'What Was Lost is a beautifully structured and entirely believable ghost story about discovering small, precious things in lonely, large places. This funny, insightful story about the alienation of bewildered souls in public spaces speaks volumes about our obsessions about gain, and our fear of loss. In the end, it is what is found that brings this book to its redemptive conclusion. This is a wonderful debut voice.'

Alice Pung

'What was Lost is a refined and impressively original story … dexterously imagined, it impressively fuses elements of mysteries that are never quite solved with with those of intimate human relationships that are as messy as they are casual and redemptive.'

Heidi Maier (Age)

'Catherine O'Flynn's What was Lost arrives with some heavy expectations. Happily, the accolades are all well deserved.'

Emily Maguire (Sydney Morning Herald)

'I loved this book. First-author Catherine O'Flynn sublimely fleshes out the paradox of contemporary suburban life: in a world crowded with people, many of them are more alone than ever before.

O'Flynn explores the slender thread between loneliness and community, and how one genuine relationship can make a difference, in a way that a host of surface connections never will. It may sound tribe, but there is nothing glib about What Was Lost. It's packed with sharp observations: some bitingly funny; some achingly sad; many both at the same time. The characters are lovingly assembled from a plethora of small details that make them seem unique and give them their own way of seeing and moving in the world. As a result, they come alive on the page.'

Jo Case (Big Issue Australia)

‘Part ghost story and part mystery ... an enthralling tale of a little girl lost, wrapped in a portrait of a changing community over two decades. What binds it all together so impressively is O’Flynn’s emotional articulacy, which captures life’s sad, strange absurdities and glosses them with a kind of nobility.'

(Observer)

'I completely —furiously even — disagree with the Booker authorities. There's no way that What Was Lost shouldn't have made it to the final round. It's superb — and a league above plenty of the other books that are still in contention. Damn the panel! ... It's not putting it too strongly to say that some of this book is really quite profound, which makes it all the more impressive that O'Flynn has kept her writing so light, readable and so very funny throughout ... this is an excellent first book.'

Sam Jordison (Guardian (UK))

'Catherine O'Flynn's poignant first novel explores bereavement and loneliness, what it is to be invisible and what it takes to be found. Her prose is taut, and the story intricately plotted and compelling.'

Francesca Segal (Telegraph (UK))

‘An exceptional, polyphonic novel of urban disaffection, written with humour and pathos. Kate’s deceptively jaunty diary reveals a consumer-driven society choking on its own loneliness; a ghost story; and an examination of unspeakable loss.'

(The Guardian)

‘A superb, haunting novel from a new literary talent.'

(Daily Mail)

‘Contemporary literary prose at its finest, surely has book prize potential.'

(Publishing News)

‘Partly a ghost story, partly a mystery, this tautly written novel captures both the charm and the ugliness of childhood. Inventive and humorous, O’Flynn saves her best lines for the more monstrous members of the retail trade.’

(Independent)

‘I am full of admiration for What Was Lost, which skewers our consumer society in all its absurdity and terrible sadness, while deftly interweaving a tender and heartbreaking personal narrative. A great debut novel from an awesomely talented writer.’

Jonathan Coe

'Hugely compelling and inventive, it pulls the rug from under your feet from the very first page — O'Flynn reveals her clues tantalisingly in this poignant story of love and loss.'

Judges comments, Costa Book Awards

‘O’Flynn’s poignant first novel explores bereavement and loneliness, what it is to be invisible and what it takes to be found. Her prose is taut, and the story intricately plotted and compelling.'

(Daily Telegraph)

‘I loved [What Was Lost] ... It’s quite extraordinary. There’s an amazing insight into the mind of a young girl, a very funny account of working in a high-street record store, an entirely sympathetic hero in the form of a security guard, a cracking mystery, a brilliant sense of place in the form of a modern shopping centre, and a ghost story to boot ... I adored every page of it and recommend it to everyone.’

Jenny Colgan (Independent Books of the Year)

'In our opinion, O'Flynn's book really should have won [the 2007 Costa Book of the Year Award]. A warm, funny, enthralling mystery about a girl lost in a shopping centre who is spotted on the CCTV screens 20 years later, it's a wonderful depiction of the wasteland in which modern urban life happens -— and how the human spirit survives.'

(Independent.ie)

'This original work is worthy of all the hype.'

'This Month's Must Read ', Kathy Buchanan (Marie Claire Australia)

'What Was Lost is a powerful novel of social and emotional deterioration, and the inescapable connections between the two. Humorous and heart-breaking in turn, it deserves a wide audience.'

Diane Stubbings (The Canberra Times)

'O'Flynn is constantly engaging ... her story builds a real sense of place and time, drawing on her own experiences ... What Was Lost is a real find.'

Neala Johnson (Herald Sun)

'A page turner in every sense of the word that more than lives up to its glowing reputation.'

Elizabeth Best (Affair Magazine)

'In a word: wow. This is clever, funny and moving, a downbeat urban mystery ... I wish I could convey how memorable its central characters are and the deftness with which it exposes and the loneliness and quite horror of its suburban setting. Absolutely stunning.'

Daniel Herborn (Sun Herald)

'Very occasionally you read a book that is so original and different to anything you have ever encountered before that it is almost impossible to describe. What was Lost, Catherine O'Flynn's poignant first novel, is such a book.'

Catherine Proctor (Manly Daily)

'Bleak, but beautifully crafted and exciting.'

Craig Cook (Adelaide Advertiser)

'This debut novel, nominated for the Man Booker Prize, is part mystery, part ghost story, and altogether wonderful ... Heartbreaking, hilarious and immensely rewarding.'

(Kirkus Reviews (starred review))

'It's hard to believe that this is a first novel. O'Flynn writes with the assured confidence of a veteran, and her book is funny and profound, intriguing and emotionally satisfying.'

Alison Pressley (Good Reading)