them. Now, in the twilight of his life, Anthony worries that he has not fully discharged his duty to reconcile all the lost things with their owners. As the end nears, he bequeaths his secret life’s mission to his unsuspecting assistant, Laura, leaving her his house and and all its lost treasures, including an irritable ghost. Recovering from a bad divorce, Laura, in some ways, is one of Anthony’s lost things. But when the lonely woman moves into his mansion, her life begins to change. She finds a new friend in the neighbor’s quirky daughter, Sunshine, and a welcome distraction in Freddy, the rugged gardener. As the dark cloud engulfing her lifts, Laura, accompanied by her new companions, sets out to realize Anthony’s last wish: reuniting his cherished lost objects with their owners. Long ago, Eunice found a trinket on the London pavement and kept it through the years. Now, with her own end drawing near, she has lost something precious—a tragic twist of fate that forces her to break a promise she once made. As the Keeper of Lost Objects, Laura holds the key to Anthony and Eunice’s redemption. But can she unlock the past and make the connections that will lay their spirits to rest? A charming, clever, and quietly moving novel of of endless possibilities and joyful discoveries that explores the promises we make and break, losing and finding ourselves, the objects that hold magic and meaning for our lives, and the surprising connections that bind us.

Ilse

“She understood that everything had a value far greater than money; it had a story, a memory, and most importantly, a unique place in the house of Padua.”

The Keeper of Lost Things was one of those stories I didn’t expect to enjoy as much as I did. I bought it on a bit of a whim, and am grateful that I did! Ruth Hogan brings the book’s characters to life with her beautiful prose and charming descriptions. I really liked discovering the story through her characters’ journeys, and especially the sweet oddball Sunshine stole my heart.

“In this word, Daisy, we are tiny. We can’t always win an we can’t always be happy. But the one thing that we can always do is try. There will always be Trashcan Johnsons.”

The short stories about the lost objects Anthony has collected over the years were each amazing reads. I applaud Ruth for her creativity, and will definitely be checking out her other novels!

And one last amazing quote of Sarah (thank the Lord for her telling Laura some much-needed truths) of the book to end this review: “This is a once-in-lifetime, twenty-four-carat-gold, fuck-off fantastic opportunity that most people can only dream about.”

Alexandra Sklar

Great book! I loved the details about the house, the treasures, the garden...the setting made this story for me.

Janice Hopper

This is a perfectly inoffensive and undemanding little book. Heartbreak gets healed, unfinished business is finished, and love conquers all, except for bitchy sisters.

There are many worse ways to spend a sleepless night.

Cheri McElroy

Laura was a personal assistant and housekeeper for Anthony, an elderly writer. Both had experienced pain. Anthony dealt with that by finding and keeping lost things. After his death, he leaves the house to Laura and asks her to try to reunite things with their owners.

There are several other characters, including a side-story of an editor, Bomber, his assistant, Eunice, and his sister, Portia, who wants to be a writer but has no talent.

The story was far-fetched, somewhat depressing, and at other times silly. But it did make me laugh out loud at points, and that was appreciated.

Demi

This book was a nice, heartwarming, and enjoyable read. I think the story was an enjoyable, well written story about love, loss, and redemption. 

While I don’t think this book necessary had any outstanding qualities, I did really enjoy my time reading it and found some very sweet moments. As for the characters, I don’t really have to much to say about them because again, nothing about them was necessary outstanding either, but I will say that for the most part I enjoyed reading about them.

I think my favourite part about this book was the start and the finish. I was really loving this book at the beginning and then lost interest a little in the middle, and then I ended up really enjoying the ending. I think the way the author ended this book was so clever and I will say they it was my favourite part of this book. Overall, this was a quick, sweet read that really makes you think about your life.

Sian Wadey

I didn't finish this one. I so wanted to love this book but it just didn't grab me. I enjoyed the writing and I was intrigued by the idea but it wasn't enough to keep me going.

Dani Gale

A fun read with quirky characters. Sunshine was my favorite character, her zest for life and her uncanny ability to make everything seem ok was great!

Cindy Lieberman

A solid 3.5. Mostly sentimental with some magical realism for good measure. Three love stories intertwined. It had some unexpected turns and characters that kept my interest and kept it from being totally predictable and boring.

Ana Cob

Samantha Shepherd 

I didn't expect to love this as much as I did.

Keeper of Lost Things

Julija M

4/5 🌟 just because I thought the book was slow at times because I would've loved to read about more people reuniting with their lost things, and not just the last couple of pages dedicated to that because the whole book is about the concept of returning lost things. But overall it was pretty good and very well written and I liked it

Antonella Romani

A very fun, interesting story! This feel-good book is full whimsical sentimentality for lost treasures and has rather strongly written unconventional characters that you just can't help rooting for. I REALLY enjoyed how the story ends in a full circle; slightly predictable but clever choice on the author's part. It's a great option for a leisure read on vacation.

Sophie

I enjoyed this in the end even if half the time I was confused what date it was

Krystal Campbell 

I listened to the audiobook along with the physical copy of this book. 

Although a lovely, sweet and original story it was all a bit meh for me... 

The premise of lost things and the stories they hold was interesting and I have found myself finding little lost things around since reading it and wondering who has lost it or did they leave it behind for a reason. The characters weren't bad but they weren't overly memorable either. I think there was however good representation of down syndrome in the side character. 

It had all the right elements to be a great story and I think that is what attracted it to me in the first place. There was loss, mystery, love and multiple POV. The execution however was lacking a little.

Jana Pashovska

I was charmed at first, both by the characters and the concept, but as the story slowly unfolded, it turned into a mess. There are bits of everything in this book, from ghosts to sentimental romantic moments to absolutely unbelievable elements that are never fully explained, which quite frankly, could have worked if it was another author with a better style of writing, but for this book, it only worked to make it slightly confusing and a bit all over the place. It didn't teach me anything, it didn't make me feel anything really, it was just...a book with a pretty cover and an intriguing title. Not for me, sorry.

Laura

This is not the kind of book I'd usually pick up. This is textbook cozy fiction, but you know what, everyone needs a little cozy fiction in their lives and this seemed like right up my alley. I love the idea of, well a keeper of lost things, it just seems like the kind of thing I just want to curl up and read. 

It's definitely not a literary masterpiece, and it would be easy to pick apart everything wrong with it, from the not-so-great characters to the clumsy humor, and yet doing that feels wrong. Because this is not the kind of book that deserves to be picked apart and discussed, this is the kind of book the local white haired church lady book club reads and talks about between sips of lemonade and brags about grandkids. I guess what I'm saying is that reading this book is like going over your grandmother's house for afternoon tea and cookies. 

Continue reading this review on my blog here: https://bookwormbasics.blogspot.com/2...

The keeper of lost things a novel

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