The Fifth Letter by Nicola Moriarty has an engaging and interesting premise. However, towards the end, the story becomes unnecessarily dramatic. I’m not keen on loud arguments, even in books!
The story concerns four women who become friends when they start high school. Over the years they have kept in contact through get-togethers, annual trips away, attending each other’s weddings and other significant events. Most of the book concerns their most recent few days away, during which time, Joni, the main character, suggests they each write an anonymous letter revealing a secret. They all agree hoping it will restore the closeness they once felt. However, one of the friends regrets her revelations in her letter and replaces it with a second letter but doesn’t do a good job of destroying the original, thus creating a fifth letter. The mystery of who wrote the fifth letter continues for most of the book.
The book is well-written and plotted. The story deals with many contemporary issues, such as infertility, rape, controlling personalities, parenting styles and the dangers of bitterness. Less appealing is the large amounts of drinking, swearing, and an incident of drug taking.
However, overall a mostly enjoyable story.
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