About the Book
A missing woman leads her twin sister on a twisted scavenger hunt in this clever debut novel with eccentric, dysfunctional characters who will keep you guessing until the end--for readers of Luckiest Girl Alive and The Wife Between Us.
Ava has her reasons for running away to Paris. But when she receives the shocking news that her twin sister, Zelda, is dead, she is forced to return home to her family's failing vineyard in upstate New York. Knowing Zelda's penchant for tricks and deception, Ava is not surprised when she receives her twin's cryptic message from beyond the grave. Following her sister's trail of clues, Ava immerses herself in Zelda's drama and her outlandish circle of friends and lovers, and soon finds herself confronted with dark family legacies and twisted relationships. Is Zelda trying to punish Ava for leaving? Or is she simply trying to write her own ending? Caite Dolan-Leach's debut thriller is a literary scavenger hunt for secrets hidden everywhere from wine country to social media, and buried at the dysfunctional heart of one utterly unforgettable family. Praise for Dead Letters
"Dolan-Leach writes like Paula Hawkins by way of Curtis Sittenfeld."--Amy Gentry, author of Good as Gone
"A sharp, wrenching tale of the true love only twins know . . . Dolan-Leach nimbly entwines the clever mystery of Agatha Christie, the wit of Dorothy Parker, and the inebriated Gothic of Eugene O'Neill."--Kirkus Reviews
"A smart, dazzling mystery . . . Dolan-Leach revels in toying with both Ava and her audience . . . and the result is captivating."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Draws you in like you are part of the story itself, living and breathing alongside the compelling characters as they uncover the dark secrets of their complicated family."--Wendy Walker, author of All Is Not Forgotten
"Push-pull tension . . . This book is wine-soaked yet lucid, comforting and frightening, asking the big questions about intimacy and loyalty."--Caroline Kepnes, author of You
About the Author :
Caite Dolan-Leach is a writer and literary translator. She was born in the Finger Lakes region and is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin and the American University in Paris. Dead Letters is her first novel.
Review :
"[Caite] Dolan-Leach writes like Paula Hawkins by way of Curtis Sittenfeld."--Amy Gentry, author of Good as Gone "A sharp, wrenching tale of the true love only twins know . . . Dolan-Leach nimbly entwines the clever mystery of Agatha Christie, the wit of Dorothy Parker, and the inebriated Gothic of Eugene O'Neill."--Kirkus Reviews
"A smart, dazzling mystery . . . Dolan-Leach revels in toying with both Ava and her audience . . . and the result is captivating."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Draws you in like you are part of the story itself, living and breathing alongside the compelling characters as they uncover the dark secrets of their complicated family."--Wendy Walker, author of All Is Not Forgotten
"Push-pull tension . . . This book is wine-soaked yet lucid, comforting and frightening, asking the big questions about intimacy and loyalty."--Caroline Kepnes, author of You
"Dolan-Leach's clever thriller explores the fraying ties that bind twin sisters. . . . Readers will enjoy this full-bodied novel about a family of vintners."--The New York Times Book Review
"The disappearance of Ava's wild-child twin is just the beginning of this roller-coaster read that's as enthralling as it is WTF?!"--Cosmopolitan
"[An] atmospheric debut."--Entertainment Weekly ("The Must List")
"We do love a good mystery, and Dolan-Leach's debut novel is a prime example of the form. . . . Dead Letters centers around the most dysfunctional of families, and reading it feels like embarking on a literary scavenger hunt that you never want to end."--Nylon
"Dolan-Leach's debut reads like an Agatha Christie novel set in a world with internet access. . . . The action unfolds with a kind of playful theatricality and cleverness that is totally and utterly engrossing."--i-D (Vice)
"Considering questions of identity, loyalty, and reliance, Dolan-Leach's tautly crafted crime debut will resonate with fans of Gillian Flynn's and Paula Hawkins's domestic psychological thrillers."--Booklist
"Dolan-Leach's debut is a smart, dazzling mystery with a twist that not only shines a new light on the novel's title but also leaves the reader hunting for the next clue. Dolan-Leach revels in toying with both Ava and her audience, placing small hints and red herrings throughout her text, and the result is captivating."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A smart and twisty thriller that will keep you guessing right up to the ending."--PopSugar
"[Caite] Dolan-Leach's clever thriller explores the fraying ties that bind twin sisters. . . . Readers will enjoy this full-bodied novel about a family of vintners."--The New York Times Book Review
"The disappearance of Ava's wild-child twin is just the beginning of this roller-coaster read that's as enthralling as it is WTF?!"--Cosmopolitan "Ava, the star of this atmospheric debut, isn't convinced her calculating twin sister, Zelda, is really dead--especially after she starts getting enigmatic emails from Zelda's account, propelling her on a complicated hunt for the truth."--Entertainment Weekly ("The Must List")
"We do love a good mystery, and Dolan-Leach's debut novel is a prime example of the form. . . . Dead Letters centers around the most dysfunctional of families, and reading it feels like embarking on a literary scavenger hunt that you never want to end."--Nylon
"Caite Dolan-Leach's debut reads like an Agatha Christie novel set in a world with internet access. . . . The action unfolds with a kind of playful theatricality and cleverness that is totally and utterly engrossing."--i-D (Vice)
"Considering questions of identity, loyalty, and reliance, Dolan-Leach's tautly crafted crime debut will resonate with fans of Gillian Flynn's and Paula Hawkins's domestic psychological thrillers."--Booklist
"Dolan-Leach's debut is a smart, dazzling mystery with a twist that not only shines a new light on the novel's title but also leaves the reader hunting for the next clue. Dolan-Leach revels in toying with both Ava and her audience, placing small hints and red herrings throughout her text, and the result is captivating."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"[Dead Letters] is a suspense novel about the closeness of twins and about the clever games they play upon each other, even after one of them dies--or does she? I enjoyed its cleverness and was absolutely swept up in the treasure hunt feel, which is also a cover for still gaping emotional wounds the narrator thinks she can escape but, in fact, has no chance of doing. So far, it's my favorite crime debut of 2017, and it will take a lot to change this."--Sarah Weinman, The Crime Lady blog
"A smart and twisty thriller that will keep you guessing right up to the ending."--PopSugar
"Every page of Dead Letters is flush with push-pull tension; it's an incredibly well-crafted high stakes scavenger hunt of emotional wounds, asking the big questions about intimacy and loyalty. I love this book on so many levels. We are so lucky that this debut novelist chose to shine her light on that most inescapable, infuriating dichotomy: Are you a good girl or a bad girl?"--Caroline Kepnes, author of Hidden Bodies and You
"In this, her startling debut novel, Dolan-Leach nimbly entwines the clever mystery of Agatha Christie, the wit of Dorothy Parker, and the inebriated Gothic of Eugene O'Neill. A sharp, wrenching tale of the true love only twins know."--Kirkus Reviews
"Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach is a perfectly orchestrated cat-and-mouse thriller that will keep you guessing until the very last chapter. This beautifully written novel draws you in like you are part of the story itself, living and breathing alongside the compelling characters as they uncover the dark secrets of their complicated family. Dead Letters unfolds with meticulous precision. Not to be missed!"--Wendy Walker, author of All is Not Forgotten
"An exceptionally smart debut, Dead Letters by Caite Dolan-Leach is about estranged twin sisters playing a deadly cat-and-mouse game on their family's upstate New York vineyard, turning up long-buried family secrets, hidden terrors, and a tantalizing love triangle--a story that kept me guessing and compulsively turning pages to reach its surprising and very satisfying end."--Carla Buckley, author of The Good Goodbye
"Dead Letters is a masterful debut with the taut seductive magic of a classic mystery. Through a daring game of hide-and-seek, Dolan-Leach charts the intricate secrets of a family and the escalating consequence of small betrayals to explore the question: How well can we ever really know those we love? Harrowing, revelatory, brilliantly alive."--Dawn Tripp, author of Georgia
"Newcomer Caite Dolan-Leach shows us just how close twin sisters can be--and how shockingly far apart. With near-perfect plotting and an ear for the complicated lives of clever women, Dolan-Leach writes like Paula Hawkins by way of Curtis Sittenfeld."--Amy Gentry, author of Good as Gone
"A clever and compelling mystery that will keep you guessing until the end."--Laura McHugh, author of The Weight of Blood and Arrowood
"This absorbing debut is billed as literary suspense, which is exactly right; the language is smart and polished and the plot is one big, intriguing chase."--Library Journal
