Lost Lambs
The Sunday Times Bestseller – 2026’s standout debut, a funny, sharp, dysfunctional-family novel
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- USD 12.99
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- USD 12.99
Descripción editorial
SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT FICTION PRIZE 2026
‘EXTREMELY SMART, IMPOSSIBLY FUNNY, AND JUST PLAIN FUN TO READ’ CARO CLAIRE BURKE, AUTHOR OF YESTERYEAR
‘A VOICE LIKE NO OTHER’ LENA DUNHAM
Think your family is dysfunctional? Meet the Flynns.
For the three Flynn daughters, it’s been disastrous since their parents opened up their marriage. Abigail, the eldest, is dating an ex-soldier several years her senior nicknamed ‘War Crimes Wes’. Louise, the middle child, maintains a secret correspondence with an online terrorist. And the brilliant youngest, Harper, is being sent to a wilderness reform camp due to her insistence that someone – or something – is monitoring the town’s citizens.
Casting a shadow across their lives is Paul Alabaster, a nefarious local billionaire. Rumours of corruption circulate, but no one dares dig too deep. No one except Harper, whose obsession with Alabaster’s machinations sends the family hurtling into a criminal conspiracy – one that may just, finally, bring them closer together.
The instant Sunday Times bestseller
‘THE MOST WILDLY ORIGINAL BOOK OF THE YEAR’ HARPER’S BAZAAR
‘THE DEBUT NOVEL FOR 2026 THAT HAS UNDOUBTEDLY BEEN THE MOST SHOUTED ABOUT’ THE SUNDAY TIMES STYLE
‘A DARKLY FUNNY FAMILY SAGA’ BUSTLE
‘AN INSTANT CLASSIC’ SHORTLIST
Readers love LOST LAMBS
‘What a ROMP!’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘The hype is real!’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘Hilarious, weird, original and addictive!’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘If Wes Anderson wrote Little Women.’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘I’m shouting it from every rooftop: THIS IS THE BOOK OF THE YEAR!’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
‘Perhaps the funniest book I’ve ever read.’ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Loaded with snarky one-liners and absurdist set pieces, Cash's glittering debut novel (after the collection Earth Angel) follows the middle-class Flynn family as they try and fail to find a sense of purpose. Their trouble starts when mom Catherine, an aspiring artist, proposes an "arrangement" that will allow her to pursue a romantic relationship with next-door neighbor Jim. Her husband, Bud, turns to the Lost Lambs support group at the local church, and shacks up with the moderator. Meanwhile, eldest daughter Abigail, 17, is dating a 20-something veteran known as War Crimes Wes because of rumors he "did some crazy shit in the war." Her 15-year-old sister Louise tells her priest she's been "experimenting with Islamic fundamentalism" and chats online with her Canadian "lover" known only as yours truly, who encourages her to take up bomb-making. Twelve-year-old Harper, the youngest, organizes a sit-in to raise awareness of what she believes is an evil surveillance program operated by tech billionaire Paul Alabaster. Cash has a finely tuned ear for the silliness of modern language (volunteer events have names like Apple Bobbing for Autism and Knitting for Narcolepsy), and she serves up wild slapstick and a twist of nasty horror before sending things out on a sweet and surprisingly sentimental note. The novel is anchored in its affection for the hapless but well-meaning Flynns, whose banter is endlessly irresistible ("Am I really the woman of your dreams?" Catherine asks. "Who cares!" Bud replies, "You're the woman of my reality"). It's unforgettable.
