Dead Letters
Hey all!
So I just finished "Dead Letters" by Caite Dolan-Leach and had to post my review ASAP! I have a soft spot in my heart for debut novels and seeing where the authors go from there, so I was really anticipating this one since I had read the synopsis on Amazon.
This was my March pick from Book of the Month Club (if you haven't subscribed to them, do so). Book of the Month club is a monthly box that you get a book of your choice and a cool bookmark with a little teaser as to why it was chosen. Super cool. I'm obsessed. Even though my TBR (to be read) pile is growing rapidly with all of these amazing titles being released, I felt obligated to finish this before April 1st approaches and I have to chose my next read. Here is my honest review...
Plot:
A missing woman leads her twin sister on a twisted scavenger hunt in this clever debut novel that will keep you guessing until the end—for readers of Gone Girl and The Girl Before.
“Ahoy, Ava! Welcome home, my sweet jet-setting twin! So glad you were able to wrest yourself away from your dazzling life in the City of Light; I hope my ‘death’ hasn’t interrupted anything too crucial.”
Ava Antipova has her reasons for running away: a failing family vineyard, a romantic betrayal, a mercurial sister, an absent father, a mother slipping into dementia. In Paris, Ava renounces her terribly practical undergraduate degree, acquires a French boyfriend and a taste for much better wine, and erases her past. Two years later, she must return to upstate New York. Her twin sister, Zelda, is dead.
Even in a family of alcoholics, Zelda Antipova was the wild one, notorious for her mind games and destructive behavior. Stuck tending the vineyard and the girls’ increasingly unstable mother, Zelda was allegedly burned alive when she passed out in the barn with a lit cigarette. But Ava finds the official explanation a little too neat. A little too Zelda. Then she receives a cryptic message—from her sister.
Just as Ava suspected, Zelda’s playing one of her games. In fact, she’s outdone herself, leaving a series of clues about her disappearance. With the police stuck on a red herring, Ava follows the trail laid just for her, thinking like her sister, keeping her secrets, immersing herself in Zelda’s drama and her outlandish circle of friends and lovers. Along the way, Zelda forces her twin to confront their twisted history and the boy who broke Ava’s heart. But why? Is Zelda trying to punish Ava for leaving, or to teach her a lesson? Or is she simply trying to write her own ending?
Featuring a colorful, raucous cast of characters, Caite Dolan-Leach’s debut thriller takes readers on a literary scavenger hunt for clues concealed throughout the seemingly idyllic wine country, hidden in plain sight on social media, and buried at the heart of one tremendously dysfunctional, utterly unforgettable family.
Review:
So, I really, really wanted to love this. The plot was there. The messed up characters were there. The mystery was there. Plus, I had a super crush on the character of Wyatt Darling (with a name like that, who wouldn't?)
I was really sucked into this novel with the first few chapters and found myself eager to read and reveal more with this twisted novel of family secrets and a set of twins with a sordid past.
While I admire the work and the planning that came into this one, I found myself somewhat confused multiple times as there wasn't much of a transition between present day and the stories of the past. I was frustrated a few times when something would be revealed and then it kind of dipped into more revelations from the past and just wanted to know more of what exactly Zelda was up to and if she was really dead.
That being said, as much as I struggled with this for the first 200 pages, I did come to really enjoy this one. I guess I wanted more suspense and more thrilling aspects as this turned out to not be what I thought it was going to be. Sometimes, you find yourself reading a mystery or thriller that has a bit of heart to it and this was the opposite. This was a heartfelt story of two sisters divided with some mystery and suspense built in. It's definitely a character driven novel.
Then the ending happened. I was left shattered, confused, angry, and thoroughly shocked. I didn't see it coming at all. Usually when I read, I come up with a few theories and sometimes I'm close. This was not one of those endings.
So, all in all, I wasn't a huge fan of this until the ending. With an ending like that and then the final lines, this is definitely a novel that will stick with me for a while. Truly a solid debut with an incredibly shocking ending. My advice: check this out for a beach read or when you just need an escape and take it for what it is.
I'm so glad I got to dive into this one and experience one hell of an ending.
Rating: 3.5/5
So I just finished "Dead Letters" by Caite Dolan-Leach and had to post my review ASAP! I have a soft spot in my heart for debut novels and seeing where the authors go from there, so I was really anticipating this one since I had read the synopsis on Amazon.
This was my March pick from Book of the Month Club (if you haven't subscribed to them, do so). Book of the Month club is a monthly box that you get a book of your choice and a cool bookmark with a little teaser as to why it was chosen. Super cool. I'm obsessed. Even though my TBR (to be read) pile is growing rapidly with all of these amazing titles being released, I felt obligated to finish this before April 1st approaches and I have to chose my next read. Here is my honest review...
A missing woman leads her twin sister on a twisted scavenger hunt in this clever debut novel that will keep you guessing until the end—for readers of Gone Girl and The Girl Before.
“Ahoy, Ava! Welcome home, my sweet jet-setting twin! So glad you were able to wrest yourself away from your dazzling life in the City of Light; I hope my ‘death’ hasn’t interrupted anything too crucial.”
Ava Antipova has her reasons for running away: a failing family vineyard, a romantic betrayal, a mercurial sister, an absent father, a mother slipping into dementia. In Paris, Ava renounces her terribly practical undergraduate degree, acquires a French boyfriend and a taste for much better wine, and erases her past. Two years later, she must return to upstate New York. Her twin sister, Zelda, is dead.
Even in a family of alcoholics, Zelda Antipova was the wild one, notorious for her mind games and destructive behavior. Stuck tending the vineyard and the girls’ increasingly unstable mother, Zelda was allegedly burned alive when she passed out in the barn with a lit cigarette. But Ava finds the official explanation a little too neat. A little too Zelda. Then she receives a cryptic message—from her sister.
Just as Ava suspected, Zelda’s playing one of her games. In fact, she’s outdone herself, leaving a series of clues about her disappearance. With the police stuck on a red herring, Ava follows the trail laid just for her, thinking like her sister, keeping her secrets, immersing herself in Zelda’s drama and her outlandish circle of friends and lovers. Along the way, Zelda forces her twin to confront their twisted history and the boy who broke Ava’s heart. But why? Is Zelda trying to punish Ava for leaving, or to teach her a lesson? Or is she simply trying to write her own ending?
Featuring a colorful, raucous cast of characters, Caite Dolan-Leach’s debut thriller takes readers on a literary scavenger hunt for clues concealed throughout the seemingly idyllic wine country, hidden in plain sight on social media, and buried at the heart of one tremendously dysfunctional, utterly unforgettable family.
Review:
So, I really, really wanted to love this. The plot was there. The messed up characters were there. The mystery was there. Plus, I had a super crush on the character of Wyatt Darling (with a name like that, who wouldn't?)
I was really sucked into this novel with the first few chapters and found myself eager to read and reveal more with this twisted novel of family secrets and a set of twins with a sordid past.
While I admire the work and the planning that came into this one, I found myself somewhat confused multiple times as there wasn't much of a transition between present day and the stories of the past. I was frustrated a few times when something would be revealed and then it kind of dipped into more revelations from the past and just wanted to know more of what exactly Zelda was up to and if she was really dead.
That being said, as much as I struggled with this for the first 200 pages, I did come to really enjoy this one. I guess I wanted more suspense and more thrilling aspects as this turned out to not be what I thought it was going to be. Sometimes, you find yourself reading a mystery or thriller that has a bit of heart to it and this was the opposite. This was a heartfelt story of two sisters divided with some mystery and suspense built in. It's definitely a character driven novel.
Then the ending happened. I was left shattered, confused, angry, and thoroughly shocked. I didn't see it coming at all. Usually when I read, I come up with a few theories and sometimes I'm close. This was not one of those endings.
So, all in all, I wasn't a huge fan of this until the ending. With an ending like that and then the final lines, this is definitely a novel that will stick with me for a while. Truly a solid debut with an incredibly shocking ending. My advice: check this out for a beach read or when you just need an escape and take it for what it is.
I'm so glad I got to dive into this one and experience one hell of an ending.
Rating: 3.5/5
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