Letters to my Daughter's Killer by Cath Staincliffe

E-book: Out Now
Paperback: Published 17 July
Published by: Little Brown Book Group UK
Purchase from Amazon

The Blurb:

Grandmother Ruth Sutton writes to the man she hates more than anyone else on the planet: the man who she believes killed her daughter Lizzie in a brutal attack four years earlier. Ruth's burden of grief and hatred, has only grown heavier with the passing of time, her avid desire for vengeance ever stronger. In writing to him Ruth hopes to exorcise the corrosive emotions that are destroying her life, to find the truth and with it release and a way forward. Whether she can ever truly forgive him is another matter - but the letters are her last, best hope.

Letters To My Daughter's Killer exposes the aftermath of violent crime for an ordinary family and explores fundamental questions of crime and punishment. How do we deal with the very human desire for revenge? If we get justice does reconciliation follow? Can we really forgive those who do us the gravest wrong? Could you?

My Review:

Wow! Letters to my Daughters Killer grabbed me from the opening page, and didnt let me go again until the very last. A exceptional book full of raw emotion and grief. I cannot begin to describe how moved I have been whilst reading this book. It will live with me for a long time to come.

The book tells the story of a Mother, Ruth, whose daughter has been murdered. The story is told through a series of letters to the man Ruth believes murdered her daughter Lizzie. As a reader I was led through the brutal murder scene, the arrest of the suspect, the trial, and the aftermath which questions whether life can ever get back to normal after something so horrific. I don't really want to tell you too much more about the plot as I feel it would ruin it for you as a reader.

I felt that I connected with Ruth almost immediately. The book is so skilfully written that I really felt that I was in Ruth's world, and could strongly feel the emotions that she seemed to be feeling, I felt like throughout the book I was going through all the stages of grief with her. I felt very connected to the characters and hated seeing the pain they were going through.

I am often a fast reader but found myself slowing down to really absorb what was happening, and the story felt so realistic that I felt like I had to read slowly out of a sort of weird respect to those involved, which is odd as it is purely a work of fiction.

Cath Staincliffe has created a book which really took me on an emotional roller coaster ride. She has tackled some very strong and serious subjects in a very tasteful manner. It certainly has me thinking and I think it has the potential to do wonders in raising a wanes of these serious and sensitive themes.

I am still feeling angry at the person who committed the crime and still feel sad beyond words for Ruth and the other main character of the book (who will quickly become clear once you start reading). She is an incredibly talented author to be able to write a book with such power and such a deep and strong subject. Using letters was to me ingenious as it made me feel like the depth of hatred and pain were even stronger. I could imagine sitting there and pouring out all these emotions on paper, I am a big letter writer myself too.

I would highly recommend this as a must read. Powerful, extremely moving, and thought provoking. I think this book will stay with the reader long after the last page.