Today I’m talking about the first novel from Caite Dolan-Leach, called Dead Letters which was published earlier this month through Corvus Books.
The thriller, Dead Letters tells the story of Ava Antipova and her search for the truth following the suspected death of her twin sister Zelda. She receives a rather blunt email from her mother telling her that her sister has died after a drunken binge, and that if Ava is lucky she should just get back from her home in Paris in time to say her final goodbyes.
Ava leaves her French boyfriend Nico behind and returns home to the family vineyard, she’s looking for answers but will also need to face a few truths from the past. She hasn’t spoken to her sister Zelda since she left two years before but she can’t quite believe that her sister is really dead.
Ava has to face her mother who’s suffering from a form of dementia, and her estranged father, all three of them like a glass or two of wine a little too much. There are demons to be faced all round. It appears that Zelda may have been murdered, as a body was found inside the burned remains of the locked barn but something doesn’t ring true for Ava.
Then the fun begins as it appears that Zelda has left her sister a trail via letters and emails, the trail will run from A is for Ava, to Z is for Zelda. Will they lead to the truth? Will Zelda be found alive? There are twists and turns as Ava comes face to face with the boyfriend who betrayed her with her twin, Wyatt. The two work together, through the Dead Letters to find out what exactly has happened to Zelda.
I haven’t been totally captivated by Dead Letters, I wanted to know what had happened to Zelda, but I wasn’t really grabbed by the various characters in the book. It’s a good read, but for me, not a gripping read, if that makes sense.
I’d still be interested to read the author’s next novel though and I’ve included my Amazon Affiliate link below so you can make up your own mind.
Disclosure: we were sent the item mentioned in exchange for an honest review
