Dot Watson has lost her way.

Twelve years ago her life veered off course, and the guilt over what happened still haunts her. Before then she was living in Paris, forging an exciting career; now her time is spent visiting her mother’s care home, fielding interfering calls from her sister and working at the London Transport Lost Property office, diligently cataloguing items as misplaced as herself.

But when elderly Mr Appleby arrives in search of his late wife’s purse, his grief stirs something in Dot.

Determined to help, she sets off on a mission – one that could start to heal Dot’s own loss and let her find where she belongs once more…

Beautifully Written with Excellent Prose!

This is the kind of book you just want to wallow in; one where you want to know everything but you don’t want it to end . . .

Dot Watson once set off into the big wide world; twelve years ago she lived in Paris, had her career on track and enjoyed being in a relationship but somehow her life fell off that track and now she spends her days working in Lost Property and visiting her mother in the care home. She takes her work seriously, getting satisfaction from doing a thorough job which sees lost items reunited with their owner. Then a gentleman turns up seeking his late wife’s purse and it resonates with Dot – it’s suddenly terribly important to locate it and, perhaps, find herself along the way.

From the very beginning, I really liked Dot. She not only takes great pride in her work but she has the ability to describe others with great humour. It’s easy to picture her colleagues and I couldn’t think of her sister without seeing her arm windmill! I was hook, line and sinker with this one right up until reality began to wain and then, for quite a bit of the book, I struggled to keep my focus. Overall, however, it is a very good read filled with delightful characters and with an ideal conclusion. Beautifully written with excellent prose, I did enjoy this one and am happy to give it 4.5*.

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is – as always – my honest, original and unbiased review.

Tags: women’s literary fiction

• Format: ebook, paperback, hardcover, audiobook
• Size: 349 pages
• Publisher: Transworld Digital
• Publication Date: 15 April 2021
• Book Links:
• https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/56337756
• https://play.google.com/store/books/details/Helen_Paris_Lost_Property?id=tkC1DwAAQBAJ
• https://uk.bookshop.org/books/lost-property-the-most-uplifting-debut-of-2021/9780857527295
• https://www.foyles.co.uk/witem/fiction-poetry/lost-property-the-most-uplifting-debut,helen-paris-9780857527295
• https://www.kobo.com/gb/en/ebook/lost-property-14
• https://www.whsmith.co.uk/products/lost-property-the-most-uplifting-debut-of-2021/helen-paris/hardback/9780857527295.html
• https://www.waterstones.com/book/lost-property/helen-paris/9780857527295
• https://wordery.com/lost-property-helen-paris-9780857527295
• https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lost-Property-Helen-Paris-ebook/dp/B07YY42LRX

Author Details

Helen Paris worked in the performing arts for two decades, touring internationally with her London-based theatre company Curious. After several years living in San Francisco and working as a theatre professor at Stanford University, she returned to the UK to focus on writing fiction.

As part of her research for a performance called ‘Lost & Found’, Paris shadowed employees in the Baker Street Lost Property office for a week, an experience that sparked her imagination and inspired this novel.

• Twitter: @drhelenparis