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During the present day in Canada, Martha's father has died, and she and her sister discovered that he had intended to travel to England, after not having set foot there in over seventy years. There is a stack of curious letters and proof that he booked a hotel and rented a beach hut there. Also, Martha's daughter Janey is attending school in England. For those two reasons, Martha finds herself on a plane. Between her curiosity about her father and the fact that her relationship with her daughter is quite difficult, these travel plans are a must. It does not take Martha long to begin to piece together her father's past, and she learns so much about the war through these facts. However, it does take quite some time to settle the rift between herself and her daughter.

In 1940s Norfolk, England, Sylvie's husband has gone to war, leaving her with two children to raise alone. She has just discovered that she was willed a beach house near her parents' home and develop a strong friendship with Connie, a woman she met on the beach. Secrets are shared, and lives are forever changed.

The Lost Letters had a bit of a slow start for me. But with the plan that Sylvie and Connie set in motion seeming quite risky, and the history of how war affected the lives of the innocent, well, it was quite touching. Martha's putting these pieces together drew me right into the story. The mystery and questions that I as a reader needed answers to were handled quite satisfactorily by the conclusion of this engaging story. A fabulous start for a debut author.

Many thanks to Bookouture and to NetGalley for this ARC to review in exchange for my honest opinion. ( )

I loved the book!! I wasn't expecting that outcome when I started the book. I loved the story, characters and writing style. I loved how it alternated between the past with Sylvie and the present with Martha. My favorite parts were reading about the past with Sylvie and her family and Connie. I ended up liking some of the characters more at the end than I did in the beginning. Except for Janey, I never really warmed up to her. When Catkins was finally revealed, I figured out the mystery Martha was trying to solve.

Martha and Elizabeth's father , Lewis, recently died. He was writing his memoirs but had nothing from from his younger years. Before Lewis died, he booked a trip to England and had rented a beach hut. Martha decides to take her dad's place, plus she can visit her daughter, Janey, who is studying at Cambridge. Elizabeth discovered letters addressed to Catkins and a file on her dad's computer labeled Catkins. Martha tries to discover the mystery behind Catkins and eventually learns the truth about her father's past. Martha and her sister always knew their dad was evacuated out of England and sent to Canada as a child during the second World War but they never knew the whole story.

I loved the story and discovering everything as Martha did about her family. When I finished reading it, I couldn't believe the story was over. I wanted to find out if Martha stayed in England, what happened to Henry and so much more. I definitely recommend the book and look forward to reading more by the author. I also loved the cover of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author, Sarah Mitchell, for a free electronic ARC of this novel. ( )

Martha Rodwell’s father passed away less than a month ago and she now finds herself on a plane heading to Europe. Her father was writing a memoir, but never got the chance to finish it before his passing. After his death, Martha and her sister, Elizabeth, discovered that their father had booked a hotel and rented a beach hut in a small English coastal town named Wells-next-to-the sea. Martha is unsure why her father chose this location in particular to finish his book especially since he hadn’t been to Europe in at least seventy years. So, she decides to take his booking to figure out why her father was drawn to this particular coastal town and also to find out why he had folders on his computer consisting of letters to someone named Catkins. Did her father have an affair and also who is Catkins?

The Lost Letters interweaves two stories switching from the present to the beginning of World War II where we also meet Sylvie and her family. Sylvie’s husband is away fighting in the war leaving her alone to raise two young children. Her only saving grace besides her children is her friendship with Connie. Here, we witness the day to day conflict and the terror people faced with bombings and the loss of loved ones. Sylvie also has to make difficult decisions regarding her family that tie in to our present story.

There is not one thing I did not love about this story. Right from the beginning I was drawn in to the mystery surrounding Martha and her family. The mystery is so intricately weaved throughout the pages and it's almost as if it is a puzzle and little by little we fit the pieces together until we get this final masterpiece right in front of us. Sarah Mitchell penned incredible stand out characters with heart and soul and we get to know them intimately and we can feel their pain and sadness and also the hope that each of them has. Family plays such an important role in this story in both the present and the past and we can see this through Martha and the love she has for her own daughter even though their relationship is strained. We also see the love Sylvie has for her children and the sacrifices she has made for them while trying to raise them during wartime.

The historical aspect of The Lost Letters story was by far my absolute favorite and here is where I found myself completely drawn into the story and you can see just how much research went into it. As an author, Sarah Mitchell really shines here. It was just so emotional and heartbreaking just reading about the bombs being dropped and the loss of lives and never knowing from one moment to the next if you will live or die. Just imagine the fear families had, women whose husbands went off to war, not knowing if they would ever return, their children being sent off to fight some never even coming back. Mitchell really shows the realities of wartime. It truly is heart wrenching.

The Lost Letters is a beautiful and poignant story that has completely captured my heart. It is a story about love, life, family, and the bonds of friendship that stand the test of time. The story is so simple and yet so intricate and brilliantly done. It takes an author like Sarah Mitchell to make me realize why I have such a love of reading. By far, this might just be my top read for the year. I will definitely be looking forward to more books by Sarah Mitchell.
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I do love a dual timeline story, especially when one of the stories is set during the Second World War, so The Lost Letters had immediate appeal for me.

The two timelines are that of Martha in the present day and that of Sylvie in 1940s Norfolk. Martha's father has just passed away before completing his memoirs and she finds that what he has left behind leaves her with more questions than answers. She leaves her home in Canada to spend the month of May in Norfolk to try and answer the questions she has: who is Catkins and why is a beach hut significant?

Sylvie meets a woman and child by a beach hut in Norfolk just before war breaks out and they become friends. And this friendship leads to some far-reaching consequences over the years that follow.

Normally with dual timeline stories, it's the modern day story that really engages me, probably because there are usually a lot of discoveries to be made about the story in the past. But in the case of The Lost Letters I think I much preferred Sylvie's story. It's a perfect snapshot of wartime and how much it changed people and families. It's so engaging, so interesting. I found it similar in a way to Kate Atkinson's wartime writing - very intuitive and evocative.

But that's not to say that Martha's story is not engaging because it is. She's a bit adrift after losing her father. Her daughter is away from home at Cambridge University and is drifting away from Martha. She's wondering which way to turn in her life. I really enjoyed her journey of discovery about herself, her daughter, her family and her life.

I thought The Lost Letters was a beautifully written story. It's not overly sentimental but it did move me and I think that was because of the quality of the writing and the way that I started to care about the characters and what happened to them. After a slightly slow start I found myself completely embroiled in a story that is quite melancholy at times, full of emotion and depth. After a debut of this quality I shall very much look forward to Sarah Mitchell's next book. ( )