Her family is built on secrets and lies. Can she confront the truth she’s been running from for years?Fifteen years ago, Berta fled from Madrid to London to escape the controlling mother who made her childhood a living nightmare. Now, following her mother’s death, she is forced to return and face the ghosts of her unhappy past.But it is not long before she discovers that her own bleak memories … her own bleak memories are nothing compared to the dark deception lurking in her family. How did her sister’s loveless marriage really end? And is the loyal housekeeper really hiding the truth about the strange disappearance of Berta’s father?
As she searches for facts among the fiction, Berta finds a handful of letters that reveal a story more twisted than she could ever have imagined. And as she starts piecing together the sinister family mysteries that have always plagued her, it soon becomes clear that these dangerous secrets are not confined to the past…
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I received a free electronic copy of this special novel from Netgalley, author Mercedes Pinto Maldonado and translator Jennie Erikson, and Amazon Publishing US. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me. I have read this novel of my own volition, and this review reflects my honest opinion of this work. I am pleased to recommend Letters to a Stranger to friends and family. It is a tale filled with tragedy and angst, hope and love, and a strong dose of justice served.
We view this story through the eyes of the younger daughter of Madridite Dona Alberta de Castro. Berta de Castro is self-exiled in England since she was 19, working her way up in the business world until at almost 35 she is the owner of a renowned restaurant in central London. When she receives news of the death of her mother, she is sad only for Teresa, the household help that basically raised her in a house without love or compassion. Teresa has always taken great care of the de Castros no matter how OCD and unreasonable Dona Alberta can be. Dona Alberta and eldest daughter Yolanda, 5 years Berta’s senior, seem to be missing vital emotions, and making the trip home to Madrid even for Teresa’s sake is one Berta is hesitant to take. It is a bad time to be leaving her employees at Berta’s Kitchen shorthanded as the heavy London tourist season is just getting started. Yet Berta feels she must go, but only plans to stay for a couple of days, just long enough to make sure that Teresa is being taken care of, and sign off on any paperwork needed by her mother’s lawyer. Sister Yolanda has been living in Australia for several years and has informed the Madrid lawyer that she will not return to Madrid at this time.
But days turn into weeks as one thing or another demands more time. There are too many hidden agendas and secrets and unending mysteries. Feeling she is being shadowed and knowing her mother’s home has been invaded, Berta has the locks changed and hires a private investigator. And then she gets immersed in tokens from the past, her own youthful treasures hidden in the attic by Teresa when Bertha left home. She needs the consolation of renewing her relationship and helping Teresa – and reading years worth of unopened and non-forwarded love letters locked in a chest in her mother’s room, from a young gardener named Saul to her sister Yolanda. Year’s worth of letters. Berta cannot imagine a love that could be so open, so giving, so frank. It is something she has never seen nor experienced, and with time she sees that it is an impossible emotion unless you are willing to drop all of your defenses. But that is something she is not prepared to do. Or is she? And then there are more deaths…
Depressing? Cathartic? Somewhere In Between? This book is all about loss, with a tale of finding yourself in the loss embedded within it. Because of this, it is really hard to decide how I ultimately feel about the book. It is absolutely strong and well written (at least in the English translation), and does an excellent job of creating a world and telling a compelling story within that world while evoking emotions within the reader. But this is one of those books that you’re going to want to pick up as zany hilarious romantic comedy as you can find afterwords, just to lift your spirits a bit. Great tale, very much recommended.
A brilliant story of lies, hidden secrets, mystery, love and discovery.
After 15 years in London, Berta returns to Madrid after the death of her domineering mother to discover lots of hidden secrets.
I would thoroughly recommend this fabulous book.