Psychological thriller set on LONG ISLAND
Novel set in a coastal town USA
20th February 2026
Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash, novel set in coastal town USA.
I read this for the Grazia Book Club January 2026.
This is another zany read from a new wave of young women writers (referencing works like Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater set in Walthamstow, the strapline: “The horrible little book everyone is talking about”).
In Lost Lambs Madeline Cash tackles familial dysfunction. Catherine Flynn is the mother who is intent upon an open marriage and wants to have an affair with a man in her neighbourhood. Bud Flynn, her husband, is sleeping for much of the time in the family car. They are essentially a lite version of The Twits (by Roald Dahl). The three daughters are all very different and come to play interesting roles in the family saga as it unfolds.
The story takes place in a coastal town (also called a city in the narrative) somewhere in the USA. There is a strong religious community, and some of the Flynn family members find themselves seduced (I use the term loosely) by various aspects of life in the House of God.
Miss Winkle is an ardent member of the church (she has a daughter called Perry – hoho) and brings into church a plant covered in small flies – gnats – and the author uses the curious devices of cutting into words and reshaping them – like gnatural. This is irritating but I suppose reflects the nature of these small winged beasties, popping up where you least expect them. It is an odd device, though.
Soon the girls are variously dabbling in terrorism and drugs and one of them – whilst browsing her father’s computer – discovers an anomaly in the shipping records of the company in which he works. It is owned by a tech billionaire, with whom Bud flags the issue; clearly he has stumbled on a huge secret and it’s not a nice scenario, as it transpires. All I will say is, that given the huge storyline that headlines virtually everyday around the world at the moment (without giving too much away), the publication of the novel at this time feels unfortunate. The levity of some intensely serious issues in the novel – although well observed – just doesn’t sit right with me.
Courtesy Scott Metzger cartoons
My copy of this novel is a proof copy and I hope the publisher has rectified the errors around verbs “to lie” and “to lay” – perhaps American usage is different to ours, who knows?
Generally this is a story about parents who have given up setting any boundaries (there are nude photos of mum dotted around the house), and, given the trouble the girls get into, not just a psychiatrist but a Social Worker would have been keeping a wary eye on their exploits and family dynamics.
Catherine is at one point exploring the cellar in her neighbour’s house and is shown sculptures of the “vaginas” of the man’s previous conquests. Error, they are vulvas not vaginas, important difference (you can’t actually ‘see’ a vagina).
The story sloshes about hither and thither and it kept me entertained because I was curious to see what the author would throw in next. Overall, probably, it wasn’t really one for me.
Tina for the TripFiction Team
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