The Lost Ticket

In Sampson’s amiable latest (after The Last Chance Library), bookkeeper Libby Nichols is thrown a curveball by her live-in boyfriend and boss. Simon, declaring their life has become too “predictable,” dumps Libby, putting her out of a job. She moves from Surrey to London to help her sister with childcare in exchange for a place to live. On Libby’s first day in the city, she meets Frank, an elderly man who’s been riding the bus for 60 years looking to reconnect with the woman of his dreams. She had written her name and number on a bus ticket, which Frank lost, and he’s spent his days since looking for her. Libby teams up with Dylan, a mohawked punk and Frank’s caregiver, to search for the red-haired woman of Frank’s memory as his dementia worsens. Joining in the search are quirky characters whose lives Frank has touched over the years and who want to pay him back. In the meantime, Simon resurfaces with surprises of his own and Libby has to decide what she wants out of her life. Despite some predictable turns and beats, there’s plenty of tension. This will keep readers turning the pages. Agent: Hayley Steed, Madeleine Milburn Literary. (Aug.)