Twenty years after a high school letter-writing assignment, a group of former classmates receives their letters—unearthing deadly secrets that lead to one woman’s shocking suicide and another’s desperate search for the truth.

I found this book quite difficult to get into at first, largely due to its slow pacing. The beginning felt a bit drawn out, and it took some time for the plot to really engage me. However, around the halfway point, the story picked up significantly and became much more compelling. While it wasn’t my favorite thriller overall, the second half delivered enough twists and emotion to make it worth the read.

That said, I’d still recommend it, particularly to those who enjoy slow-burning mysteries.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this in exchange for an honest review.

20 years ago, a group of friends were given an assignment to write a letter to their future selves. Their well-meaning teacher held on to their letters and mailed them to their authors all those years later. What the letters contained set off a tragic series of events. This was a fine mystery, but it didn’t hold my attention.

I really enjoyed this and flew through it. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Dear Future Me is an intriguing concept where long ago graduates are given their “future me “ letters to read. Unfortunately some of the letters have been intertwined and evidence of previous crimes is accidentally revealed. Is entertaining with well established tension as the surprising murderer is revealed.

Thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

in this book, a group of former high school classmates receives letters they wrote to their future selves, uncovering long-buried secrets tied to the tragic death of one of their own. As Miranda’s best friend, Audrey, digs into the past to uncover the truth, she sets off a chain of events that could reveal not only the cause of Miranda’s death, but a deeper, decades-old tragedy that haunts their small town.

The unraveling of secrets...

This book explores how secrets held by a group of people, deeply entwined in many ways slowly unravel.
A group of former classmates, receive letters they had written 20 years prior to their future selves, Audrey tries to uncover the secrets and mystery behind her best friend Miranda's tragic death.
Uncovering these deep-rooted truths will shake their tiny community to it's core.
Audrey and her former classmates are forced to confront their former teenage selves.


It really engulfs you in a nostalgia of when you read a diary from long ago, looking back on past friendships and where they are now.
Opening up how buried secrets definitely have a way of resurfacing long after the fact, does it strengthen a bond, or does it purely cause tension?

Think about it, what would you have told your younger self and do you think it would have altered your life for the better?
I wonder what I might have told my younger self if given that opportunity years ago.

Thank you Deborah O'Connor and Netgalley for this great ARC.

Deborah O’Connor’s Dear Future Me is a gripping and reflective psychological thriller that taps into a fascinating premise: what happens when the letters we wrote to our future selves resurface and bring with them secrets we’d hoped were long buried? The novel follows Audrey as she investigates the mysterious death of her best friend Miranda, whose life unravels after receiving one of those letters from their school days. As Audrey reconnects with old classmates and peels back layers of the past, the novel dives into themes of regret, ambition, and the enduring consequences of youthful choices.

The plot is undeniably interesting and intriguing, pulling readers into a story that blends suspense with emotional weight. However, the pacing in the first half is notably slow. Even once Audrey begins her investigation, not much happens initially, and it takes time for the narrative momentum to build. While this deliberate unfolding allows for character introspection and scene-setting, some readers may find their patience tested. That said, the final chapters make the wait worthwhile. This is where the story truly picks up pace, delivering twists, revelations, and emotional payoff that had been quietly simmering all along.

What I appreciated most was how O’Connor balances suspense with an honest, bittersweet reflection on how the dreams of our younger selves collide with the realities of adulthood. The ending strikes the right note — not neatly tied in a bow, but satisfying in a way that feels true to life.

I would like to rate it 4.5
The writing, the emotions, and every thing in between. I really liked the story, how it slowly created the tension, how the truth was in plain sight and still I was not able to decode who and why of the story. I was devastated at the end but obviously the ending satisfied me. Felt really bad for Miranda, who was a true and loving friend of Audrey, who solves the whole mystery.
Thank you for the ARC, I thoroughly enjoyed the read.

Dear Future Me follows a class of high school students, cutting between the semester they write letters to their future selves and twenty years later, when they receive them. The letters' arrival shakes up the former students and the community as the fallout begins to unfold.
Miranda is found dead at the bottom of the cliffs, triggering the unraveling of a twenty-year-old mystery.
Overall, the plot was gripping, and the premise of the letters felt unique. While jumping between time periods can sometimes be jarring, the author does a great job of keeping it clear and easy to follow.
For me, the characters felt a bit one-dimensional. Audrey didn’t get into the most prestigious college, so now she’s a house cleaner who “never tried.” Miranda comes across with pick-me energy, at one point being described as choosing “Converse over dresses and heels.” It feels very “I’m not like the other girls.”
Ultimately, the book ends in a satisfying, albeit bittersweet, way. I enjoyed how each classmate’s story arc wrapped up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The plot immediately drew me in and I was hooked right away. So good!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this arc in exchange for an honest review!

The premise of this book sucked me in immediately. This was an enjoyable read (could have been a touch shorter) and it kept me guessing overall! Thank you NetGalley for the ebook.

My HS English teacher had my class write letters to ourselves to be sent to us a year later. It was startling to see how different my mindset was from one September to the next.

Dear Future Me by Deborah O'Connor takes this idea and adds in death, missed potential, suicide, and blackmail. Audrey, who lost both her parents before her last year of high school, runs her own cleaning service. It's not what she dreamed she would do, but she's done her best, given her circumstances. She's still best friends with Miranda, her teenage best friend.

One morning, letters start arriving in mailboxes. The letters were written leading into their last year of school, and their former teacher took the time to search everyone's current locations and mail them 20 years later. Audrey opens her letter and finds a note she had never seen from Ben, a classmate and Miranda's boyfriend. Ben, who later that year died while on a school trip. She texts the note to Miranda, but doesn't hear back. She doesn't hear from her because Miranda opened her letter that morning, got in her car, drove to a cliff overlooking the sea, and jumped.
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This book does a great job of building the mystery surrounding Miranda's and Ben's deaths. The flashback chapters help develop everyone's history, and the present-day chapters, with Audrey seeking out and questioning her former classmates, build the world of Saltburn. I think both mysteries were compelling, and several red herrings were tossed in.

What I didn't particularly care for was the time it took to reach the twists. It was not necessarily a slow burn, but more just... to make side characters. I didn't really need to know about their former classmate who was involved in local politics or the guy working for BP. Their "information" could have been added to anyone else.

Still, this was a fun read and the twists were excellent as they unfolded.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

Teacher Mr Danler sets his class a task, they are to write a letter to their future selves and then twenty years later they receive them in the mail. Shocking secrets will be revealed regarding one of the students who lost their life and those who were involved that led to his death.

The book focuses on Audrey whose best friend Miranda receives her letter and minutes letter jumps to her death from a local cliff. Audrey cannot understand why her good friend would do this, leaving behind an husband and two small children and sets out to discover the reasons behind her death. She begins tracking down the other students and begins asking each of them questions regarding their memories as to what was happening at the time and who knows what. Receiving conflicting views Audrey becomes obsessed with finding out the truth.

This was a quality mystery that moves at a relatively slow pace but does all come together. It is very character driven focusing on the lives of the students and delves into the friendships and relationships with the youth of that age, the pressures they all feel they are under and the struggles they face.

An enjoyable book that will keep you interested throughout. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advanced copy, all opinions are expressed are my own.

Twenty years ago, Audrey and her classmates were about to graduate from school in their seafront town of Saltburn in the northeast of England. Their teacher sets them an assignment to write a letter to their future selves, expressing what kind of lives they hope or expect to have when they are fully adult. He tells them that one day they’ll get their letters, but doesn’t say when.

From a working-class background, Audrey is intelligent and hard-working; her ambition was to go to Cambridge. But an academic disappointment and a family tragedy turned Audrey’s life into something completely unlike what she’d hoped. Still, she does her best, is proud of having raised her little brother to young adulthood, and she enjoys a close relationship with her former classmate and longtime best friend, Amanda, as well as Amanda’s husband and two small children.

One sunny morning, Audrey receives her old Dear Future Me letter and feels a pang about youthful hopes. But her letter also includes something she didn’t write, and she phones Amanda to ask about it and about Amanda’s letter. But Audrey learns that upon reading the letter, Amanda left the house, still in her pajamas and leaving her husband and kids at the kitchen table. When Amanda’s body is discovered at the bottom of an ocean cliff, Audrey is determined to find out what it was about that old school letter—and maybe old school relationships—that led to Amanda’s death. But what Audrey discovers will be much more than she bargained for, and will be life-changing for several of the old classmates.

This is an intriguing concept for a mystery/thriller novel, and there are some clever bits of misdirection as Audrey delves into the past. It’s a slow starter, and sometimes the changing points of view can be a little clunky, but the payoff is worth it.

Dear Future Me by Deborah O'Connor ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 1/2

Poisoned Pen Press
Pub Date: 6-3-25

Thank you @netgalley, @poisonedpenpress, and @deborahleighoconnor for the opportunity to read this eARC.

"All across the seaside town, envelopes whisper through letter boxes. They seem benign— boring, even— the white rectangles dropping down onto the mats alongside electricity bills, seed catalogs and dental appointment reminders. But as the recipients rip them open and read what is inside, it is like a series of bombs going off."

When a group of former classmates receives letters they wrote to their future selves twenty years earlier, the effects are immediate and widespread, beginning with the death of Miranda.

I couldn’t put this book down and finished it in a day. Every time I thought I knew where the story was headed, it surprised me. I only managed to accurately predict one plot point!

"The months of grief have left them all flattened. It feels as if they’ve been trapped inside one of those wildflower presses, the screws at each corner twisted tight. With every day that passes, their color becomes a little more desiccated, fragile, and gossamer thin."

This was a fun read! I love a good mystery thriller and enjoyed all the interwoven characters/storylines/motives, even if they got a little confusing and at times left me wanting more.

Thank you to Deborah O’Connor, Poisoned Pen Press, and NetGalley for the ARC!

𝐓𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: Dear Future Me by Deborah O'Connor
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: Mystery Thriller
𝐏𝐮𝐛 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐞: Jun 3, 2025

Complex Family Dynamics
Dark Secrets
Multiple POV
Nonlinear Timeline

I love Audrey and how hard she fights to learn what lead her best friend Miranda to take her own life, as well as the kindness she shows to her children and husband in the devastating aftermath. The letters, multiple POV and nonlinear timelines were such an interesting combination. Overall a great and twisty mystery with a large focus on family and how heavy their expectations can be.

Thank you so much Poisoned Pen Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy!

I think the concept behind Dear Future Me is really cool, but unfortunately the execution didn’t quite live up to it. The story felt much longer than it needed to be, with a lot of information that either didn’t add up or didn’t end up mattering. I loved the idea of including excerpts from the “Dear Future Me” letters, but they quickly became repetitive and lost some of their impact.

As for the characters, I found Audrey to be quite boring, and it felt unrealistic how easily she could insert herself into other people's lives without much resistance. None of the characters really had a distinct voice, which made it hard to stay engaged.

Overall, while the premise had a lot of promise, the story itself fell flat for me.

I devoured is book in a matter of hours, unable to put it down and leave behind the characters and the mystery. The whole thing was sumptuous, although at some points it was confusing because there seemed to be so many names mentioned in reference to Audrey’s self-appointed task (no spoilers).
The main characters were extremely well thought out and seemed to come alive on the pages, whereas the secondary characters seemed to be nothing more than convenient plot points to move the story forward. I would have liked to see more depth to these people, but nevertheless, this was an amazing read.

An engaging slow burn of a thriller, Dear Future Me, centers around the return of letters a group of students wrote for schoolwork 20 years later. Letters unearthing secrets surrounding a school trip. On the same day as the letters drop through the postbox, Audrey's best friend, Miranda, takes her own life. I found Audrey to be a fascinating character, one I really backed and felt for as she took it upon herself to understand why her best friend would take her own life.

I think the slow burn within Dear Future Me paid off. The plot twists were well-placed to keep you hooked, and I never could see who was behind everything. Being set on the North Yorkshire coastline was also a win for me. I think the premise was original, and the ending felt satisfying. I would recommend this thriller if you fancy something a little slower-paced but with some depth.

*Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.