Thank you to Netgalley/Brilliance Publishing for the ALC and to the author for the advanced copy of Letters from Strangers in exchange for my honest opinion.
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing / Brilliance Publishing
Published: May 27, 2025
Summary:
From the creator of the 2017 film All I Wish comes the heartbreaking story of two strangers searching for the truth about their families—and discovering a secret that will change their lives forever.
Jane’s father is far from perfect. But his sudden death brings crushing grief. As Jane grapples with her pain, life delivers another blow … a stack of letters pointing to a secret life. A life her father shared with another woman…who may have had his child.
Across the country, sixteen-year-old Adam is self-destructing. His adoptive parents never intended to show him the unsigned letters from his birth mother, but he is desperate for answers, even if they hurt.
Jane and Adam are on a collision course, but not for the reasons we might suspect. Because the letters do not tell the whole story. What is true is that Adam and Jane are both looking for a woman who does not want to be found.
A family saga spanning two decades, this emotional story explores how good things can grow from the ashes of old scars.
My thoughts:
I am always in awe when an author I love is able to switch lanes and do it well. That is exactly what Susan Walter does with her lately book and I’m telling you, I’ll read anything she writes!
Already a big fan of her thrillers, when she reached out to me about this new book – a book she might have told me about in an IG LIVE we did a while back – I didn’t hesitate to say yes. While this book is more of a personal story, it deals with family secrets and who doesn’t love reading about that? What I wasn’t expecting was the emotional punch this book packs, the emotional depth we get following the characters on the journey they take discovering what they need to during this story. I cried, I laughed, I hurt for these characters…and I finished the book with such a level of contentment.
I alternated between the print and audio so as to not have to stop reading at any point and all I will say is either format works for this story. The audio is narrated by three new-to-me narrators – Selah Victor, Eddie Lopez and Monique Plante – all who did a great job bringing this story to life.
I cannot recommend this book enough. A twisty family drama filled with complex characters, this is one story that will be staying with me for quite some time!
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