REVIEWS+

The Last Letter from Your Lover

by Jojo Moyes
Pamela Dorman: Viking. Jul. 2011. 416p. ISBN 9780670022809. $26.95. CD: Penguin Audio.
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S.J. Watson's Before I Got To Sleep. Alice LaPlante's Turn of Mind. Protagonists with failed or fading memories are all the rage. In this latest from British novelist/journalist Moyes, Jennifer Stirling awakens with no memory from a terrible accident. Then she finds a letter fervently begging her to abandon her husband and run away with the writer, identified only as "B." Decades later, a journalist named Ellie discovers the letter in her newspaper's file and determines to solve the mystery and bring together the long-lost lovers—all while landing a front-page story. The word unputdownable figures prominently in the British raves.
Jennifer Stirling, recovering from a car crash that almost killed her, suffers from amnesia. Nothing feels familiar, her friends seem like strangers, and as she begins to suspect that her marriage is a sham, she discovers a mysterious letter from a lover whose identity she can't remember. She knows him only as "B." What follows is an engrossing saga of love found then lost, crossed paths, and missed opportunities. This romantic tale bounces between the present and the past, examining the depths of love and the decisions made while in its throes. Although portions of the plot are somewhat predictable (the loyal secretary secretly in love with her boss) and the premise a tad unlikely, none of this matters because the reader will be drawn in by the characters, the time period (the early 1960s), and the multilayered story.
VERDICT British journalist/novelist Moyes's (Horsedancer) latest book is the perfect read for those who enjoy a more serious romance as well as a British turn of phrase ("darling, be a dear and fetch me another drink"). Reminiscent of Janice Y.K. Lee's The Piano Teacher (but with more likable characters) or Jamie Ford's The Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, it will appeal to fans of those titles. [See Prepub Alert, 1/17/11.]—Julie K. Pierce, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., FL
Reviewed by Julie K. Pierce , Feb 15, 2011
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