"THE LOST CONSPIRACY," by Frances Hardinge, Harper, 576 pages, $16.99 (f)

The baby girl Arilou (her name means the sound of an owl's call) changed the Lace village's prospects.

She replaced the retired Lady Lost as oracle, sighted-one, the pivot which Gullstruck depended upon for their livelihood.

But what if the child Lady Lost was not who she claimed to be? How will the Lace attract tourists that pay well for their visits with the powerful mystic?

Is there an "Arilou secret" — a conspiracy?

Arilou is a voiceless presence, an untrained child managed by the younger sister, Hathin, who "keeps invisible walls around those things that could not be discussed."

It is Hathlin who "translates" and hides the secret — the conspiracy — from the outside world that Airlou doesn't speak or profess. She is one of the many children born to the Lace with the capacity of an imbecile.

When two official inspectors arrive to authenticate Arilou's powers, Hathin secretly obtains the answers to the test that will be given: sight, sound, taste, touch.

The fate of the Lace is in jeopardy when one inspector dies unexpectedly and the other supposedly washes out to sea.

Under suspicion and trying to cover the secrets, the Lace flee to an island labyrinth as authorities and the Ashwalker (those who care for the mounds of ashes from cremation) search for the truth.

"The Lost Conspiracy" is both epic in length and in dignified poetic language. The author's descriptions of the island, the villages and the traditions that the people hug to their very core provide powerful images.

Some are so startlingly vivid they require a second reading to appreciate the lilt and rhythm of the language.

The memorable characterization of the islanders whose conversations waft from Nundetruth (the colonial language) to Doorsay expected in universities, schools, doctor's offices and speech in well-bred homes, will leave lasting impressions on the reader.

These are perpetually smiling people showing their jewel-studded teeth. They reflect larger-than-life attributes as well as otherworldly senses loosely tethered to their bodies, like a "hook on a fishing line."

"He could let them out, then reel them in and remember all the places his mind had visited. Most Lost could move their sense independently, like snails' eyes on stalks. Indeed, a gifted Lost might feel the grass under their knees, taste the peach in your hand, overhear a conversation in the next village and smell cooking in the next town, all while watching barracudas dapple and flit around a ship-wreck 10 miles out to sea."

The conclusion discloses the answer to the question of Arilou and Hathin's conspiracy, and readers will perhaps wonder if there isn't a sequel about this remarkable island people.

e-mail: marilou.sorensen@att.net