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The Lost Queen
Hidden clues in a mysterious opera manuscript suggest the whereabouts of a long-disappeared opera singer.
What do a champagne socialist opera director, an albino diva, a one-eyed journalist, a professor of economics, and two elderly Hungarian cancan dancers with ties to the French Resistance have in common? They are all searching for Clara.
In 1992, opera singer Clara vanishes from an airport in Cape Town. Eight years later, her husband Gareth declares her dead in absentia. But when an anonymous opera manuscript — The True Abduction of Helen — arrives at a struggling punk opera company in Berlin, it seems to hold cryptic clues to Clara’s fate.
As unlikely allies unite to uncover the mystery, they must confront a difficult If they find Clara, how will it change their fragile lives? More importantly, how can they put her story on the stage?
The Lost Queen is a gripping tale of love lost, hope renewed, and the search for truth that will leave you questioning what it means to be truly found.
What do a champagne socialist opera director, an albino diva, a one-eyed journalist, a professor of economics, and two elderly Hungarian cancan dancers with ties to the French Resistance have in common? They are all searching for Clara.
In 1992, opera singer Clara vanishes from an airport in Cape Town. Eight years later, her husband Gareth declares her dead in absentia. But when an anonymous opera manuscript — The True Abduction of Helen — arrives at a struggling punk opera company in Berlin, it seems to hold cryptic clues to Clara’s fate.
As unlikely allies unite to uncover the mystery, they must confront a difficult If they find Clara, how will it change their fragile lives? More importantly, how can they put her story on the stage?
The Lost Queen is a gripping tale of love lost, hope renewed, and the search for truth that will leave you questioning what it means to be truly found.
344 pages, Paperback
Published March 24, 2026
About the author
Heidi von Palleske
5 books70 followersHeidi von Palleske is an actor and an activist as well as a writer. As a film actor she is best known for her work in the Feminist Western, Bordello, and her breakout movie Dead Ringers.
Her favourite authors include: Robertson Davies, Milan Kundera, Jane Urquhart, John Irving, Michael Ondaatje, Peter Susskind and Lauren B. Davis.
Heidi continues to balance both careers as a writer and as an actor.
https://www.heidivonpalleske.com/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0902794/
Her favourite authors include: Robertson Davies, Milan Kundera, Jane Urquhart, John Irving, Michael Ondaatje, Peter Susskind and Lauren B. Davis.
Heidi continues to balance both careers as a writer and as an actor.
https://www.heidivonpalleske.com/
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0902794/
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 30, 2026
Interesting story… not quite what I was expecting. Much more about family and relationships than about the actual “mystery” of Clara’s disappearance.
I enjoyed the mysticism - Hilda was a favourite character among the cast of many.
It’s too bad about the cover - it really is not very appealing at all. I get how it relates to the story but I fear this title won’t get the readership that it deserves on account of the off-putting cover.
I enjoyed the mysticism - Hilda was a favourite character among the cast of many.
It’s too bad about the cover - it really is not very appealing at all. I get how it relates to the story but I fear this title won’t get the readership that it deserves on account of the off-putting cover.
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February 27, 2026In the lost Queen, Heidi von Palleske creates a world paralleling myth within the frame of the tangible reach of the everyday. She brings a poet's sensitivity with language, an experienced actor's instinct for the immediacy of the voices of her characters, and the structure and timing of an accomplished novelist to the reader.
From The Lost Queen:
"Blanca wanted to believe that her mirror image really was her twin, that the face staring back at her was not hers but the face that belonged to the other half of her soul. she reached out her hand and placed it on the cool glass of the mirror, touching her reflection. "I'll find you Clara. I'll find you""
She writes of loss with poignant immediacy. Her characters search through reflections—clear, distorted, or fractured—to uncover what has been missing, forgotten, or deliberately erased, creating a world where memory is both labyrinth and oracle.
Her dialogue in The Lost Queen, has the depth of lived experience, and her many seamlessly woven characters—larger than life yet unmistakably human—carry their histories, their journeys, their burdens and collisions in convergence in ways we see parallels of ourselves
From The Lost Queen:
"Blanca wanted to believe that her mirror image really was her twin, that the face staring back at her was not hers but the face that belonged to the other half of her soul. she reached out her hand and placed it on the cool glass of the mirror, touching her reflection. "I'll find you Clara. I'll find you""
She writes of loss with poignant immediacy. Her characters search through reflections—clear, distorted, or fractured—to uncover what has been missing, forgotten, or deliberately erased, creating a world where memory is both labyrinth and oracle.
Her dialogue in The Lost Queen, has the depth of lived experience, and her many seamlessly woven characters—larger than life yet unmistakably human—carry their histories, their journeys, their burdens and collisions in convergence in ways we see parallels of ourselves
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Thank you NetGalley and Severn House for the eARC.
A beautiful, lyrical book, with writing that is magical at times. It's about loss, redemption and an opera that hints at a way to find one of a couple of twins, who disappeared in South Africa years ago. Her twin has been heartbroken ever since. The story is full of unique characters you'll remember for a long time.
A beautiful, lyrical book, with writing that is magical at times. It's about loss, redemption and an opera that hints at a way to find one of a couple of twins, who disappeared in South Africa years ago. Her twin has been heartbroken ever since. The story is full of unique characters you'll remember for a long time.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
DNF 70%
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews