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bear_reads_books's review against another edition
5.0
Despite the rushed and unsatisfying ending, I liked this book. The book I read just before this had the same basic premise. Woman is presumed dead(but maybe not!) and there's letters that person left behind to give you a feel for that missing character. Even had the extremely dysfunctional family too.
But that book was annoying whereas this one was easier to get into. So. I can forgive any problems it may have had because it was still my kind of story.
I like unreliable sometimes unlikeable characters and dark messed up stories. So yes, I would read anything else by this author and I bothered to put what passes for a review from me here so it must've been pretty alright!
But that book was annoying whereas this one was easier to get into. So. I can forgive any problems it may have had because it was still my kind of story.
I like unreliable sometimes unlikeable characters and dark messed up stories. So yes, I would read anything else by this author and I bothered to put what passes for a review from me here so it must've been pretty alright!
labunnywtf's review against another edition
4.0
If you'd pick up your goddamn phone, I wouldnt have to tell you by EMAIL that your sister is dead. There was some type of fire following one of your sisters drunken bingest, and apparently, she didnt make it out. If you leave paris tomorrow, you might make it time for the service.
And thus Ava Antipova finds out that her identical twin sister, Zelda, has died. Two years after they last saw each other, after she ran away from her dysfunctional family life, her alcoholic parents, her mother's deteriorating health, her sister's unforgivable betrayal. Ran away and never looked back. Until now.
But Ava's not buying it. She knows Zelda as well as she knows herself, and something's not right here.
And then the e-mails start arriving.
I wasn't sure how to take this book at first. I thought from the premise it would be fall under suspense/thriller, though this is certainly not your typical heart-pounding, pulse-racing event. From the start, you don't know at all what's going on. Guesses are made, people are suspects. Did Ava do something? Did Zelda piss off the wrong people? Why is the ex-boyfriend so interested in hanging around and helping out?
Above all else, what is wrong with this family? These people are awful, no wonder the twins grew up to be completely fucked up.
The pieces click into place so cleanly in this story. You don't end up with a "Wait, what?" where you have to flip back through chapters to find out where this connection originated. Nothing's heavy handed, nothing's left with loose ends dangling in the wind.
This is such a clean, crisp, brilliant story. Even if you realize what's going on, what the real truth is behind Zelda, you still won't see the ending fully coming.
It's really quite the incredible read.
Received via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review
And thus Ava Antipova finds out that her identical twin sister, Zelda, has died. Two years after they last saw each other, after she ran away from her dysfunctional family life, her alcoholic parents, her mother's deteriorating health, her sister's unforgivable betrayal. Ran away and never looked back. Until now.
But Ava's not buying it. She knows Zelda as well as she knows herself, and something's not right here.
And then the e-mails start arriving.
I wasn't sure how to take this book at first. I thought from the premise it would be fall under suspense/thriller, though this is certainly not your typical heart-pounding, pulse-racing event. From the start, you don't know at all what's going on. Guesses are made, people are suspects. Did Ava do something? Did Zelda piss off the wrong people? Why is the ex-boyfriend so interested in hanging around and helping out?
Above all else, what is wrong with this family? These people are awful, no wonder the twins grew up to be completely fucked up.
The pieces click into place so cleanly in this story. You don't end up with a "Wait, what?" where you have to flip back through chapters to find out where this connection originated. Nothing's heavy handed, nothing's left with loose ends dangling in the wind.
This is such a clean, crisp, brilliant story. Even if you realize what's going on, what the real truth is behind Zelda, you still won't see the ending fully coming.
It's really quite the incredible read.
Received via Netgalley in exchange for a fair and unbiased review
moonystwin's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
plannerandpaper's review against another edition
3.0
** A Copy of Dead Letters was provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review **
Just a quick browse of the reviews before I post mine makes me wonder if we even read the same book. I found that this book was slow to start, the use of big "uncommon" words made it some work to read and the plot didn't make me want to keep picking up my Kindle.
I'm well read, but the use of the larger words made it that I had to keep pausing to define to make sense of the sentence; then re-reading the sentence to figure out the context of what was going on, was a put-off for me. It felt like at times there was a larger word used when really the simpleness of using "family" (for example) would've sufficed. When I read I like to enjoy it, I make sure I carve out time during my busy schedule to read, and I felt like with the beginning of this book I had to work to read it.
The plot really didn't start to get interesting to me until the 80% in mark. Then I wanted to know what Zelda was really up to, how this was all going to pan out and have some dramatic twist that I REALLY didn't see coming.. and then it didn't. I'm not sure I felt/saw the suspense during the entire book, it wasn't a huge climax at the end, it was rather lack luster and kind of how I saw it ending.
I hate giving books a 2, because I feel like there are always good things you can find in a book, something you enjoyed, but for me this one fell flat. I also hate that this is the first book I received from NetGalley and I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping to. Maybe I'm missing something.. If I did, let me know!
Just a quick browse of the reviews before I post mine makes me wonder if we even read the same book. I found that this book was slow to start, the use of big "uncommon" words made it some work to read and the plot didn't make me want to keep picking up my Kindle.
I'm well read, but the use of the larger words made it that I had to keep pausing to define to make sense of the sentence; then re-reading the sentence to figure out the context of what was going on, was a put-off for me. It felt like at times there was a larger word used when really the simpleness of using "family" (for example) would've sufficed. When I read I like to enjoy it, I make sure I carve out time during my busy schedule to read, and I felt like with the beginning of this book I had to work to read it.
The plot really didn't start to get interesting to me until the 80% in mark. Then I wanted to know what Zelda was really up to, how this was all going to pan out and have some dramatic twist that I REALLY didn't see coming.. and then it didn't. I'm not sure I felt/saw the suspense during the entire book, it wasn't a huge climax at the end, it was rather lack luster and kind of how I saw it ending.
I hate giving books a 2, because I feel like there are always good things you can find in a book, something you enjoyed, but for me this one fell flat. I also hate that this is the first book I received from NetGalley and I didn't enjoy it as much as I was hoping to. Maybe I'm missing something.. If I did, let me know!
fieldsc77's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
cbneary's review against another edition
5.0
I know I say this a lot but, a new favorite!! Loved, loved, loved this book!
readersretreat's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I will read other books from this Author
redrecluse's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoy this book, once I finally finished it. Took me some time because of life and the story getting a little slow about a quarter in, but the ending, while not being what I thought it would be was very touching and I’m glad to have read it.
italportugirl's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to love this book, and it was definitely looking like I would.
More of a classic murder mystery than a clear cut thriller, Dead Letters follows Little Ava Antipova as she discovers whether or not her identical twin sister, Z is for Zelda, is actually dead.
It was definitely a page turner with exciting clues, but I struggled to connect with any of the characters. The author pulled me in right from the beginning and kept me interested, which I attribute to her writing style. Since thrillers and murder mysteries are my favorite genre, I thought I knew where the story was going, but I was wrong in the end.
Though a quick and entertaining read, I closed the book with a very incomplete feeling and was definitely wishing for more. 3 stars.
More of a classic murder mystery than a clear cut thriller, Dead Letters follows Little Ava Antipova as she discovers whether or not her identical twin sister, Z is for Zelda, is actually dead.
It was definitely a page turner with exciting clues, but I struggled to connect with any of the characters. The author pulled me in right from the beginning and kept me interested, which I attribute to her writing style. Since thrillers and murder mysteries are my favorite genre, I thought I knew where the story was going, but I was wrong in the end.
Though a quick and entertaining read, I closed the book with a very incomplete feeling and was definitely wishing for more. 3 stars.