‘Lost Girls’ by Charlotte Philby

Published by Baskerville,
12 March 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-399-81212-2 (HB)

Serious Crime Investigator DS Madeleine Farrow is in Dubai when she is awakened by a call from her colleague Jonny Robertson advising her that the Swedish Ambassador’s daughter Freya Sjoberg has disappeared from her prestigious school in London and they could do with her help to find her. So far there has not been a ransom demand. She seems to have just disappeared. It’s Wimpole Girls school, isn’t that where your niece goes? says Jonny. As a former pupil of Wimpole Girls school, Madeleine has only painful memories of her time there. But even worse is to come.  Constance Fairweather is now head of the school and was no friend to her.

 As Madeleine heads back to London, she muses on her situation, she has reaches the big 50 and has to decide whether to apply for promotion to D.I. which would mean a managerial role or remain in her role within the Serious Crime Investigation Department working in the field. Whilst pondering on that decision she is also aware that she must visit her boss Paul Ritter, who is terminally ill in hospital. She just keeps putting it off! 

For assistance in finding missing Freya Sjoberg, she calls on young Ramona Chang, a former journalist, now a private investigator who is currently facing a charge of manslaughter after she killed a gang member in self-defence.  Pleading guilty to manslaughter she knows that she will most likely be facing a prison sentence. Things are not going well for Ramona as she is now being evicted from her flat at the end of the week. Can things get any worse?  Will gangster Michael O’Keegan now send someone else to kill her after she killed his brother. Daniel. 

With no ransom request, has Freya run away? The last person to actually speak to Freya during games lesson at a nearby park was teacher Sarah Booth.  Madeleine senses that there is something the teacher is not telling her and gets Jonny to do a bit of digging into her past. 

Cleverly and intricately plotted this is a page turner. There are several different threads running though this book.  A compelling read. Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett 

Charlotte Philby worked for the Independent for eight years, as a columnist, editor and reporter, and was shortlisted for the Cudlipp Prize at the 2013 Press Awards for her investigative journalism. Founder of the online platform Motherland.net, she regularly contributes to the Guardian and iNews, as well as the BBC World Service, Channel 4 and Woman's Hour. She has three children and lives in London. Charlotte is the granddaughter of Kim Philby, Britain’s most famous communist double-agent.