Rating: 
Summary: Still not the old Peter Straub
Review: While Lost Boy Lost Girl contains some flashbacks to Ghost Story and ShadowLand, it fails to develop to anything like the sustained complexity of Peter Straub's early books.Its far too short, it contains too many anomalies (first a terrifying 6 year old phantom girl, then a loving 19 year old teenager, why did the mother really kill herself ?). Frankly, I didn't find much mystery, terror or horror - pity, the idea was good but the execution was lacking - another few months of effort and the writer might have come up with something really good.
Rating: 
Summary: Murder mystery, or ghost story? YES!
Review: Not the long winding affairs of his past, Straub has crafted a lean story packed with rich descriptive places and people. Not unlike his contributions to Black House-which I believe were sizable,- the atmosphere in this house of torture was clearly spellbinding.I will not bother to describe what others have done so well. I only wish to ask you to concider reading this yourself.
Rating:
Summary: A new horror classic
Review: For sheer atmospheric horror, "Lost Boy, Lost Girl" rivals Straub's original classic, "Ghost Story." Haunted houses are a perennial favorite and this one has it all: a dizzying warren of secret passages that lead from room to room, the ghost of a murdered young girl, and a Procrustean "giant" bed used by a psychotic killer to torture his own daughter. Recommended for readers of horror who prefer a subtle, insidious, and thorough scare.
Rating:
Summary: Could have been much better
Review: I found Lost Boy Lost Girl engrossing, tight and entertaining while I was reading it. But after finishing it, I realize I wasn't satisfied. So much opportunity seemed unexplored, and there were some glaring editorial missteps. Nancy thinks of Lily as her niece--she's not, she's her cousin's daughter. And there were two contradictory mentions of when Philip arrived home after Nancy's suicide. They should have been easy to spot while editing, but neither were, and that bugged me. It made me wonder if those mistakes indicated some kind of laziness or disinterest. That might explain the book's length, lack of depth, and lack of exploitation of the richness of character in new young hero, Mark, as well as old favorites Tim Underhill and Tom Pasmore. I felt cheated by the way Mark's relationship with Lucy was completely skipped over, told only through Tim & Jimbo's recollections. The eeriness of that house, alone, should have demanded that the reader see Lucy and judge for himself whether she was good or evil. The villain seemed forced, too easy to find. Lily's change--from seething spirit who blamed Nancy to loving teen who Mark went crazy for--was never explained. And Tim's recollection of his father's view on women...if the reader is to assume, which I did, that his Pop's dire warning about the "third type of woman, the one who wants to get inside you" describes Lucy's relationship with Mark, why, then, did the internet message from Mark to Tim seem so upbeat, almost a "happy ending" to the story. Tim remembered his father's words...so why wasn't he bothered when this happened to Mark? Finally, I had to conclude that though it had some of Straub's most wonderful writing in places, and the atmosphere of that house completely terrified me, this book was a failure for me. I can't help wondering if it was lazy and forced rather than tight and concentrated. In either case, it can't compare to the richness of Ghost Story, Floating Dragon, or Mystery. Or even the overbloated The Throat, or the horrific The Hellfire Club.
Rating:
Summary: a mood novel, haunted cyberspace
Review: Haunted cyberspace is a central theme of "Lost boy, lost girl," Peter Straub's suspense novel in which writer Tim Underhill receives e-mail and eventually, a weblink, from his nephew Mark, who has disappeared. 15-year old Mark has recently lost his mother to suicide, and Tim's brother, Mark's father Philip, a starchy middle school principal in Millhaven, a midwestern city, is not close to his son. Mark is left to face his grief alone, and becomes obsessed with a vacant house in his neighborhood, which he has never noticed before. When Mark disappears, Tim is called upon to help Philip and the police in their search. Tim's friend Tom Pasmore uses unconventional methods to uncover a serial murderer of young boys. But is Mark lost, or he is "2gether" with the beautiful 19 year old, Lucy Cleveland, as an email message to Tim proclaims? Straub's tale mixes genres: Haunted house tale, ghost tale, murder/detectice story, cyberspace legend. It's an easy, quick read that will absorb your attention and leave you wondering. Recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Haunting story of young love
Review: Peter Straub has a way with haunted houses and ghosts. In "lost boy lost girl," he mixes those elements in with a contemporary serial killer, a madman from the past and a couple of young boys captivated by an evil house.
Who lurks beyond its walls? Is it a crazy man, or a beautiful young girl? And what lies beyond our conscience? Is there another dimension, beyond life and death?
Straub poses the questions and answers them, sort of. A pleasing read from the man who mastered the "Ghost Story."
Rating:
Summary: Good, But Slim
Review: This is an excellent tale. The only reasons I gave it a "3", instead of the "4" that the contents deserve, are a) its weak conclusion: and b)it's mighty SLIM, for $34 (Canadian funds) - I expect more "meat" from Straub.
Rating:
Summary: Page-turner
Review: After the crushing disappointment of Mr. X, I was thrilled to find Mr. S. devoting himself to a leaner, more focused novel. Most of it I read in a day (and when I wasn't reading, I was thinking of it and itching to get back to it), although I finally had to stop reading due to exhaustion. Straub's most purely enjoyable book in years, containing plenty of the indescribable atmospherics that makes his best works memorable. He seems to be riffing on THE HOUSE OF LEAVES at certain points (if only HOUSE OF LEAVES had been this concise). At one point I began to feel that he'd shown all his cards, much too far from the end of the book, and I'm still not quite sure of Straub's intention in doing so...it made the last quarter of the book feel somewhat rote and predictable, a summary instead of a discovery, and that was a disappointment after the strengths of the first three quarters. Structurally, there's no doubt this was a deliberate ploy, but I can't help feeling that he was doing some po-mo narrative maneuvering that didn't quite work...sacrificing the emotional impact that would have come with continued suspense. But still, a fine book. It almost makes me want to re-evaluate Mr. X. ... Nah!
Rating:
Summary: LOST ME
Review: ONE can never deny Straub's command of language; his keen awareness of characterizations; his deft hand in getting inside Mark and Jimbo's heads; his mood. While this is one of his better books of recent years, my main problem with it was its lack of originality, or should I say it's predictability. Did you ever doubt that Mark would end up with Lily? Did you ever doubt that Ronnie would be caught? The ending is new-age mysticism and doesn't really satisfy my idea of closure. Tom Passmore's character is wasted and Tim Underhill's is too narrative in substance. Phil Underhill is completely unlikeable and I just never felt thrilled. I wish I could say it's a classic like fellow reviewers but for me, it was a moderately entertaining spook story.
Rating:
Summary: A solid thriller
Review: I confess I have not read a Peter Straub novel for years after becoming slightly disenchanted with his writing. This return foray into his work was for the most part enjoyable. This is a solid little novel that keeps you interested and guessing throughout. I was also impressed with Straub's ability to get into the head of a teenage boy, I thought it was remarkably well done. My only criticism would be of the ending. I like some other reveiwers found it a bit weak, and rather out of left field. Overall, if a well written mystery/ghost/love story is your thing, I believe you will enjoy this one.
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