Book review: The Letter

My name is not uncommon in my part of the world and quite often I meet new people who share my name. What would you do if you stumble across a letter written to another person with your name? Would not that pique your curiosity? Would you consider that a coincidence or a divine interference? Follow Tina’s story in The Letter to find what she does when she faces such a situation.

Book Name: The Letter
Author: Kathryn Hughes
Genre: Fiction – Romance;
Characters: Tina and Rick Craig. William Lane, Billy Stirling and Chrissie Skinner
Setting: Manchester, The United Kingdom

The story begins with a young girl asking her grandmom about how she met her husband.

In the 1970s Tina Craig suffers through her abusive marriage with Rick, her violent and negligent husband. She has already once tried to get away from him but ended up being pregnant when he raped her. Against all the good judgments of her friends, she continues to stay with him.

Tina works at a charity shop where she comes across a letter in one of the coats that were given away. She realizes the letter was never unposted and the curiosity gets the better of her. She opens the letter the written by Billy to his girlfriend Chrissie in the 1940s.

Billy and Chrissie are young, star-crossed lovers from the pre-WW-II era. He writes a letter to Chrissie apologizing for his behaviour when she tells him that she was pregnant earlier that day and asks her to marry him. Tina’s heart flutters when she reads Billy’s letter and wonders what had happened to them and why the letter was never posted.

The LetterIntrigued by the coincidence that she got a letter written to another Christina, her full name, from an earlier period, Tina sets on a mission to find out the story behind the letter. She meets William who has set out from the USA, to find out his biological parents. How and where does their story unite? Did Tina get away from Rick? Read The Letter to know more.

The story alternates between the voices of Tina, Billy, and Chrissie quite smoothly. The writing is set in a heartwarming tone with a tinge of poignancy – the kind that would leave you feeling mushy even after you finish reading it. I found The Letter on the Amazon top charts a while ago.

I loved the first part of The Letter involving Tina and her abusive husband Rick, as I always do. But the parts that followed let me down badly, maybe it is due to the plot’s credibility itself, you know too many coincidences and the predictability of the so-called twists.

The Letter is a story of two women and men they chose to love, separated by three decades, connected by the power of written words. If you were a Nicholas Spark lover, you might love The Letter.

Have you read The Letter? If so, what do you think of the book? would you want to read it? Share your thoughts. As always I love talking about books with you in the comments.

24 Comments

  1. Christine

    This sounded great, but I don’t think I will check it out since you didn’t like how it came out in the end. Thanks for another wonderful review!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I had such great expectations as well.

      Reply
  2. Eline

    It’s no secret that I’m a romance reader but I really don’t like the Nicholas Sparks kind. Too melodramatic I think. Would you say this one is melodramatic?

    Reply
  3. Jennifer

    I get books that are fantastic and end horribly. That’s a disappointment. Sorry this one was not fun to read.

    Reply
  4. Whispering Stories

    Pity it wasn’t amazing and didn’t end well. Great review,

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I think the reading was worth it anyway, despite the ending.

      Reply
  5. Gayathri

    I hope you get to read this one.

    Reply
  6. Tasha

    Great review. This sounds like an interesting read.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      It is, you should try it sometime.

      Reply
  7. Jo Linsdell

    I don’t mind predictable if the story is well told. Sounds like this is a good read.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      I like that too.

      Reply
  8. Megan @ Ginger Mom

    Wow! This is on my list now. What a book!! Sounds so romantic 🙂

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      It is definitely romantic. The ending was an absolute Happily-Ever-After kind.

      Reply
      • Megan @ Ginger Mom

        Oh that’s so good! I can’t wait to read it 🙂

        Reply
        • Gayathri

          It was a pretty intense read, you might enjoy it too.

          Reply
  9. The Book Recluse Review

    Interesting read. I haven’t heard of it before. I will have to check it out.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      Pl do, it is interesting indeed.

      Reply
  10. empressdj

    This sounds emotionally intense – I wants it

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      No wonder it was on the Amazon top charts for weeks together.

      Reply
  11. terriluvsbooks

    It’s too bad it didn’t end as well as it started. I like reading books with multiple POV so I might have to check out this one.

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      The ending was predictable but it is worth a read for sure.

      Reply
  12. Jenn @ Bound to Writing

    What a cute love story. I think I would really enjoy this one. Great review!

    Reply
    • Gayathri

      You should try this Jen.

      Reply

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Gayathri

Gayathri

Gayathri has been reviewing books since 2010. When she is not reading books or creating online content, she works as a writer and a digital marketer. Head over to meet me!