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Most of us grew up playing with the kids in the neighborhood and enjoying time with our families. But Letters from the Dead by Isabella Valeri explores the life of a girl who was raised with old world privilege and great expectations.
The story begins on a grand estate in the Alps, where the youngest daughter of a European dynasty has spent her entire life, never experiencing the modern culture of the outside world. She’s generally ignored by her parents—unless being presented to wealthy friends—but she’s built a special bond with her grandfather, the family’s patriarch. Just as she begins to learn more about the dark side of her family’s history, though, she’s sent away in the middle of the night to live under an assumed name at a boarding school in the States—exiled from her family.
This first novel in an epic family saga follows the nameless character through several life-altering months and through her years of exile in the United States. It’s a story of secrets and intrigue—of grand balls and deadly rivalries. But it all feels surprisingly distant.
For much of the story, the character is a young girl, growing up on the estate with a sweet, timid brother with a love of music and a calculating oldest brother—the heir to the family’s wealth and power—who seems to become more ruthless and violent on every visit home from boarding school. But, with the encouragement of her grandfather, she learns more about the world’s history—and maybe a little bit about her family’s place in it. But while there are hints of secret societies and family intrigue in the early parts of the story, they’re just hints—and the pacing of this long, drawn-out opening to the story tends to drag.
Once the character arrives in the States, however, things speed up—to the point where a decade goes by in a surprisingly short time. Yet when things begin to come together—when the main character reconnects with her family—it all feels anticlimactic. It’s clear that the author is building up to something dark and dangerous—but she spends nearly 500 pages in a rather reserved and disconnected setup, only to end on a cliffhanger just as it’s getting to the good part.
While Letters from the Dead sets up an intriguing story, readers may struggle to wade through the historical details and family drama and hints of something darker. And though they’ll want to find out what happens to the character, they may not want to work through another lengthy read for the final payoff.
Listen to the review on Shelf Discovery:
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