Now Read This: “The Lost Letters of William Woolf,” by Helen Cullen

There’s something magical about getting a letter in the mail, its contents scrawled in perfectly-scripted cursive meant just for you. And William Woolf, a letter detective at the Dead Letters Depot, feels this same sense of euphoria when he sticks his hand deep into a bag of lost letters to pull out the one he is fated to read and hopefully return to its rightful recipient. However, William finds more than he intended when he pulls out a blue envelope with silver letters addressed only to “My Great Love.” Something about this letter compels him to hide it away and read it anywhere but at work. And when he does, he becomes fixated on this letter — signed only with the name “Winter” — and the mystery surrounding it. Winter’s words swim around his head as he compares the woman in the letters and her feelings about love with his own wife, Claire, and their failing relationship. And when additional letters from Winter arrive at the depot, William begins to sink into her correspondence, each letter kindling the kinship he feels with the mysterious woman he’s never met.

With his marriage teetering on the breaking point and Winter’s letters luring him toward someone who could be his soulmate, William searches for the answers that could lead him in the right direction, if only he knew what that was.

I enjoyed reading Helen Cullen’s “The Lost Letters of William Woolf” because both the characters and their problems were relatable. I also appreciated the way Cullen incorporated letters as a way to learn more about the characters and to develop the plot. This novel had a leisurely pace, and I liked taking a closer look at the characters and the situation without feeling rushed. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a little bit of romance in a contemporary setting.

This book is available at the library in print, and if you are looking to read something similar to this, you might want to try “The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy.” This stand-alone sequel to “The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry” shows Queenie Hennessy’s relationship with Harold Fry as postcards of his travels, reaching her before she passes away. These postcards lead her to reminisce about their history. The library has this title in print and as an audiobook.