Lost Lambs

by Madeline Cash

Rippling with humor, warmth, and style, Lost Lambs is a new vision of the charms and pitfalls of family dysfunction.

The Flynn family is coming undone. Catherine and Bud's open marriage has reached its breaking point as their daughters spiral in their own chaotic: Abigail, the eldest, is dating a man in his twenties nicknamed War Crime Wes; Louise, the middle child, maintains a secret correspondence with an online terrorist; the brilliant youngest, Harper, is being sent to wilderness reform camp due to her insistence that someone—or something—is monitoring the town’s citizens.

Casting a shadow across their lives, and their small coastal town, is Paul Alabaster, a billionaire shipping magnate. Rumors of corruption circulate, but no one dares dig too deep. No one except Harper, whose obsession with a mysterious shipping container sends the family hurtling into a criminal conspiracy—one that may just bring them closer together.

Irreverent and addictive, pinging between the voices of the Flynn family and those of the panorama of characters around them, Madeline Cash’s Lost Lambs is a debut novel of quick-witted observation and surprising tenderness. With Lost Lambs, Cash has crafted a family saga for the twenty-first century, all held together with crazy glue.

Genres: Fiction, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Audiobook, Book Club, Humor, Family

323 pages, Hardcover

First published January 13, 2026

About the author

Madeline Cash is an American author and co-founder of Forever Magazine. Her debut novel Lost Lambs was published in 2026. She previously authored a collection of short stories published as a book in 2023 Earth Angel, op-eds and interviews with artists featured in publications like Nylon, Los Angeles Times, Highsnobiety, and short literary fiction in The Baffler and Granta.

Reviews

[emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love reading about an unhinged woman. even better if there's several of them. even best if they're sisters.

https://emmareadstoomuch.substack.com...

this wacky and funny book grabbed me right away. i normally abhor books with many characters and many perspectives, but in this case i felt the more the merrier. i liked reading about everybody. there were no weak links, only particularly strong links.

(harper is my favorite sister and i was rooting for miss winkle from the start.)

in fact, i wish this book had even less of a plot and even more roaming around between amusing bits of dialogue.

the storyline was a bit too weird to track, but i had no such concerns when it came to hearing more from child prodigies / online terrorists / rebellious teens / cool priests / war criminals / church ladies / washed-up artists / minivan residents / any of the million icons populating this impossible town.

bottom line: more of this!

(thanks to the publisher for the e-arc)

[Mia Shaffer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Wes Anderson wrote Little Women

[Ariana · Rating 0.25 out of 5]

Gross racist sub plot & casual Israel mention.
Don’t read this

[Emily May · Rating 2 out of 5]

All heads on the beach turned as Abigail Flynn removed her shorts and T-shirt, revealing a wispy bikini about a size too small. She was magnificent and Bud's role in her production gave him a perverse pride. How she once swam from his scrotal caves and evolved into this perfect specimen, the stuff of magazine covers and male fantasy. Though other men would inevitably enter into her life, only one had made her.

This is the male protagonist thinking about his teen daughter 😐

I opened with that quote because it repulsed me, but my issues with the whole book are about a lot more than just one gross paragraph.

Lost Lambs sits in that weird niche of heightened realism that I just don’t think I like. Somewhere right between realistic and outright weird, so that it’s just offbeat enough for me to wonder if it’s satirical. Is this a character drama about dysfunctional marriages and generational trauma? Or a satire in which the characters have weird sex fantasies, fall in love with online extremists, and conspiracies abound?

Obviously, it’s both, and therein lies my problem.

Much of the novel feels oddly theatrical, with everyone acting just a little too strange and stylised. I spent a lot of time wondering if it was intended as parody or whether these interactions were meant to be taken at face value. The dialogue and characterisation came across as just implausible, and therefore impossible for me to believe in.

Oftentimes, I wondered if the author wanted to be funny and it just didn't land. I see it is tagged as "humour" so maybe the jokes just weren't my thing. A lot of things that happened felt exaggerated, weird and random, with a coherent explanation for motivations missing.

I never gelled with the characters, writing style, or wacky plot.

[Nancy (post-vacation catch up) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4⭐️

The title and cover gave me children’s book vibes, but that assumption couldn’t have been more off. Thankfully, a few reviews convinced me to pick it up.

This novel follows a deeply dysfunctional family whose parents, struggling to reconnect, decide to open their marriage. Meanwhile, their three daughters are each dealing with their own personal challenges. As if that’s not enough, the youngest becomes convinced she’s uncovered a criminal conspiracy unfolding in their small coastal town.

This one doesn’t fit neatly into a single genre. It’s a mix of family drama, dark humor, a bit of crime, and some genuinely heartfelt moments. The story is odd, chaotic, and a little absurd, but in a way that feels completely intentional. I really loved the ending and the positive message in that final chapter.

I really enjoyed this strong debut and will definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever she writes next.

[Marcus (Lit_Laugh_Luv) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay y'all, hear me out... Did you ever play The Simpsons: Hit & Run as a kid? This book is giving that. I loved it.

It's absurdist, so stupid (complimentary), and made me laugh out loud several times. Each member of the family has a compelling arc that culminates in them working together in some amateur vigilante sting operation to take down a corrupt billionaire. It doesn't try to be profound or sentimental, which was much appreciated as a reprieve between heavier reads.

The ending has some loose ends I would have liked to see resolved, but honestly, this was so fun and so hard to put down that it deserves a five-star rating. If you enjoyed the family dynamics of The Bee Sting with an absurdist, campy tone (like Sky Daddy, Mood Swings or Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead) then I think you'll really enjoy this. I can see this being divisive, but I'm a believer that Cash has struck some true genius in this debut!

Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC! Lost Lambs releases January 13th, 2026!

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[Michele A · Rating 1 out of 5]

Automatic “no” for me once Israel is mentioned. I actually found this somewhat entertaining until the casual Israel mention and villainization of the Muslim boyfriend. These are definitely intentional choices in today’s climate.

[nell · Rating 2 out of 5]

read this because the dysfunctional family saga sounded a little like the bee sting, which i love, but which this book is not. definitely lighter, though id have to disagree with reviews on the back claiming it’s as ‘sincere as it is funny’ (or maybe not—it’s also not that funny). just far too #quirky for me, full of characters who all speak in the same ironic snarky (distinctly american millennial) tones and children so precocious and witty that they lose all credibility as real characters. plot was a bit too ridiculous for me, and there was a lack of character development that left it all feeling pretty shallow. very readable though, and not boring.

[clara irene · Rating 0.25 out of 5]

between the blatant racism, pedophilia, human trafficking, ableism, r-word slur, casual isr*el mention, fatphobia all under the guise of (trying way too hard) to be "weird girl lit", edgy and quirky, there was really nothing left to enjoy about this. disgusting and deeply tone deaf especially considering everything going on in the world right now.
literally wtf was this? genuinely side-eyeing those who rated this highly.

this was one of my most anticipated releases as i had heard nothing but great things, so i went into this wanting to love it. so very glad i got it through my library and didn't waste money on it.

[Shannon Siuts · Rating 2 out of 5]

the lambs are lost and so am i

[taylor tippett · Rating 4 out of 5]

i loved whatever is wrong with this family

[Elena Taber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant, ridiculous, hysterical. It felt like a witty and complex episode on Bob’s Burgers.

[CJ Alberts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gen Z version of a Jonathan Franzen novel (complimentary)

[Jaime Fok · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

4.25

Why did I kind of love this? What is this story even about? We’re basically following a bunch of dysfunctional characters in a family and town that are having a collective breakdown. There is some conspiracy involved, some disturbing things happen, and then it’s tied up with an unconventional heartwarming resolution.

The writing style is so…. blunt. But I kind of love it. There’s a gimmick where the word “gnat” is inserted into other words to create deliberate spelling mistakes and I’m still not sure how I feel about that.

All the characters are terrible, but somehow I found myself caring for them 95% of the way in - while still not particularly liking them.

It’s an absurd story, but also feels like something you could actually see happening in the world or read on the news. It’s compelling, addicting, I actually read this in one sitting because it was a mess I couldn’t look away from.

So curious to see what this debut author does next!

[Liana Gold · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 unhinged daughters, two parents- all are lost lambs. This book is crazy and brilliantly NUTS.

Morally uncomfortable reads tend to be very thought provoking for me. This one particularly promises to think “holy shit”, and it clearly did. On top of that, I loved reading about dysfunctional families that are held together by a crazy glue.

Full review to follow!

[Mara · Rating 1 out of 5]

Humor? Not in the room. Satire? Where did she go? Flat characters, and cringey Islamophobic trope slop. How did this possibly get past editing? This is lazy slop dump.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately not a huge fan of this book. On one hand I enjoy stories about quirky people and dysfunctional family dynamics and relationships. That said, the writing style of Lost Lambs felt like it was trying too hard to be quirky and “out there” to me. It was hard to connect with the characters because the prose came across that Madeline Cash was setting them up to saying something clever or witty. The characters felt two-dimensional and the writing was too forced.

I also was pretty underwhelmed with the portrayal of the open marriage in this book. The open marriage was just so toxic. Sure, open marriages (and monogamous/closed marriages!) can be toxic in real life, but the way this open marriage was written didn’t seem to have too much of a point for me. If you’re going to portray a toxic open marriage I would want some type of character development, insight into the human condition, etc. even if it’s not that the characters learn how to communicate fully or be in a fully healthy relationship. All in all it’s a pass for me.

[jocelyn • coolgalreading · Rating 2 out of 5]

this started off really fun and strong but lost me at some point. also why are we still using the "r" word in the year 2026

[afra · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

You know choosing to publish a debut novel with Islamaphobia, blatant racism, sectarianism, ableism, fatphobia, use of r-word, Pro America and zi0 propaganda is entirely the author's intentional choice. While the book started off fun and genuinely humorous, I decided not to continue because it felt more like a propaganda than anything else. Problematic on many levels and disgusting.

It's pretty disappointing to see an author in 2026 writing a novel as a way for their personal prejudices and hostility instead of telling a compelling story. I won't be recommending, I didn't buy it, got it from library and so happy didnt waste even 1p on it.

[Bethany · Rating 1 out of 5]

How was a book with such blatant Islamophobia published in 2026? Definitely a calculated choice considering the political climate. A shame because this book was enjoyable for the most part.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose to listen to Madeline Cash’s Lost Lambs after reading a New York Times review that promised silly puns, rampant wordplay, ridiculous humor, satire, and an overall “madcap debut.” I was in the mood for something amusing to keep me company during mundane household chores, and this absolutely delivered.

Bud Flynn, the beleaguered patriarch of the eccentric Flynn family, once imagined himself living his best life as a punk-rock artist. Instead, he’s landed in a soul-sucking job at Alabaster Harbor as an accounts/systems manager (think: accountant-adjacent), a position so bleak it inspires the occasional fantasy of driving his minivan straight off the brink. His cannabis-loving wife, Catherine, equally disillusioned, decides the solution to their shared misery is a polyamorous marriage.

Their three daughters supply much of the comic fuel. Abigail (17) is dating a guy nicknamed “War Crimes Wes,” who happens to be the security guard for Bud’s boss. Louise (15), forever the middle child, finds companionship via a “middle child” chat room…where she connects with an Islamic fundamentalist…while also desperately wanting to win her church’s spring “Inner Beauty Pageant.” And Harper (12) is the wild card: startlingly brilliant, self-taught in more than six languages, and perpetually landing in the kind of trouble that results in wilderness camps for nonconforming children.

The Flynns aren’t the only characters worth the price of admission. Enter Mrs. Winkle, the ample church lady from Our Lady of Suffering, mother to a “special” child she named Peri, and leader of a support group called Lost Lambs. When Bud is required to join a support group, he chooses this one, and his banter with Mrs. Winkle is laugh-out-loud funny. We also meet Father Andrew, head of Our Lady of Suffering, a man whose path to the priesthood involved an unfortunate youthful incident (and a former love of French films and French women). Alas, life had other ideas.

The audiobook clocks in at just over nine hours, and it’s close to nonstop laughs. This is the kind of book where you must be game for puns and enjoy precocious, witty teens because the humor comes fast and often. Narrator Christine Lakin is phenomenal, bringing distinct voices and comedic timing to a very large cast. She’s a huge part of why the audio works so well.

If you’re looking for something fun, feel-good, and delightfully ludicrous—pure escapism from the negative energy of the day—Lost Lambs is a terrific choice.

[Aubrei K (earlgreypls) · Rating 2 out of 5]

this did nothing for me

[Nikki Misiura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m reviewing this before I finish because I just can’t let it go. Why is every word with “nat” changed to “gnat” - WHY??? For example, inclination is “inclignation” I’m assuming the author thought it was cute because the first line of the book mentions gnats in the church, but seriously? It’s like an editor realized nat was spelled wrong and just did a find/replace without actually editing.

I’m a little less than halfway through this book and it is screaming I’M TRYING TOO HARD TO BE SOMETHING I just don’t know what that something is. It isn’t funny. It isn’t edgy. It isn’t even a hot take on society. It’s just frustrating and, so far, pointless.

[AMenagerieofWords Deb Coco · Rating 1 out of 5]

Here’s another example of a book that makes me scratch my head and wonder what in the world is going on in publishing. Flat characters and absurd plot lines. There is no depth to the story and had I not been held captive on a car ride, I’d never have bothered finishing it. If this is what has become of a family drama, it’s depressing. And don’t let anyone tell you this is similar to The Bee Sting- those are fighting words. Not even close.

[Jenny Lawson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Weird, quirky, smart, funny. A fabulous character study.

[Bonnie G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If life is nothing, and death is nothing, why make a lateral move?"

This suburban satire was SOOOO GOOD. It is smart, funny, insightful, clever (almost too clever, but somehow never falls over that edge), and incredibly well written. Satire is hard, and Cash nails it. She manages to be honest about people, about flaws, and to still grant grace all over the place. I know everyone loves Tom Perotta, but I am on record as not liking his work for a variety of reasons. For me, this is what Perotta tries to do, and consistently fails. Cash loves her characters (even the delightfully evil bad guy, who is absolutely Elon Musk), but as with any true love, she loves them not despite their flaws, but including their flaws. And the flaws are gigantic ones. This is not a situation where someone picks their nose or leaves socks on the floor; this book gives us fully drawn people who don't bathe, who neglect their children. who stand by idly while children are abused (like most everyone in the Epstein files who was not actually abusing children), who are mercenaries, who facilitate domestic terrorism. Cash loves them, holds their transgressions up to the light, and revels in their absolution. Perotta cures his characters' flaws and gives them endings that could never happen, and which they rarely merit, even if they were possible.

A best of the best for me. I listened to this, and the audiobook read by Christine Lakin is almost certainly going to end up on my best narration of the year list.

[leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

a witty, original take on the family novel. felt like a mix of the bee sting and birnam wood. i really enjoyed the start of this and how everything was set up, but it did lose steam a little towards the end. i think this novel would’ve actually benefitted from being a bit longer. the character work was brilliant, i just wish each of them had their own longer segments, instead of a rush to tie everything up and get to the ending.

[Diana · Rating 2 out of 5]

another reviewer commented that this was "weird for the sake of being weird" and that sums up my feelings perfectly. it was advertised as quirky...and I was curious enough to pay money for the experience...but I definitely did not enjoy said experience. the book completely lost me when the bartender shows Catherine his collection of ceramic (vaginas). *Edit mine as the p word was used repetitively...was that to shock the readership? most of whom own one of their own? bleh

[leynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuck it, I'm raising it to five stars. I've read so many mid books since, it truly made me realise what a GREAT time I had flying through this one! I need more books like this one in my life. Asap.

***

HARPER, I WOULD DIE FOR YOU.

This book is very The Bee Sting coded but ultimately lacks in its conclusion. Nonetheless, this was still a fabulous time. I can't recall the last time I snorted this loudly from laughter whils reading a book.

[Niharika · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am, unfortunately, at that stage of being chronically online that I've learned more about this book from Substack thinkpieces than its actual marketing.