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Joanna is a journalist with a demanding job and fresh out of a failed relationship when she is assigned to cover the funeral for a famous actor. While at the funeral she meets an elderly woman who sends her a letter which begins a series of events that could absolutely ruin the Royal family. Joanna's investigating is fraught with danger as she gets closer to finding the truth. A secret that the Royal family will do anything to hide. This title was originally published as Seeing Double and is published in the US and Canada as The Royal Secret .* And just when I thought Riley’s books couldn’t get any better, this one comes along! I was somehow under the impression that Riley had only written one mystery novel but to me this was more exciting and suspenseful than The Murders at Fleat House! I can already tell this is a story I will remember for a long time.
Ansonsten muss ich echt meinen Hut vor Lucinda Riley ziehen, da sie es meisterhaft geschafft hat den Leser immer wieder im Dunkeln zu lassen und es gab für mich unendlich viele unvorhersehbare Plottwists. Auch die Gefühle blieben hier nicht zu kurz und ich konnte mit allen Charakteren total mitfühlen und mitfiebern. 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. The Love Letter is the latest historical crossed with romance and thriller elements from saga queen Lucinda Riley. Originally published in 1998, as Seeing Double, it received fairly mediocre reception twenty years ago. Conditions of the time and the main storyline crux, which is closely linked to the British monarchy, contributed to this book’s downfall. Now, twenty years later and due to the success of The Seven Sisters series, along with seven other well received saga novels, Lucinda Riley has provided The Love Letter (aka Seeing Double) with another chance. Gal kiek keista, bet svarbiausia knygoje ne meilė. Daugiau dėmesio, čia skiriama draugystei, pasiaukojimui ir žinoma, paslaptims. Drąsai kapstytis ten, kur draudžiama. Drąsai nutraukti santykius, kurie neturi ateities ir duoti sau antrą šansą.⠀
Nesunkiai įsivaizduoju šią knygą, virstančią filmu. Slaptosios tarnybos, grubiai glaistomos paslaptys, herojiškas pasiaukojimas - didžiąjame ekrane atrodytų neblogai 🎬 ⠀ Ich weiß gar nicht was ich zu diesem Buch sagen soll... Ich hatte ja mit vielem gerechnet, aber nicht mit dem, was ich hier bekommen habe. Bisher kenne ich nur die Sieben-Schwestern-Reihe der Autorin (und mag sie auch sehr!), aber das hier war was ganz anderes. It was interesting to see Lucinda Riley take on quite a different format with The Love Letter. There is much more of an emphasis on action, thrills, adventure, espionage and deceit. It marks a different direction for Lucinda Riley and I enjoyed it very much. Who would have thought that the contents of a letter written seventy years ago would be so explosive! Lucinda Riley lets us know. And the ending? Well, it was tied up neatly, but for me it was just a touch too unbelievable ! Okay. You just relax and try to get some sleep,' she soothed him, her hand stroking his forehead. 'The doctor will be here soon.'
Reading the opening author’s note was rather enlightening. The Love Letter has had an interesting road to publication and re-publication. Originally published as Seeing Double in 1998, it seems this novel did not receive a great first reaction from readers and publishers alike. Riley uses the climate at the time in Britain and the themes of the book, which are closely tied to the monarchy. I can see this as being an issue, as I did live in the UK at this very point in time. There was no confidence in the monarchy and public opinion was at an all time low, following the tragic death of the Princess Diana. Riley has patiently sat on her novel and has now re-released her book to a very different audience and perhaps a more receptive climate. The popularity of the modern royals, the release of the award winning Crown series and the time that has passed since Princess Diana’s death may help to re-energize The Love Letter.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. He knew he mustn't go to sleep. He closed his eyes, desperately searching, searching . . . snatches of memories, faces . . . I absolutely adored the characters in this book. Zoe, Marcus and Joanna being my favourites but really the whole cast was an incredible mix of personalities. What was most interesting was seeing how various characters developed through the course of the book…some for better and some for worse 🤐 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. 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.
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. Das einzige was mich nicht zu 100% überzeugen konnte war das Ende, auch wenn ich die Auflösung echt gelungen fand. Ein paar Prämissen/Ergebnisse waren mir dann doch etwas zu drüber.Set in London in 1995, this book starts off when Sir James Harrison passes away. He was one of the greatest actors of his generation. During his funeral, a lot of people gather, considering how impactful he was. Among them, one old woman, that sits alone in the crowd… The Love Letter is mysterious from the very beginning, when Joanna meets the old lady. Little does she know that she will be involved with keeping a very dangerous secret that happened many moons ago. Things start to get very interesting when the reporter gets close to the actor’s family. Each of these individuals keeps their own little secrets too, and everyone keeps playing games to their own liking. The Love Letter takes you to a very different set of culture, and reading this in 2020, I could easily notice it is set in 1995. There are many small things in the book that happen, which reminded me that time has passed since, and I really enjoyed that. It has been a while since I have read something over two decades ago. 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. The plot meanders through the lives of numerous characters that are weaved together in varying degrees of success and interest. Unfortunately, the narrative soon becomes convoluted with extraneous side plots which left me feeling like I never quite connected to the story or characters. I strongly believe the book could have benefited with a hearty edit because it loses much of its impact due to its excessive length. The plot, that had its compelling moments, unfortunately concluded with story lines becoming more and more far-fetched, making this book fall into the 'just an okay read' pile for this reader.
The story line, in my opinion, was faultless. It had so many twists and turns and around the half way mark it becomes a very fast-paced read! There was (LOTS!!) danger and mystery but also a lot of love in many forms. It was the perfect balance and such a unique story, as all of Riley’s books are! 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. 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 Sir James left behind, the contents of which have been desperately concealed for over seventy years. 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.In the end, this was a decent read with good intrigue that held my interest in varying degrees but, ultimately not as engaging as I had hoped. Readers who enjoy a bigger tale with lots of characters and are willing to accept a neat and tidy ending, will probably enjoy this book more than I did. Setting is always Riley’s strength. In all of her novels the setting has a strong presence. The Love Letter is situated mainly in London in 1995. This is a time and place I know very well and I thought Riley nailed it. A sense of nostalgia washed over me as I read this novel. I really enjoyed the historical moments that were delicately woven through this set piece.
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