Wednesday, March 15, 2017

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan Leach- Book Review

I will state up front there is a slight problem with the marketing of this book. Since Gone Girl was so popular, every book company seems to be stating their book is "just like Gone Girl!" This book does the same and it is nothing like Gone Girl at all, but that doesn't mean it isn't a fun book.

Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach is a fun book. I want you to keep that in mind when reading this book- it is a fun book. It isn't a thriller, borders a mystery, but it is an experience filled with characters that are pretty much unlikable. The good news is they are unlikable in a good way in that they have very little morals and values, but that makes the book fun.

Ava and Zelda were twin sisters born to their mother who is a drunk and may or may not have dementia and their father, who attempted to start a winery, but abandoned the three of them for his new wife.

Ava and Zelda played lots of games as children, often bordering on torturing one another mentally. They also fought over the same guy when they were teenagers. Ava dated the guy and Zelda was jealous due to losing Ava's attention. Something happens and Ava decides to take off for France.

It is years later, when the book takes place and Zelda has died in a tragic fire where it seems like she was locked in a barn. Ava returns from France, but finds Zelda's death too much like Zelda's personality. It is also too coincidental that she died the same exact way as her namesake- Zelda Fitzgerald. Ava finds Zelda's cell phone and starts to received e-mails from Zelda, who is supposed to be dead. Ava must find out what happened to her sister, while dealing with her parents, the town she escaped, and must face the guy they fought over. Ava follows clues left by her sister to find out what happened that fateful night.

I'll go back to what I stated- this is a fun book and should be read as such. The reason being is there are plot holes everywhere, things that seem too convenient, and a reveal that will take a bit of a leap to accept. If it is read as fun, those things will not bother you as much as the story draws the reader in, the women have a unique relationship with one another, and the family problems are crazy.

The story does drag a bit, but that has to deal with the reveal, so I cannot write more on that. After the reveal, it makes a bit of sense why the story needed to drag, but it didn't help it. The book got caught in its own device.

I did enjoy the characters of Ava and Zelda. Their relationship is really what this book hangs on and the good news is it works. Ava and Zelda both love and seem to resent one another at the same time. Their relationship is complicated and not trite.

I wound up giving this one 4 stars.

Here is your Book of the Month link- Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach

You can try Book of the Month for just $9.99 a month for 3 months with a free tote.

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