Review ~ The Fifth Letter by Nicola Moriarty

Penguin
March 2017

What's it all about...

Joni, Trina, Deb and Eden.

Best friends since the first day of school. Best friends, they liked to say, forever.

But now they are in their thirties and real life - husbands, children, work - has got in the way. So, resurrecting their annual trip away, Joni has an idea, something to help them reconnect.

Each woman will write an anonymous letter, sharing with their friends the things that are really going on in their lives.

But as the confessions come tumbling out, Joni starts to feel the certainty of their decades-long friendships slip from her fingers.

Anger. Accusations. Desires. Deceit. 

And then she finds another letter. One that was never supposed to be read. A fifth letter. Containing a secret so big that its writer had tried to destroy it. And now Joni is starting to wonder, did she ever really know her friends at all.

What did I think about it...

This story looks at the dynamics of female friendships and of those secrets we keep even from our closest friends, which just goes to show that you never really know the people you think you know.

For Joni, Trina, Deb and Eden, their annual 'girlie' trip is something they all look forward to immensely. It's a time to break away from the conventions of their ordinary lives, and a chance to let their hair down and enjoy each other's company. When Joni suggests, as a matter of fun, that they each write a letter revealing a secret about themselves, what should have been fun and frivolous, soon turns into something very different. The inclusion into the mix of a mysterious fifth letter written by one of the group but never meant to be shared suddenly changes the whole dynamics of the situation , and as lives are laid bare, the repercussions on their friendship becomes intolerable.

The story flows well and the author has done a great job of making each of the four friends feel different and yet, each of them has something quite special about them. Inevitably, I liked some characters more than others but throughout the story I was involved in what was going on and was intrigued by the both the concept and repercussions of revealing so much about themselves.

I enjoyed this candid look at female friendship and of the dangers of revealing too much about yourself to the wrong people.

Best Read With ...a protein shake and healthy snacks..

About the Author

Nicola Moriarty is a student, a mother, a swimming teacher and now a writer. She has been an actress, a(terrible) waitress, an (equally terrible) bartender in a London pub, a marketing coordinator and a door-todoor sales person. She lives in Sydney with her husband and children.

Follow on Twitter @NikkiM3

#TheFifthLetter

My thanks to Sarah at Penguin for sending a copy of this book to me.

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