The Love Letter by Lucinda Riley, narrated by Camilla Rockley

EXCERPT: It was the morphine turning his brain to jelly. Tomorrow he’d have none, and then he’d remember what it was he must do before he died.
‘Okay. You just relax and try to get some sleep,’ she soothed him, her hand stroking his forehead. ‘The doctor will be here soon.’
He knew he mustn’t go to sleep. He closed his eyes, desperately searching, searching . . . snatches of memories, faces . . .
Then he saw her, as clear as the day he’d first met her. So beautiful, so gentle . . .
‘Remember? The letter, my darling,’ she whispered to him. ‘You promised to return it . . .’

ABOUT ‘THE LOVE LETTER’: 1995, London. When Sir James Harrison, one the greatest actors of his generation, passes away at the age of 95 he leaves behind not just a heartbroken family but also a secret so shocking, so devastating that it could rock the English establishment to its core.

Joanna Haslam is an ambitious young journalist assigned to cover the legendary actor’s funeral. The great and the good of the celebrity world are there.

But Joanna stumbles on something dark beneath the glamour: the mention of a letter James Harrison has left behind, the contents of which others have been desperate to conceal for over 70 years.

As she peels back the veil of lies that has shrouded the secret, she realizes that there are other forces attempting to prevent her from discovering the truth. And they’ll stop at nothing to reach the letter before she does.

MY THOUGHTS: The Love Letter took a bit more for me to become fully immersed in than is normal for this author. At first I thought the storyline very similar to The Angel Tree, which I had just finished. But then the story took a turn that I wasn’t expecting, and everything changed.

The Love Letter is a sweeping novel that encompasses secrets, murder, treachery, love, lies, and questions of identity and loyalty spread over two timelines – the period immediately before and after George VI coming to the throne, and 1995 when actor Sir James Harrison dies without fulfilling a promise he had made many years earlier.

A blend of thriller, drama and romance involving MI5, the royal family, an acting dynasty and a young investigative reporter eager to make a name for herself, Lucinda Riley seems to have added a new dimension to her writing with the Love Letter, not entirely successfully in my honest opinion.

The narrative doesn’t flow as smoothly as it should and I had some problems with the ending where I was required to suspend my belief and just go with the flow. It then finishes on a bit of a cliffhanger which, in this case, I enjoyed.

Despite my reservations regarding the choppy nature of the narrative at times, I did enjoy this read, although not to the same extent as other titles I have read by Riley. The Butterfly Room remains a clear favourite.

Camilla Rockley is a superb narrator. I don’t think this particular cover does the book justice.

⭐⭐⭐.7

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#historicalfiction #mystery #romance #thriller

THE AUTHOR: Lucinda Riley is an Irish author of popular historical fiction and a former actress. She spent the first few years of her life in the village of Drumbeg near Belfast before moving to England. At age 14 she moved to London to a specialist drama and ballet school. She wrote her first book aged twenty four. Lucinda died in June 2021.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Waitomo District Library for the loan of the audiobook The Love Letter by Lucinda Riley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

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