Dead Letters

A Novel

De: Caite Dolan-Leach

Narrado por: Jorjeana Marie

A missing woman leads her twin sister on a twisted scavenger hunt in this clever debut novel with eccentric, dysfunctional characters who will keep you guessing until the end—for readers of Luckiest Girl Alive and The Wife Between Us.

Ava has her reasons for running away to Paris. But when she receives the shocking news that her twin sister, Zelda, is dead, she is forced to return home to her family’s failing vineyard in upstate New York. Knowing Zelda’s penchant for tricks and deception, Ava is not surprised when she receives her twin’s cryptic message from beyond the grave. Following her sister’s trail of clues, Ava immerses herself in Zelda’s drama and her outlandish circle of friends and lovers, and soon finds herself confronted with dark family legacies and twisted relationships. Is Zelda trying to punish Ava for leaving? Or is she simply trying to write her own ending? Caite Dolan-Leach’s debut thriller is a literary scavenger hunt for secrets hidden everywhere from wine country to social media, and buried at the dysfunctional heart of one utterly unforgettable family.

Praise for Dead Letters

“Dolan-Leach writes like Paula Hawkins by way of Curtis Sittenfeld.”—Amy Gentry, author of Good as Gone

“A sharp, wrenching tale of the true love only twins know . . . Dolan-Leach nimbly entwines the clever mystery of Agatha Christie, the wit of Dorothy Parker, and the inebriated Gothic of Eugene O’Neill.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A smart, dazzling mystery . . . Dolan-Leach revels in toying with both Ava and her audience . . . and the result is captivating.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Draws you in like you are part of the story itself, living and breathing alongside the compelling characters as they uncover the dark secrets of their complicated family.”—Wendy Walker, author of All Is Not Forgotten

“Push-pull tension . . . This book is wine-soaked yet lucid, comforting and frightening, asking the big questions about intimacy and loyalty.”—Caroline Kepnes, author of You

Reseñas de la Crítica

“[Caite] Dolan-Leach writes like Paula Hawkins by way of Curtis Sittenfeld.”—Amy Gentry, author of Good as Gone

“A sharp, wrenching tale of the true love only twins know . . . Dolan-Leach nimbly entwines the clever mystery of Agatha Christie, the wit of Dorothy Parker, and the inebriated Gothic of Eugene O’Neill.”—Kirkus Reviews

“A smart, dazzling mystery . . . Dolan-Leach revels in toying with both Ava and her audience . . . and the result is captivating.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Draws you in like you are part of the story itself, living and breathing alongside the compelling characters as they uncover the dark secrets of their complicated family.”—Wendy Walker, author of All Is Not Forgotten

“Push-pull tension . . . This book is wine-soaked yet lucid, comforting and frightening, asking the big questions about intimacy and loyalty.”—Caroline Kepnes, author of You

“Dolan-Leach’s clever thriller explores the fraying ties that bind twin sisters. . . . Readers will enjoy this full-bodied novel about a family of vintners.”—The New York Times Book Review

“The disappearance of Ava’s wild-child twin is just the beginning of this roller-coaster read that’s as enthralling as it is WTF?!”—Cosmopolitan

“[An] atmospheric debut.”—Entertainment Weekly (“The Must List”)

“We do love a good mystery, and Dolan-Leach’s debut novel is a prime example of the form. . . . Dead Letters centers around the most dysfunctional of families, and reading it feels like embarking on a literary scavenger hunt that you never want to end.”—Nylon

“Dolan-Leach’s debut reads like an Agatha Christie novel set in a world with internet access. . . . The action unfolds with a kind of playful theatricality and cleverness that is totally and utterly engrossing.”—i-D (Vice)

“Considering questions of identity, loyalty, and reliance, Dolan-Leach’s tautly crafted crime debut will resonate with fans of Gillian Flynn’s and Paula Hawkins’s domestic psychological thrillers.”—Booklist

“Dolan-Leach’s debut is a smart, dazzling mystery with a twist that not only shines a new light on the novel’s title but also leaves the reader hunting for the next clue. Dolan-Leach revels in toying with both Ava and her audience, placing small hints and red herrings throughout her text, and the result is captivating.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“A smart and twisty thriller that will keep you guessing right up to the ending.”—PopSugar

Amazing

kept you guessing, could not stop listening!! The authors voice is a little annoying at first but you get past that. great great book

Two thumbs up

Going into this you're going to think the story is overshadowed by excessive alcohol use. It's almost like alcoholism is the main character and the people are secondary characters. Bit stick with it because it all makes sense in the end.

The narrator is good. She has a great voice with good pacing.

Excellent Mystery

Challenging read reflecting family dynamics and surprising outcome. Well written incorporating higher level vocabulary and wit. Strongly recommend.

An ending that I was not expecting.

Any additional comments?

I LOVED this book. This family was crazy and I was captivated from the beginning. I was shocked by the ending. I really wanted it to be true. I wont say what I wanted to be true because I don't want to give it away.

Annoyed

The narrator was very good. I did enjoy the first half of the book. The story got a little tedious. The ending was tepid. I was reading this book for book club and I await the opinions of the other members..

Intriguing

This captured my interest and kept twisting eveytime I thought I had it figured out.

Puzzle pieces

I don’t normally write my comment, but this story I really liked. I like puzzles and this one kept me hanging for the next puzzle piece.

Pretty good!

Would you listen to Dead Letters again? Why?

My only gripe was that the narrator mispronounced town and lake names in NY! Some were subtle, others were jarring...

Wanted to Like It, Could Not

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. Although it started out somewhat interesting, the main "mystery" reveal became very obvious very fast and the characters were so strange and unlikeable that I couldn't' discern or relate to any of their motives. I didn't care what happened to any of them. But, since it was an audiobook, I continued to let it play on a long car ride. Had I been forced to quit 3/4 of the way through and never hear the end, I wouldn't have cared at all. Throughout the book I dreaded what I was afraid the ending would be, but it was actually worse than I expected. The book spent its bulk creating what seemed like a mystery (but is in fact a very strange, implausible and completely unrealistic series of events) and then tried to explain all its characters motives in the last chapter. But, by that time, I was so exhausted of the silly game and awful people that I just didn't care. And even if one happened to somehow like one of the characters, I do not think the attempted explanation of what they did in the book would be understandable or satisfying to that person.

Would you be willing to try another book from Caite Dolan-Leach? Why or why not?

No - the entire too-clever tone of the book and lengthy emails between the characters which attempted to be cute and intelligent did not intrigue me. Further, the overall style of the mystery (which wasn't) and unlikable characters does not make me a fan or give me confidence that I would enjoy future titles from this author.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Made the characters seems more mature and in line with their ages. They seemed very young and immature - almost as though I was hearing an adult attempt baby talk.

Could you see Dead Letters being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No. Unless the characters could be infused with some redeeming qualities and/or their motivations could be discerned and related to. I have no idea why any of them did anything they did in they book, even after the author's attempt to bring it all together at the end.

Interesting Read

The narrator had a pleasant voice and made it easy to listen to the story. The story was sad throughout and I was lead down the wrong path until the final pages. The reasin I didn't give this book 5 stars were there were some unanswered questions at the end that bothered me. Otherwise, I recommend the book.