What readers think of Lost Lambs, plus links to write your own review.

This was my January 2026 BOTM and it was a great choice. This is a story about joy, hope, coming together and that “the important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to talk about (page 298).

The Flynns are a modern family - dysfunctional, self-absorbed but really seeking connection within and without the family. In this book, though, the author has a rip roaring good time in telling the Flynns’s story playing word games, and making fun of details. For instance, the book starts with the local parish priest, Father Andrew, having a problem with gnats - and they infest every word that has “nat” in it!

The characters are fascinating. Each had a quirk that plays out in the story. Amelia, Louise and Harper are the three daughters of Bud and Catherine. The marriage is disintegrating and the girls are adrift. When Bud joins the Lost Lamb group, a self-help group sponsored by the church of Our Lady of Suffering, things start to change. There’s a mystery to the story that’s cleverly incorporated into the story and the ending is just the best.

This is a perfect read for those who like a bit of zany comedy telling a story that packs a message. Loved it.
#MadelineCash
#FarrarStrausandGiroux

Lost Lambs is about a totally dysfunctional family. The parents have an open relationship which isn’t working for the husband. Sixteen year old Abigail is dating a man in his 20s known as War Crimes Wes, which tells you a lot right there. Fifteen year old Louise feels invisible to her family so becomes the perfect target for an online Islamic terrorist. And the baby of the family, Harper, is brilliant but also a sucker for conspiracy theories so her parents send her to a wilderness camp. The story flips between their POVs along with those of several secondary characters. The strength of the book is in its characters. I felt they were all fully formed, each quirky in their own way. At times, it just felt a little overwhelming because there was so much going on, subplot after subplot. And as the story reaches its climax, it definitely goes off into the realm of the completely unbelievable which didn’t work for me. And for those that don’t care about believability, know that Cash then cops out and doesn’t even explain how the characters get out of the unbelievable predicament. I did appreciate that it ended on a note of hope.

The book is meant to be humorous and yes, there were quite a few times I truly chuckled. But overall, it missed the mark for me. I’m not sure if it suffered in comparison to the book I read right before this, also about a dysfunctional family, which was truly five stars.

I listened to this and the narrator, Christine Larkin, didn’t add anything to the mix.
My thanks to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance copy of this audiobook.