Lost in Static has been in my ‘to review’ pile for a while now, but don’t let my laziness indicate that this is anything short of a riveting and inviting thriller. With all the panache and slick plotting of a Hollywood screenplay, this twist on the traditional colliding lives narrative is fascinating and unique.
A thriller that spans the perspectives of four key characters, with the narrative a first person depiction of the thoughts and feelings of Yasmine, Ruby, Juliette and Callum as they battle ever evolving relationships thanks to a variety of secrets, changes and misunderstandings.
The one issue I take with this novel is the issue of information dumping. Considering the first person narrative it should be easy for author Christina Philippou to effortlessly integrate plot points into the narrative; instead, we are regularly given awkward paragraphs of pure info-dump, with the narrators telling the reader stories which are designed exclusively as a fast way to disseminate key knowledge. Whilst I understand that providing vital background information is key to ensuring the smooth flow of any novel, I am not sure it is done with much skill in this instance.
Despite this, Lost in Static remains an interesting read: with an innovative narrative structure, superb dialogue and some brilliant portrayals of relationships and emotions, this smart and creative thriller is something different, and definitely worth checking out.
The Dorset Book Detective 