A parents' open marriage. Three daughters rebelling in their own quirky ways. A nefarious billionaire scheming a plot for the local town. After her July book club pick featuring professor and author Lea Ypi's memoir, Free, of growing up in communist Albania, Dua Lipa turns the focus to a novel by an American writer satirizing the American nuclear family and the glories of capitalism. This month, the Service95 book club will read Madeline Cash's debut novel, Lost Lambs.
Dua Lipa's August Book Club Pick Is a Must-Read About Open Marriages, Vast Conspiracies and Terrorist Pen Pals
What do you do about a character called "War Crime Wes"?
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Published Aug 7, 2026
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Cash spins a dizzying story about a couple, Catherine and Bud Flynn, who decide to open up their marriage. Meanwhile, their daughter Abigail is dating a man who goes by War Crime Wes, middle child Louise has a secret online terrorist pen pal and youngest daughter Harper is being sent to wilderness reform camp. Looming over the family and their small town is billionaire shipping magnate Paul Alabaster. Harper eventually uncovers a criminal conspiracy that has the power to tear the Flynns apart—or bring them back together.
"It’s got everything: a dysfunctional family, a bloodthirsty billionaire, conspiracy theories, online radicalization, an infestation of gnats and, at its heart, a search for identity and meaning," Lipa wrote in the caption announcing the pick. "Madeline writes at full volume—reading Lost Lambs can feel like scrolling an overstimulating social feed. But she keeps sight of the tenderness at the heart of the Flynn family and, hidden among the drama, is a lot of truth about connection and why it matters."
Lost Lambs is Cash's debut novel, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux and selected as a Book of the Month pick earlier this year. It was also a New York Times Book Review editors’ choice selection, in addition to being a finalist for the Barnes & Noble Discover Prize. In an interview with Literary Hub, Cash revealed that she wrote the novel over the course of a year while working as a copywriter at Jack in the Box. She recently wrapped her second book, with details forthcoming.
