Lost Lambs: A Novel

Madeline Cash’s debut novel Lost Lambs has several interesting plot points and intriguing characters, but that’s part of the problem. It’s got too much going on to be fully enjoyable.

Charlotte and Bud have been married for many years and have three daughters: Abigail, Louise, and Hannah. The marriage has become a little stale, so Charlotte suggests an open arrangement. Bud isn’t interested, but after joining a support group—the Lost Lambs—at the suggestion of his boss, who worries Bud is depressed, Bud finds himself open to the idea of, well, being open. Bud’s job in accounting for a major shipping company has several perks. Still, Bud has uncovered potential illegal behavior by the owner, a billionaire recluse who hosts secretive parties and appears years younger than he should.

This storyline is enough to keep a reader interested. Throw in the nearly anorexic, pill-popping eldest daughter, the middle daughter who may be in an online relationship with an international terrorist, and the youngest, who is a language savant recently returned from a wilderness camp for troubled kids, and there’s just too much going on.

Still, if conspiracy theories and an unusual take on what family could mean are of interest to you, Lost Lambs might be a good fit.