Letters to the Lost book review

Do you believe in fate? Sometimes I want to. I want to believe that we all walk some path towards... something, and our paths intertwine for a reason. Like this, the way we've found each other. The way you told me the right story when I so desperately needed to hear it.

The reason I fell in love with reading is because it allowed me to be in someone else’s shoes with a completely different life for a few hours a day until I finished the book.

Yesterday I finished 'Letters to the Lost' by Brigid Kemmerer. When I picked it up from WHSmith I was drawn to it and just had to buy it; I know you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover but in this case, I’m glad I did. Once I started reading it, I didn’t want to put it down, but parallel to that feeling of wanting to find out what happens, the feeling that you don't want it to end is equally as strong. 

I won't spoil anything but it is an incredibly moving and well-crafted book. I love the way the Kemmerer writes from two different perspectives and in different forms. The two protagonists, Juliet and Declan appear to be complete polar opposites but as the book progresses, more and more about them is revealed and it shows that there is more to people than what meets the eye.

Here's the blurb:

‘Juliet Young has always written letters to her mother. Even after her mother’s death, she leaves letters at her grave. It’s the only thing that helps Juliet cope.

Declan Murphy is the kind of tough guy you wouldn’t want to cross. But while on community service doing landscaping at the local cemetery, he is haunted by ghosts of his own past.

When Declan finds a letter left beside a grave, he can’t resist writing back. Soon, he is sharing his pain with a perfect stranger… Except they’re not strangers, and when real life interferes with their secret life of letters, Juliet and Declan discover truths that might tear them apart.’

One of my favourite moments from the book is when Declan is given the poem 'Invictus' by his English teacher to read. He is drawn to the poem and 'can't stop reading it'.

"Under the bludgeonings of chance, my head is bloody but unbowed." In other words, life has a solid right hook, but it's not going to take me down.

I would definitely recommend ‘Letters to the Lost’. It is such a captivating read with a moving story line, which captures the essence of life after you lose someone and the emotions that come that.

The last sentence of the book was perfect, but I still wanted to know more (as with every good book you read). I looked on the authors website and found out that the sequel 'More than we can tell' is released in March 2018 and tells (Declan's best friend) Rev's story. So there's two recommendations. Enjoy!