Letters to the Lost

April 15, 2015

Escaping her abusive boyfriend, Jessica Moran takes refuge as a squatter in a long-abandoned London house where the next morning a letter addressed to a Mrs. S. Thorne is dropped through the slot. Upon opening the letter, she learns that the writer is an American ex-serviceman who is making a last valiant attempt to find his lost English love, whom he has not seen in 70 years. Inspired by this passionate and urgent letter and her own curiosity, Jess vows to find Stella and bring these lost souls together if at all possible. VERDICT Grey's engaging, poignant, and romantic debut treats readers to an absorbing story within a story. Her detailed narrative chronicles the lives of these intriguing characters while fluidly traveling from past to present. The author's subtle depictions of social and moral intolerances of the past and the gentle hand of fate that guides this tale makes her novel an excellent choice for fans of Beatrice Williams (Overseas; A Hundred Summers), Jon Clinch (The Thief of Auschwitz), and Kristina McMorris (Bridge of Scarlet Leaves).--Debbie Haupt, St. Charles City-Cty. Lib. Dist., MO

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 1, 2015
Grey's engaging debut is set in rural WWII England and the present day as Londoner Jess Moran flees from her abusive boyfriend and finds refuge in a small, long-abandoned cottage. When a letter is delivered, she impulsively opens it and discovers that an elderly American, Dan, in failing health, is writing to find a past love from more than 70 years earlier. This sets Jess on a mission to uncover the mystery behind Dan's association with the house, which turns the story back to the early 1940s, when Stella is wed to a solemn vicar, Charles. After he leaves his young bride for a mission in Africa, she encounters Dan, a B-17 bomber pilot, and they embark on a passionate and complicated affair. Stella is torn between her love for Dan and her duties as a wife, while Dan is in perpetual fear that his latest mission will be his last. Grey alternates between the past and Jess' efforts to reunite the two lovers in a true race against time in this captivating tale of love and love lost.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)