Friday, February 16, 2018

Keeper of Lost Things

Everyone loses things, but no one collects things like Andrew Peardew. In  A Keepers of Lost Thing by Ruth Hogan, Andrew has found comfort after his fiancee's death decades ago by lovingly rescuing lost objects and cataloging them in his home. As he nears the end of his life, he wants someone to "find" the owners of these various treasures.

Forty years ago Andrew carelessly lost an object given to him by his fiancee Therese. She was killed in an accident on that same day. That event lead him to collect his "treasures."

He hires Laura, a young woman recovering from a nasty divorce, to act as his secretary. She works daily at his lovely old Victorian mansion, but is never allowed into his locked study.

When Andrew dies suddenly, Laura discovers she has inherited the house and all the furnishing. When she finally enters Andrew's study, she is stunned to find hundreds of lost items, carefully labeled with where they were found. 

In his will Andrew stipulates that Laura can live in the house as long as she makes an attempt to return the items. Puzzled as to how she would do this, she enlists the aid of her teenage neighbor Sunshine who has special powers and the handsome gardener Freddy. The unlikely trio set about developing an internet page to promote some of the lost items, asking the owners to contact them.

Among the "treasures" is a jigsaw puzzle piece, a children's white umbrella with read hearts on it, a
fine china tea cup, and most distressingly, the ashes of a dead person. And unbelievably people begin to respond to the posts.

This charming, sweet story of undying love, painful loss and joyous reuniting will bring sunshine and love to combat the bleak and dreary state of the world.

Enjoy a few peaceful hours and see how creatively Laura, Sunshine and Freddy reunite the Lost Things with their owners.

2 comments:

Denise Kainrath said...

I hope someone like Andrew has lovingly held onto my maroon coat and has concocted some sort of story about it that portrays me in a flattering light, as opposed to someone who sits on a styrofoam cooler.

Unknown said...

I wonder if Andrew found my blue plaid wallet. I lost it in Oak Park, I think, about 50 years ago when I was visiting my aunt. I don't care about any of the stuff that was inside the wallet I would just like the wallet back. Anyways I really had fun reading this story and yes it made me remember my lost wallet! Thanks for the recommendations Chris!