Tina is in a loveless abusive marriage, desperate to escape. She buries herself in a treasure hunt, will she find the treasure? Who knows? What is the treasure? A wartime love story.

Tina’s story is not the only one filled with adversity. So is Billy’s as his love for a woman who loves him back is destroyed through his own doing. Billy’s story is a stark reflection of life as WWII breaks out.

These two lives were never meant to met but by chance Tina starts on a journey to find the writer of the letter left in a coat pocket for many years.

The Letter is a heartbreaking novel. A novel about love, hate and betrayal. It’s a delightful story of love and second chances. Despite The Letter not being my usual read, I was gripped by the dual timelines, intrigued by the letter Tina found. I think I went through every emotion as I followed Billy and Tina around. It’s wonderfully written – I will be reading more from Kathryn Hughes!

I am very very late in reading this, I was lucky to get this in paperback and ebook.
My thanks to HEADLINE for my copy.

As the title predicts, this is all based on a letter, but, do not be mislead, its much more indepth than that.

Cast your mind back to 1970's and life back then. Tina worked in a charity shop, and as you sort through garments donated you need to search in pockets to make sure there is nothing in there.
Tina did just that on a regular basis but this time, she found something.

On closer inspection its a letter dated from the 1940's from a man named Billy to the love of his life Chrissie. Except this letter still had the stamp on it, it had never been posted.

The background of Tina is that she is married, but she is in an abusive relationship.
That's why you need to cast your mind back, there were things around that could help in situations like this if a woman needed it, but not as vast or as common as today.
We see though how she stayed with her husband and why. Regardless of what we as a reader might think or feel.

She decides to find the recipient to this letter, Chrissie. Is she still alive.
What she does not know is, she has now put herself in utter danger. There is more to this than meets the eye.

Going back in time, Billie and Chrissie meet, its the follow up to the war. They fall in love, in this letter Billie reveals the reasons.


What reasons and for what?

You will see.

The heartache was captured brilliantly and the abusive relationship was spot on of its era, done with a lot of insight I thought.

Thank you Headline for supplying me with a great read.