Letters from the Dead is a dark, atmospheric mystery full of secrets and strange family ties. Isabella Valeri’s writing is lyrical and immersive, with a gothic tone that keeps you hooked. Some parts are deliberately vague, but they add to the intrigue. A compelling debut that leaves you eager for more.

I wasn’t able to finish Letters from the Dead, but I want to be clear—it’s not because it’s a bad book. The writing is rich and atmospheric, and it’s clear that Isabella Valeri put a lot of thought into crafting a layered, intricate story. That said, the writing style felt a bit dense for me, and I kept waiting for that moment where I’d get fully hooked—the one where I feel like I have to keep turning the pages. Unfortunately, that moment never quite came.

I think part of it is that this book feels more like a slow-burn mystery than a high-tension thriller. And for me personally, I tend to get pulled in more by stories that lean into suspense or emotional urgency early on. This felt more meditative and deliberate in its pacing, which may resonate more with readers who enjoy piecing things together gradually and savoring the atmosphere.

That said, I’m not shelving it permanently. I can see the potential here, and I get the sense this is the kind of book that might hit differently at another time—maybe when I’m in the mood for something slower, more introspective, and patient in its storytelling. I haven’t given up on it, just hitting pause for now.

I'm going to start right off the bat saying I didn't know this was the first book in a series. I really liked the book and the premise and thought it was very well written but as I was getting closer to the end it was very apparent that I was not going to get all the answers I needed. So, my frustration is that I finished and I don't feel like most of my questions were answered.

The world of such privilege and of family dynasty is so foreign to me that I was captivated by the world in which Isabella lives and thrives with the love of her grandfather. Her oldest brother who had been her playmate turns on her and her other brother and casts himself apart as the heir to the dynasty.

To say Isabella is precocious is an understatement but she is very resourceful and seems to soak in all of her grandfather's lessons on life. When she is whisked away to America to a boarding school she has no one in her life to trust. I couldn't help but feel sorry for this young girl. It is a very complex world that Valeri has created, time will tell with the sequel if she can answer all the questions in this book.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

I took my copy of this book with me on a flight to Europe, expecting to chip away it as I went through my trip, but I unexpectedly found myself getting through its pages quite quickly! I enjoyed the story and writing in this novel a lot, although I did find it dragged in certain sections and had some pacing problems here and there. Overall, though, I did enjoy reading this one.

I found this book to be a bit confusing to read, especially given the description. It felt like two completely different books with two completely different plots and tones - one at the family estate and one in boarding school / NYC. I felt like there was very little cohesion between the two parts, which made me confused as to what was happening.

I also found the plot to be a little lackluster - not in the sense that things weren't happening, but in the way that I was a bit bored and trying my hardest to figure out what I was supposed to care about. Years would pass in a sentence but then we'd spend fifty pages on one moment. The writing itself was good and I was definitely captivated by the prose, but the disjoint and the pacing turned me away from this book.

2.5 stars rounded up.

Letters from the Dead by Isabella Valeri was a great debut thriller.
I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

This had such a strong premise! I wish it had captivated me more. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this story in exchange for an honest review. I am currently working through my ARC backlog and will be posting full reviews momentarily for books that have been completed!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria books for an advance copy of this ebook. I was very excited to read this. The title, the premise was intriguing. Once I started reading it I found it to be boring. There’s a lot of history in this book and I’m honestly not a fan of historical reads. The plot was really lacking. I could not connect with the FMC or any of the other characters for that matter. Aria books also sent me a physical copy. I switched over to reading the physical copy thinking maybe it would be better but I still couldn’t get into it.

I dnfed this at 7%

I wish I was enjoying this more but I didn’t care what was happening. It was wasn’t keeping my interest.

Ooooh I really enjoyed reading this debut book!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The dark, twisty family ties in this book are so addictive, you can't put it down.

This was an unexpected gem! This title was not on my radar but after reading the summary I downloaded it as a “Read Now” option on Netgalley and was immediately sucked in. I told my family I wasn’t making dinner, and I stayed up until almost midnight finishing this book because I did not want to put it down! That NEVER happens! It’s the first in the series and I want the next installment NOW!

This was an good thrillers, very dark with gothic vibes. Got me addicted from the start, amazing debut for this author. Won't be my last.

Honestly, I was expecting something totally different than what I read and that’s fine but it’s just not my thing. The author has a wonderful way of describing the setting and the mood but at times gets too wrapped up in that.

I did really enjoy this one, but it is absolutely not marketed correctly. Less of a mystery/thriller and more of a moody, slow-paced historical fiction with mysterious underpinnings. Although it takes place in the 90s and early 00s, most of the book has a dreamy, out-of-time feeling due to being told from the point of view of a child growing up on an isolated estate; in the last third we get a small taste of modernity through her lense of being completely unfamiliar with it.

Due to the way this was initially presented, I was taken aback by the dense language and how character-focused the book was. I do enjoy these types of books so I ended up being pretty absorbed by Isabella's strange childhood. Be aware: this is most of the book. There are several tense moments but they are sprinkled in with history lessons and musings from our main character trying to navigate a world she grew up in, but doesn't fully understand.

I was gripped by the quiet, sinister doings going on in the background here, and Isabella's fight to find her own place in this world. There will apparently be more to this story, and I will personally be snatching that up as soon as I can.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book!

I was unable to push through on this one.

There were plenty of interesting parts, but heavily interspersed with lengthy history passages that slowed the pacing a good deal for me.
I additionally felt like some parts were so cerebral that everyone in the (written) room knew what was going on and smirking with each other while I sat there scratching my head and wondering what I'd missed.

Thank you to Atria Books | Atria/Emily Bestler Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Letter from the Dead is the debut novel from Isabella Valeri.

The story is told he in the 1st person by the daughter of a wealthy, aristocratic European family. She is extremely sheltered and naive. When she accidentally comes across a book that is a threat to her family, she is unceremoniously banished by her family to boarding school. She makes a life for herself as a free wheeling heiress until she is suddenly called back to her ancestral home. The story had a good premise, historical family secrets, powerful familes that will do anything to keep their secrets hidden, but this novel fell a bit flat to me. I never really felt a connection with the female narrator, though I did like her relationship with her grandfather. I also felt the ending was quite abrupt.

All in all an interesting read.

Thanks to Netgalley, Atria Books and the author for the chance to read and review this ARC.

Amazing that this is a debut novel. It totally captivated me. I would have given it five stars, but I could only give it four because of the ending, which unfortunately left me wondering how such a wonderful book could have no ending - unless this is going to be a series and that was a cliffhanger. After I finished I did discover it is indeed a series, and the seond book is called The Prodigal Daughter. Now I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Description:
For the first eleven years of her life, the precocious daughter of a great European family tracing its roots back more than fifteen generations, never set foot on land that her family didn’t own. Cloistered on a sprawling estate in the Alpine foothills, as the youngest sibling of her generation she has little knowledge of the dark forces gathering in the shadows to strike at her family. But, when her insatiable curiosity leads her to uncover a priceless text hidden hundreds of years before, she shines light into corners meant to be left in the dark and threatens to uncover secrets that could trigger an internecine battle for succession.

Then, with no warning or explanation, she is whisked away on a private jet and exiled to an elite but isolated all-girls boarding school in the United States. More than a decade later, now in her twenties, she finds her bank accounts abruptly frozen by her family. She is recalled from her affluent but empty existence abroad. Little does she know that her family has plans for her, including an arranged marriage. Worse, as she draws closer to discovering the horrific act that sent her into exile a decade before, and shadowy enemies close in on her family, she must face her most dangerous and powerful her own father.

My Thoughts:
Very well written and thoroughly engrossing. There is quite a bit of history since the family is a dynasty that dates back to Leopold I, so I see where many reviewers found it boring, but I think it fit and provided the foundation of Isabella's education. Isabella is a great character and I also liked her grandfather very much. The book was mysterious and many things are left unrevealed. The pace was faster when Isabella was whisked away from the estate and went to boarding school in the United States. The trip with her father to Africa was also interesting and there was a twist there that set some things in motion it seemed - although I think things were being planned in the background all along. I was angry at the end because almost everything was left open and unexplained. With such a cliffhanger I expect some answers in the next book in the series.

Thanks to Atria/Emily Bestler Books through Netgalley for an advance copy.

Thank you to Emily Bestler Books and Netgalley for this ARC. Unfortunately I could not get into it and had to DNF

Letters from the Dead by Isabella Valeri
⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thank you for the opportunity to read this eARC. I was immediately drawn in by the cover and description of Letters from the Dead. The plot is intriguing but the pacing felt very slow to me. It is a very long book and I felt moved pretty slowly overall. The characters were interesting and I was curious what happened to each of them as the story progressed. Overall, this was maybe not the book for me but I'm sure it will find its audience of people who love it.

The premise of this book sounded interesting, and I was expecting a story filled with twists and intrigue.

Yes, the pacing was slow, but the big issue was the plot. I’ve mentioned this in past reviews, but when you’re writing a series with the intention of building up to a big “moment,” you still need to provide smaller payoffs along the way to keep the reader engaged.

This book never answered any of its questions. It was confusing from start to finish, but not in a mysterious way. Even as I finished the last page, I found myself thinking, "What was the point of any of this?"

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books, and the author for this physical ARC.