by Ruth Hogan

THE KEEPER OF LOST THINGS opens with the finding of Charles Bramwell Brockley’s ashes in a Huntley & Palmers biscuit tin on a train to Brighton.

It ends with a first communion medallion of a saint changing hands to find its way home.

In between are three love stories and hundreds of found objects meticulously saved and labeled by a writer, Antony Peardew. A sampling of these lost items have their own stories within the book.

A sky blue puzzle piece, a single navy glove, a button, a plastic hair bobble, a child’s umbrella , each is a souvenir of life’s loves, losses, rages, connections, regrets and transitions.

THE KEEPER OF LOST THINGS is a Hallmark card of a book: warm, charming and a bit haunting. While the parallel telling of two love stories can get confusing, the characters are likable and well-sketched.

About the Author: Ruth Hogan

This is Ruth Hogan’s first novel. A voracious reader, she says her love of small treasures and curiosities inspired this story.

Born in the Bedford house where her parents still live, she studied English and drama at Goldsmiths College, University of London. She worked in human resources of a local government office for 10 years. A car accident in her early 30s left her unable to work full-time. That convinced her to get serious about writing. She worked as an osteopath’s part-time receptionist and spent her spare time writing. Cancer and chemotherapy in 2012 left her unable to sleep at night, so she wrote instead, which led to The Keeper of Lost Things.

Hogan and her husband live in a “chaotic Victorian house” with an assortment of rescued dogs.