The lost story : a novel / Meg Shaffer.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

NATIONAL BESTSELLER * Inspired by C. S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, this wild and wondrous novel is a fairy tale for grown-ups who still knock on the back of wardrobes--just in case--from the author of The Wishing Game .

"This is the book you've been waiting for."--Richard Russo, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Empire Falls and the North Bath Trilogy

As boys, best friends Jeremy Cox and Rafe Howell went missing in a vast West Virginia state forest, only to mysteriously reappear six months later with no explanation for where they'd gone or how they'd survived.

Fifteen years after their miraculous homecoming, Rafe is a reclusive artist who still bears scars inside and out but has no memory of what happened during those months. Meanwhile, Jeremy has become a famed missing persons' investigator. With his uncanny abilities, he is the one person who can help vet tech Emilie Wendell find her sister, who vanished in the very same forest as Rafe and Jeremy.

Jeremy alone knows the fantastical truth about the disappearances, for while the rest of the world was searching for them, the two missing boys were in a magical realm filled with impossible beauty and terrible danger. He believes it is there that they will find Emilie's sister. However, Jeremy has kept Rafe in the dark since their return for his own inscrutable reasons. But the time for burying secrets comes to an end as the quest for Emilie's sister begins. The former lost boys must confront their shared past, no matter how traumatic the memories.

Alongside the headstrong Emilie, Rafe and Jeremy must return to the enchanted world they called home for six months--for only then can they get back everything and everyone they've lost.

Excerpt provided by Syndetics

Chapter One Our Story Now Begins The drive from Emilie Wendell's house in Milton, Ohio, to Bernheim Forest outside Louisville took a good two and a half hours. She'd wanted to make it in two hours and fifteen minutes, but accident traffic caused a bottleneck on I-­65 south. She prayed the taping would be delayed. These things never started on time, right? For weeks, she'd been internet-­stalking Jeremy Cox, hoping and praying he'd somehow end up near her house. Then finally, that morning, she'd woken up to a Google alert in her email. A documentary TV show called Whereabouts Unknown would be doing a taping at Bernheim that day--­special guest, the famed missing persons investigator Jeremy Cox. She'd thrown on yesterday's clothes--­red leggings, a T-­shirt, and a hoodie, stuffed her feet into her boots, and ran out of the house. Two and a half hours of frantic driving was a small price to pay for the chance to meet with Jeremy Cox in person. As soon as she arrived, she parked, grabbed her backpack, and then jogged down the path to the visitor's center. The day was October 10, and the weather was cloudy and cold. Cold for Kentucky, anyway. Even so, she was sweating by the time she reached the outdoor stage. She found two park employees putting chairs back into stacks. A flyer printed on neon orange paper advertised Jeremy Cox's safety talk. It seemed to be over already. "Did I miss the show?" she asked the employee, embarrassed by her breathless voice. "I'm supposed to meet with Jeremy Cox," she added, so it wouldn't sound like she was some creepy fangirl but someone who had an appointment. An older woman pointed down a trail. "The talk's over, but they're doing the taping near the pond by Little Nis." "Right, Little Nis." Emilie thanked the woman and ran down the trail. She found the pond and walked around the bend until she spotted the first of the Forest Giants. She'd read about the famous art installation but wasn't prepared for the sheer size of them. Twenty feet tall or more. Impressive in photos but jaw-­dropping in person. There were three of them, she knew, a family of enormous trolls. This was Little Nis, the son. Somewhere in the park was his pregnant mother troll and his sister. Emilie and her mom had planned to see them, but they'd never made the time. And then, of course, there was no more time to make. She pushed thoughts of her mom out of her head. Emilie had never been great at focusing, but today, she would do it. She had to. And there he was. Jeremy Cox. He stood on a footbridge with his back to the pond. He looked just like all his pictures online. He had rust-­red hair, a perfectly groomed beard, and was dressed like a hip young rock climber. Gray fitted long-­sleeved T-­shirt. Canvas cargo pants, the kind made for climbing. Brown hiking boots, well worn, she noted. A TV crew of three surrounded Jeremy while a woman with a pitch-­perfect NPR voice asked him questions he'd probably been asked a billion times before. Interviewer: So, Jeremy, why only girls? You have this incredible skill, but only use it to help find missing girls. Jeremy: Girls and women. Interviewer: Right. But why just them? No boys at all? Jeremy: Women get lost differently than men, who get lost differently than small children, who get lost differently than the elderly. A lot of psychology goes into it. It makes sense to specialize. Interviewer: In ten years, you've found fifty missing women and girls and recovered fourteen bodies. That's an astounding level of success for one person. And all over the world too. Emilie listened while the woman ticked off some of the countries where Jeremy had tracked and found missing people. A toddler who'd wandered off the family farm in Brazil. The girlfriend of a billionaire who'd disappeared on vacation in St. Barts. A French hiker with a broken leg trapped in a ravine in Greece. Even in countries he'd never stepped foot in before, in harsh climates, in unforgiving landscapes, Jeremy Cox had an uncanny knack for finding the lost, dead or alive. Interviewer: Do you always find your man? I mean, your woman? Your girl? Jeremy: Not always. Interviewer: No? Jeremy: There's still one out there I'm looking for. Interviewer: But only one? Unbelievable. What's your secret? Jeremy: There's no magic to it. I've been on the other end of a search party. Most people in search-­and-­rescue haven't. I know what it's like to be lost. And I'm very, very lucky. Interviewer: Let's say I'm lost in a wooded area like this. What should I do to aid in my own rescue? Jeremy: Even in thick forest terrain, someone lost can travel about two miles per hour. In two hours, that's a four-­mile radius, making for a possible search area of over fifty square miles. That's why we tell people to stay put and let someone find them. Unfortunately, studies have shown about sixty-­five percent of lost people in that situation don't stay put. Interviewer: Why is that? Jeremy: Denial. Interviewer: Denial? As if sensing Emilie's stare, Jeremy glanced at her. They were only twenty feet apart, close enough that she knew he was looking at her, searching her face. His brow furrowed as if he was trying to place her, but then he turned back to the woman interviewing him. Jeremy: Nobody wants to admit they're lost. The interviewer laughed. She turned to the director. "That's good," she said, sounding like a completely different, almost normal person. "Good line to end on." "Are we finished?" Jeremy asked. He had the slightest hint of an En­glish accent. "One more," she said, then turned her NPR voice back on. Interviewer: If Ralph Howell were lost out there again, would you make an exception to your "girls only" rule and try to find him? Emilie watched as Jeremy Cox's jaw set and his eyes turned to granite. They would get an answer from the Forest Giants before getting one out of him. "You were right," Jeremy said, glancing her way again. "That was a good line to end on." While the camera guy was getting some footage of Little Nis and the surrounding woods, the woman interviewing Jeremy took him aside and whispered something. An apology, maybe? Was the topic of Ralph Howell forbidden or something? Whatever they were talking about, it was over in minutes. An assistant even younger than Emilie helped Jeremy remove his mic pack from his shirt and jacket. Jeremy shook a few hands, waved a quick goodbye to the crew, and started down the trail back toward the visitor's center. Emilie jogged after him. "Hello?" she said as she caught up to him. "Hey," he said and kept walking, but he slowed down a beat, which she appreciated. "I'm not with the show." Her breath was short and fast, but she pasted on a smile and pretended she wasn't about to pass out from overstimulation. "My name's Emilie. You're Jeremy Cox, right?" "Usually," he said. "What's up?" "Can I talk to you for a second? I won't bring up Ralph Howell, swear." He glanced at her, the ghost of a smile on his lips. His eyes were alive now, not glazed over like they'd seemed during the interview. Jeremy shrugged. "Thanks. He's a private person. I ask people to leave him alone. They just can't." Nodding, she said, "Right, right. Stevie and Lindsey all over again." He looked at her. "Who?" She'd jogged in front of him and then stopped, which forced him to stop. She unzipped her hoodie to reveal her T-­shirt underneath--­a vintage Fleetwood Mac concert shirt, the one with the penguins and the baseball sleeves. "Stevie Nicks. Lindsey Buckingham. Everybody wants to get the band back together." "Nice shirt," he said. He had hazel eyes, like a summer forest--­evergreen trees, rich earth, golden sunlight--­and they lit up when he smiled or even almost smiled. She had a feeling there was a very different Jeremy Cox underneath the stone-­faced TV persona. "Thanks. Stevie Nicks is my lady and savior." His eyebrows slightly lifted. "She's a little before your time, isn't she?" "Stevie Nicks transcends space and time," she said. "Was that weird? I talk too much when I'm nervous. Or just in general. Can you say something weird so I'll feel less awkward?" Excerpted from The Lost Story: A Novel by Meg Shaffer All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Shaffer's (The Wishing Game) second novel is a modern-day fairy tale set in West Virginia and a beautiful yet dangerous realm. Two teenage boys, Jeremy and Rafe, are lost in a forest, only to be found six months later by some hikers. Rafe is unable to remember anything that happened while they were missing. Jeremy remembers everything about the enchanted place they encountered but refuses to tell Rafe or explain where they were or how they survived. Years later, Jeremy has become a skilled missing-persons investigator specializing in finding lost women. Emilie, who is looking for her lost sister, enlists him to help find her, as her sister is lost in the same forest where Rafe and Jeremy disappeared. The question then becomes whether or not Jeremy will dare to venture back into the magical realm he left so long ago. VERDICT Readers will find this an absolutely immersive pleasure to read. Shaffer delivers an unforgettable and nostalgic experience, especially for fans of "The Chronicles of Narnia" by C.S. Lewis or fairy-tale retellings.--Leigh Verburg

Publishers Weekly Review

Shaffer (The Wishing Game) plays on portal fantasy nostalgia in this brilliant riff on the Chronicles of Narnia. Emilie Wendell is mourning the loss of her adoptive mother when she discovers she has a half-sister who was kidnapped 20 years ago. She begs the help of famous missing-persons investigator Jeremy Cox. Jeremy and his high school best friend, Rafe Howell, were lost as teenagers in West Virginia's Red Crow State Park and emerged six months later completely changed. Rafe, now an artist, can't remember what happened, and ever since the incident his drawings have returned to a fantastical world he can't explain. Jeremy knows the truth--that they went through a portal into that other realm--but he's bound by a promise not to reveal the truth to Rafe. When Rafe joins in the search for Emilia's long-lost sister, the investigation takes both men back to the wondrous but deadly world they once loved. Shaffer manages to capture the joys and magic of childhood innocence alongside the wisdom that comes with age and the heartache and scars that make it difficult to go home again. The taut mystery keeps the pages of this love letter to the fantasy genre flying. Readers will be transfixed. Agent: Amy Tannenbaum, Jane Rotrosen Agency. (July)

Booklist Review

This soothing novel will appeal to fans of classic and portal fantasies, where other fantastic worlds are lying under our own, just waiting to be discovered. Years ago, two teenage boys, Jeremy and Rafe, were lost for months after disappearing on a field trip to Red Crow State Park. They returned unable to tell anyone about where they had been. Now, Rafe is a recluse haunted by psychological issues, and Jeremy is known for his ability to track down lost girls. That's how Emilie Wendel finds them: she needs their help to find her sister, who disappeared into Red Crow years before they did. The three of them set off on a mystical journey that will have them all confront their childhood memories, traumas, and first loves. Shaffer (The Wishing Game, 2023) writes an uplifting, queer story about confronting childhood abuse and dark memories through storytelling, friendship, and finding a place where you belong. Between the realistic, warm characters and the emotional primary story line, this novel is a successful, low-stakes fantasy read.

Kirkus Book Review

Three lost souls search for a missing woman. When best friends Ralph "Rafe" Howell and Jeremy Cox were teenagers, they went missing in the woods of West Virginia for six months. Now, 15 years later, the two are estranged. Rafe lives in a cabin and spends his days hunting, painting, and being generally hermitic. Jeremy has an uncanny, almost supernatural ability to find lost people, and spends his time finding lost girls. Enter Emilie Wendell. Emilie's adoptive mother recently died and, in her search to ease her loneliness, Emilie uploaded her DNA to a website that matched her with a half-sister she didn't know existed. Here's the catch: Emilie's sister, Shannon Yates, went missing years ago in the same forest as Rafe and Jeremy. Emilie shows up to a TV interview Jeremy is doing and demands he help find her sister. Jeremy agrees and reveals a secret: Shannon, better known to him as Skya, is the queen of a magical land called Shanandoah. As it turns out, Jeremy and Rafe weren't lost in the woods those many years ago but were spending their days galivanting around the secret magical kingdom whose entrance is in the forest. To return they need to enlist the help of Rafe, whose memories of Shanandoah and, more heartbreakingly, the love he held for Jeremy were erased when they left the magical world. After quite a bit of convincing, Rafe reluctantly agrees to help. What unfolds is an adventure filled with sword fights, romance, and gut-wrenching stories of the dark past that led the boys to the forest in the first place. Shaffer's depictions of Emilie and Skya fall almost completely flat. That said, she makes up for it with the tender love between Jeremy and Rafe and the magical depiction of the world they once left behind. Like all the best fairy tales: nostalgic with an undercurrent of darkness. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.