A terrific new novel by Catherine O’Flynn, What Was Lost straddles the line between children’s literature versus a book about a child in much the same way as Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn and Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. All these books capture the sweetness and danger inherent in a child’s life in a way that does not condescend but instead, illuminates the child’s eye view.

Set in the 1980s, What Was Lost intertwines the tragic story of a fledgling girl detective with that of an adrift 20-something, Lisa, whose life gets a jumpstart as a result of stumbling on a forgotten mystery.

Grade: A

What Was Lost: A Novel is currently available.