2021 Book Review #3:The Girl in the Letter

 

I've discovered a new author who is excellent at writing a fast-paced mystery novel with a bit of loosely interwoven historical events. This was a really great book!  It's the author's debut novel. She is British and lives in England with her family.

STORY SUMMARY

In 1956, when Ivy Jenkins, 19 years old and pregnant, unmarried, is sent to St Margarets Home for Unwed Mothers, she believes all will be well and she will take her baby home.  But reality sets in.The Mother Superior, Sister Carlin, is a monster. She forces the girls to work long hours with little to eat. Ivy's baby is born.  Her baby, whom she named Rose, is taken away from her and given up for adoption.  Ivy is forced to sign the papers. Ivy commits suicide after helping a little girl, Elvira, age 8, escape through the tunnels under the house. Elvira had been adopted but the family brought her back to the home.  Some children who were born with special needs live in the attic.  Elvira lives there too. On the night Ivy kills herself, Elvira waits in the graveyard by the Catholic church and sees her twin sister whom she has never met.  Kitty Cannon has come to  church alone out of obligation because her dad is with her mother at the hospital.  Her mother, who adopted Kitty from St Margarets, is dying of kidney disease. Kitty sees Elvira and they realize they are twins. Elvira hides while Kitty attempts to go get help.  But only one of them makes it out.  

In 2017, Samantha (Sam) Harper is a journalist who is desperate to land a good story. She is separated from her husband Ben, and they have a little girl named Emma who is 4 yrs old.  Sam and Emma are living with Sam's Nana.  Grandfather died a few years ago and left some strange letters that Sam begins to read.  They are  the letters from Ivy to her baby's father, Alastair.  Sam is now pulled into this tragic piece of history.  She decides to try to find out what happened at St Margarets. While she does so, she begins to uncover many unexplained deaths that are linked to Ivy and her baby. However, St Margaret's is about to be torn down to make way for a housing development! Sam only has a few hours to piece together what really happened.   It's a 60 year old mystery and it begins with her own Nana and a famous daytime talk show host Kitty Cannon. But is Kitty really who she says she is?? And how is Dr Jacobson and Father Benjamin involved in these crimes?? Because Sam uncovers a slew of crimes and they all center around the Mother Superior, the priest, and the doctor of St Margaret's Home.

MY THOUGHTS

This is one well done mystery novel!

It's told by two very distinctive voices:  Sam's and Ivy's for the most part.  It's incredible how the author opens in 1956 but then fast forwards to 2017. The entire book is told in both time periods but she makes it easy in that each chapter has as its title, the day and date/year.  It keeps the confusion down.  

I started doing a little research on my own to see if this story was true. It isn't.  It's definitely fiction but the author has notes at the end stating that she based the story loosely on real life events in England:  apparently the Catholic Church did run homes for unwed mothers and did force  girls to give up their babies for adoption.  There was also trials used on real children with drugs.  These children have never been compensated for the crimes committed against them and the Catholic Church has never been held accountable nor have the nuns!! The girls were also abused and forced to do slave labor at many of these homes.  The author took liberty with the facts of course to make this piece of fiction but it's so shocking because it is based on truth. 

The character development is exquisitely done.  I fell in love with Elvira the little girl but then of course the plot take a twist and ......I don't want to ruin it for you so I won't reveal what that twist is.  I did guess at a couple of things and I was correct, but it is so well written that it really isn't all that predictable.  There are some wonderful surprises.

The only thing I didn't like was that we never learn what happens with Fred and Sam. I find that sad.  We do learn that Sam and Ben end up getting a divorce.  I just wish we knew where Fred went after he helped Sam solve the mystery. (Fred is one of Sam's colleagues at the newspaper). 

Having the book mainly set in the bleakness of winter is a great addition to this story. 

It's a very emotional read.

I plan on looking for the author's next book titled The Lost Girl.

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.