The Secret of Lost Things

Eighteen years old and completely alone, Rosemary arrives in New York from Tasmania with little more than a love of books and eagerness to explore the city she's read so much about. She begins her search for independence with appealing enthusiasm, and the moment she steps into the Arcade bookstore, she knows she has found a home. The gruff owner, Mr. Pike, gives her a job sorting through piles of books and helping the rest of the staff, a group as odd as the characters in a Dickens novel. But when a letter arrives from someone seeking to "place" a lost manuscript by Herman Melville, the simmering ambitions and rivalries of the Arcade staff rise to a boiling point.
The Secret of Lost Things is at once a literary adventure and an evocative portrait of life in a bookstore very reminiscent of the world-famous Strand. Part 01 - Chapter 01
Chapter 02
Chapter 03
Chapter 04
Chapter 05
Chapter 06
Part 02 - Chapter 07
Chapter 08
Chapter 09
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Part 03 - Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Part 04 - Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
"Hay's writing is lively and relaxed…the best way for a novelist to celebrate books is to write a good one. And The Secret of Lost Things is just that."
"Hay does a good job with innocent, intelligent Rosemary's attempts to deal with sinister doings and…captures Rosemary's nostalgic memories of Tasmania…"
"Benjamin's clear, luminous voice draws listeners in, adding a touch of mystery to this appealing audio."
"Rosemary's journey from naiveté to self-knowledge is realistically portrayed and compelling, as are Hay's loving depictions of 1980s-era New York City and the wonder of a young woman discovering it for the first time."
"A triangle of unrequited love and a tussle over an apocryphal Melville manuscript enliven Hay's bildungsroman."