The Lamplighter

It’s an honor to bring light to the dark. The nineteenth-century whaling village of Warbler is famous for its lucky ship figureheads—and infamous for people disappearing into the nightly fog. In this murky locale, the lamplighter is synonymous with safety and protection, and it’s a position Temperance assumes when her father is found hanging from one of the lampposts. Though Tempe proves competent, the town is still hesitant to let a woman handle this responsibility. When a girl disappears after two lamps go out, Tempe’s ability to provide for her mother and younger sister hangs in the balance. She scrambles for answers, hindered at every turn by the village authorities’ call for her removal. As more villagers vanish under her watch, Tempe discovers unsettling truths about the famous Warbler figureheads and her own beloved father. But her warnings of a monster are ignored, even by her own family. Now she must follow the light out of her own fog of despair, as she faces the choice to look the other way or risk speaking out and possibly dooming herself and her sister to be among the lost. 

Publishers Weekly

“Bell valiantly braids edge-of-the-seat plotting, moody imagery, and evocatively rendered characters into unsettling knots. Temperance’s struggles to prove herself in her male-dominated society are explored with depth and nuance, making this chilling mystery feel at once like a classic folktale and a sharp allegory for the obstacles of modern women.”

Kirkus Reviews

“The twist at the end is satisfying, and the spooky atmosphere and (righteous) female rage linger like the town’s infamous fog. Chilling.”

Booklist

“Bell’s novel, with its nineteenth-century setting, is a marvel of the ominous and mind-bending incident.”