The Flynn family is on the verge of falling apart. Bud and Catherine have three teenage girls who are a handful in their own right, but they no longer see what they once saw in one another.

After a particularly flirtatious interaction with their next-door neighbor, Catherine latches onto the zeitgeist and proposes that they have an open marriage (perhaps primarily so that she can start an affair with the neighbor without guilt). While she’s off pursuing her bliss and reviving her dormant dreams of becoming an artist, Bud is sleeping in the family minivan and imagining new ways to die by suicide.

"LOST LAMBS is a novel that’s very much of the moment, with its exploration of non-monogamy, online predation, and the sinister whims of the billionaire class. But its focus on family --- albeit a decidedly non-traditional one --- also makes it feel classic."

Meanwhile, their daughters have dramas of their own unfolding. Abigail, the eldest, is the beauty of the family and is dating a taciturn military veteran --- known colloquially as War Crime Wes --- who is part of the security detail for Paul Alabaster, the secretive billionaire who has made his fortune through controlling the local shipping industry. Harper, the youngest, is brilliant, outspoken and completely unpredictable, a combination that lands her in a wilderness reform camp. Louise, the middle child who everyone forgets, has embarked on a relationship with a pseudonymous online boyfriend who seems to have his own plans for her.

Then Bud --- who works in logistics for the aforementioned shipping industry --- notices a troubling discrepancy in the shipping records, which sets in motion even more unexpected developments.

If this sounds to you like an outlandish premise for a work of fiction, you’re right. But one of the most surprising and delightful aspects of Madeline Cash’s debut novel (following a story collection, EARTH ANGEL) is that it actually works. Sure, both the characters and the plot are broadly satirical to the point of near-absurdity. But with the way that Cash strings together the various convoluted strands of her plot, readers happily will toe that line.

Likewise, even though they find themselves in situations that seriously strain credulity, the emotional heart of each character rings true. What’s more, although Cash takes the Flynns down some truly dark and cynical pathways, she leaves them in a place of relative peace, surprising new connections, and newfound joy in one another --- hardly a foregone conclusion given where things start out.

LOST LAMBS is a novel that’s very much of the moment, with its exploration of non-monogamy, online predation, and the sinister whims of the billionaire class. But its focus on family --- albeit a decidedly non-traditional one --- also makes it feel classic. Readers will be eager to see what comes next from the pen of this witty, inventive author.