Lost and Found

By: Carolyn Parkhurst

Narrated by: Blair Brown

What do a suburban mom and her troubled daughter, two recently divorced brothers, a pair of former child stars, born-again Christian newlyweds, and a couple of young millionaires have in common? They have all been selected to compete on Lost and Found, a daring new reality TV show. In teams of two, they will race across the globe, from Egypt to Japan, from Sweden to England, to battle for a million-dollar prize. They must decipher encrypted clues, recover mysterious artifacts, and outwit their opponents to stay in play.

What starts as a lark turns deadly serious as the number of players is whittled down, temptations beckon, and the bonds between partners strain and unravel. Before long the question is not only who will capture the final prize, but at what cost.

©2006 Carolyn Parkhurst (P)2006 Time Warner AudioBooks

Critic reviews

"Heart and wit to spare." (Publishers Weekly)
"A humorous and touching send-up of reality shows...bound to please." (Booklist)

I LOVED this book!

What a fantastic find! Lost and Found takes place in the midst of a reality TV show, a game that combines Amazing Race travel challenges with a scavenger hunt (after listening to this, I wished the show was real because it sounded like fun!). The story follows a number of the participants, telling the story of the game through their perspectives, and in addition, telling their back stories which includes secrets that start to bubble up to the surface as the fatigue, stress and pressure of the game grow. The characters are all well drawn and three dimensional--some are less likeable than others but all have sympathetic moments. I was sucked in to the story from the first moment and listened every chance I got until I finished it. A great one for beach or road trip listening, the time will fly by!

Special notice to the reader, Blair Brown, who does a fantastic job of different voices and accents for the many different characters. She is one of the few readers whose name on an audiobook would make me check out an otherwise unknown book, based on her strength as a narrator.

If you are a fan of reality TV shows, don't miss this!

Wonderful

Wonderful, wonderful. What a book! A reality game show that includes characters with secrets... Very funny and sometimes heartbreaking. Well-written; highly recommend this one.

great story about life

great book read by an excellent reader.. i love how she changed her voice to match the different characters

Good listen

I don't watch reality shows either, but you get enough familiarity with them just turning on the TV. So I was shying away from this story, even though I like the author's Nobodies Album. And this story had great character development. I wish there were more of Parkhurst's stories in an audible format.

A Wild Ride of a Read

This tongue-in-cheek parody of a reality show has wonderful characterizations of the contestants, all of whom are weird and quirky. The narrator does a wonderful job. I loved the book

A sweet, nuisanced adventure.

This is the 3rd book I have read or listened to by Carolyn Parkhurst. She is officially now one of my favorites. This story is a fun journey full of likable characters. It is sweet and tender but not cloying.

A slow start

Overall I thought this was a good book, and worth the listen. Blair Brown does a great job. However, it was a bit tedious at the start, and felt like it took a bit long to really get the story moving. I would recommend this as a back-up listen.

Great Listen!

I enjoyed this book from beginning to the end. I like listening to a book that has multiple characters and their own perspectives. It keeps me on my toes to really pay attention.

Fun Story

Fun story, especially if you are an "Amazing Race" fan, like myself. Not a storyline or characters that will stay with you, but it was enjoyable.

Bailed out!

It's very rare for me to bail out on a book, even if I'm not enjoying it, but I felt I was wasting my time on this one. I don't watch reality TV shows. Perhaps that's a prerequisite for enjoying this book.