Title: Letters from StrangersAuthor: Susan Walter
Published by: Lake Union Publishing on May 27, 2025
Genres: General Fiction, Mystery/Thriller
Pages: 310
Format: ARC, Paperback
Source: Firefly Distributed Lines
Book Rating: 9/10
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.
Review:
Compelling, engaging, and heartfelt!
Letters from Strangers is an immersive, moving tale that takes you into the lives of two main characters. Jane, a young woman who, while grappling to come to grips with the sudden death of her father, has her world turned upside down when she stumbles across a bunch of letters that shatter her illusion of him, and Adam, a teenage boy who is stuck in a downward mental spiral due to his conflicting feelings about familial expectations, his emerging sexuality, and the facts surrounding his adoption.
The prose is sensitive and sincere. The characters are vulnerable, troubled, and consumed. And the plot is a captivating tale of life, loss, family, grief, friendship, self-discovery, revelations, strained relationships, and forgiveness.
Overall, Letters from Strangers is a hopeful, tender, heart-tugging tale by Walter that reminds us that families are complicated and messy, the choices we make often have far-reaching consequences, and secrets often find their way to the surface no matter how well they’re hidden.
This novel is available now.
Pick up a copy from your favourite retailer or from one of the following links.
Thank you to Firefly Distributed Lines for gifting me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
About Susan Walter
Susan Walter is the author of Good as Dead and Over Her Dead Body. She was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. After being given every opportunity but failing to become a concert violinist, Susan attended Harvard University. She had hoped to be a newscaster, but the local TV station had different ideas and hired her to write and produce promos instead. Seeking sunshine and a change of scenery, she moved to Los Angeles to work in film and television production. Upon realizing writers were having all the fun, Susan transitioned to screenwriting, then directing. She made her directorial debut with the film All I Wish starring Sharon Stone, which she also wrote.
