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Letter From Home

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Just finished reading Carolyn Hart's Letter From Home and wanted to share my views about it. It is so much more than a good mystery. This is a wonderfully warm, in depth study of people caught up in the emotional turmoil and pain created by WWII. Having lived through that period as a child, the book evoked memories I had almost forgotten existed. This book is one that lingers with the reader, provoking thoughts long after the last page is read and the cover is closed. The book captures the pain of separation and the changes in society caused by war both on the home front and by active duty in the military. It also deals with the changing role of women and the loss of innocence as seen through the eyes of a young teen living in a small town where the impact is so widespread throughout the community. It could also be termed a coming-of-age story when a young woman is forced to see her neighbors, friends and family with their flaws, weaknesses and strengths exposed by the war and the murder that change lives forever. I can well understand why this book has been nominated for a Pulitzer and has been compared to Steinbeck's work. The format of the book is very different, and I would recommend this work to anyone who lived through that era or has an historical interest in the period. It captures the essence of the times wrapped around a very good mystery and leaves no doubt that Carolyn Hart's talent as a writer goes beyond the ability to entertain mystery lovers.

Even though Carolyn Hart is a well known mystery novelist (authour of the Henrie O. & Death on Demand mystery novels), and even though the shocking murder of Faye Tatum is the central focus of "Letter From Home," this particular novel is not really a 'straight' mystery novel. If you're expecting a plethora of perplexing clues, red herring suspects and a few intriguing plot twist and turns, be forewarned, "Letter From Home" has very few of these stock plot props. What "Letter From Home" does possess, however, is a gripping story about how the particular events of the summer of 1944 changed the lives of two particular young girls: 14 year old Gretchen Gilman and 16 year old Barbara Tatum.

More than 50 years later, journalist Gretchen Gilman receives a letter from her old home town in Oklahoma, reminding her of the shocking events from the summer of 1944. The war was in full swing, the young men were constantly leaving in order to join up, and many of the women have left to work in the factories at other towns; which is precisely why Gretchen is able to land a summer job as the Gazette's newest cub reporter. Gretchen is happy and proud -- she desperately wants to become a real reporter after she graduates, and this is her first real step towards achieving that goal. And then Gretchen's world is rocked when a friend's mother is brutally murdered.

Faye Tatum was a bit unconventional for the small town she lived in -- she was an artist, more concerned about her art than maintaining a showroom house and garden. Faye also spoke her mind and didn't suffer fools gladly, much to the fury of the town's preacher, the Reverend Byars. And then Faye is found brutally strangled in her living room. Almost at once scandalous stories about how Faye went out dancing at the Blue Light (a place respectable married women just didn't go) even though her husband was away at a training camp, and of a man seen going into and coming from the Tatum residence late at night, begin to circulate. And when it becomes known that Clyde (Faye's husband, home of furlough) has disappeared, and that he and Faye had quarreled bitterly the night before she was murdered about her frequenting the Blue Light, everyone is sure that Clyde had strangled Faye in anger. Only Barbara refuses to believe that her father had anything to do with her mother's death. But as the hours slip by and political pressure mounts on the police to find Clyde and to quickly resolve Faye's murder, Gretchen cannot help but fear that no one really shares in Barbara's belief in her father's innocence, and that the real killer just may get away with murder...

"Letter From Home" proved to be a gripping read, even if it wasn't a 'straight' mystery novel. From the very first page, when Gretchen starts remembering what happened that fateful summer to the very last page when she finally learns who really killed Faye Tatum, I was enthralled. Carolyn Hart did a magnificent job in evoking the atmosphere and feel of what it was like to live in a small town in the war torn 1940s -- the fears, the giddy need to feel alive, the emptiness of lost dreams, the rigid need to control smaller aspects of one's life, and to have everyone around you conform -- the authour captures all this wonderfully. Her character portrayals were brilliant too, esp her character portrayal of the murdered woman, Faye Tatum. Given that we don't actually 'meet' Faye until after she's been murdered, the very fact that Faye's vivid character seems so alive, manages to holds "Letter From Home" together, propels the story forward, is a testament of Ms Hart's excellence as a storyteller. Briskly paced, "Letter From Home" was an absorbing and engrossing read not to be missed.

LETTER FROM HOME is a literary treasure dealing with American life during World War II in small town Oklahoma. Accurate in detail, brimming with emotion, I love the way the story is told in an original style that adds to the suspense. Carolyn Hart encourages readers to deduce character and motivation not from claim and assertion but from what they observe. These characters come alive! A distinguished novel, already nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, LETTER FROM HOME would make a long-lasting gift.

Famous writer G. G. Gilman receives a letter from home, a place she left that long-ago day. She took a train out of that small Oklahoma town at the end of the hot, sultry summer of '44. She has not been back since. Now an old friend, Barb Tatum, has written her a letter, dredging up memories of that wonderful yet horrible summer. Young Gretchen Grace Gilman had gotten her start in journalism that summer. And Barb's mom, Faye Tatum, had been murdered that summer. Now, she can't imagine what Barb has to say after so many decades. She remembers that time with a bittersweet fondness, despite the horror of the days surrounding the investigation.

All able-bodied men had left for the War. Gretchen lived with her grandmother while her mom was in Tulsa aiding the war effort. With a shortage of reporters causing a hardship for the Gazette, thirteen-year-old Gretchen was sent to apply for work at the local newspaper office. Crusty editor Mr. Dennis --- reminiscent of Jimmy Olson's boss at The Daily Planet --- begrudgingly hired her, despite his feeling that women (not to mention girls) don't belong in a newspaper office. But somebody had to do the work, so he gave her a chance. She covered the courthouse, sniffing out which of the local townsfolk had filed lawsuits or spent the night in the drunk tank. She checked the wire for news of the battlefront and stories of soldiers returning home.

One day, as she neared the police station, a patrol car with sirens pulsing rushed past her. She didn't know it then, but it was the beginning of one of the biggest investigations her little hometown had ever seen. The police were responding to a simple domestic dispute at the Tatums' house that afternoon, but later that evening, when Faye turned up dead, the search began for Sam Tatum, home on leave but nowhere to be found.

Stories flew about how Mrs. Tatum had been seen out nights dancing with any number of men. Tales of a late-night visitor to her house circulated around the town. Unfortunately Faye was dead, unable to defend her name, and her husband, with whom she had argued earlier in the day, looked like the prime suspect. Gretchen unwittingly became involved in the attempt to find Sam, and heroically unearthed the truth behind Faye's seemingly odd behavior.

Carolyn Hart has written a charismatic mystery with a cast of fresh, wholesome characters. Wise beyond her years, Gretchen exudes a caring air, dealing with adolescent and adult problems in stride. Her friends begin to ostracize her for a story she has written about Faye, but Gretchen stays true to her beliefs and refuses to back down. Her loyalty to the paper transcends idealism. But, above all, the way she treats people shows her in her best light. She is, quite simply, good.

A LETTER FROM HOME is a pleasant trip into the past, a journey that leaves its readers satisfied and content. What better way to enjoy a mystery?

--- Reviewed by Kate Ayers

Reading this book posed a dilemma for me. I wanted to read quickly to chase after the exciting mystery plot, but also slowly to savor the wonderful writing. It would be a perfect book to read aloud to someone.

We see the story through the eyes of a woman named Gretchen, mentally vigorous in old age and reliving events from the summer of 1944 when she was fourteen. Men being away at war changed life in her small Oklahoma town, and gave her the opportunity to work as a newspaper reporter that summer. When a murder happened two doors from where she lived with her grandmother, she found herself deeply involved.

I don't enjoy stories about teenage angst, and this is not at all that kind of book. The use of Gretchen's point of view allows the reader to see events through her innocence, rather than the cynicism of a hard-boiled mystery.

If you've enjoyed other Carolyn Hart books, you'll surely love this one. Oklahoma summers are HOT, so it will warm you on a winter night, or have you reaching for iced tea and watermelon in summer!
Kathy Diamond Davis

The descriptions are so vivid that you can almost smell the starch in the doilies,taste the crunchy watermelon and feel the blast of hot air through the window.

Not only does Ms. Hart place us amidst the happenings, seen through the eyes of Gretchen, she manages to make the story twist and turn so that at the end, we are truly surprised at the outcome.

The two young girls, Gretchen and Barbie, follow very divergent lives, and their story is told through fragments of a letter sent to Gretchen and her thoughts as she looks back to that time long ago.

This book should satsify any mystery fan and those who love stories from the 40's. We get a feel for the times with women doing war work, rationing and young boys from the town that are killed.

And one great thing about this book is that a young girl is given her break into journalism by a crusty old editor. A concept that in those times was remarkable indeed.

What a rich novel, a powerful mystery, a joy to read.

This novel is outside Hart's well-known longterm mystery series. It involves a 13-year-old in her first journalism job on a daily newspaper in a small northeast Oklahoma town in 1944. It does, however, have a strong mystery to spin, integral to the coming-of-age core plot.

I grew up in a small-town in the same part of Oklahoma during World War II myself. In fact, my family owned the daily newspaper. I don't know whether I was charmed by the book more because it captures or recreates so well a time and place that I share -- or by its intrinsic value, a fine story, beautifully told. I suspect both.

Anyway, I loved it. So will you and so should some people on your holiday gift list.

This is one of the most satisfying contemporary mysteries I have read in the past 15 or so years. Set in World War II, the protagonist's best friend's mother is murdered and all clues seem to point to her soldier-on-leave husband. Tha atmosphere is well handled and the plot - suffice it to say that this veteran mystery reader was fooled almost all the way by one of the 2 main tricks and all the way by the second. Hart's series debut novels ("Death on Demand" and "Dead Man's Island") were outstanding; this non-series book surpasses both.

Gretchen Gilman is only thirteen the summer of 1944, but she's managed to get a summer job at the local newspaper. With all the men off fighting the war, the editor was desperate. It's hard work, but she's enjoying herself and gaining great experience.

One night, her friend and neighbor Barb comes to her window asking for help. They return to find Barb's mother, Faye, murdered in the living room. Immediately, the rumors start about Faye's dancing at the local tavern every night while her husband is off at the war. But Gretchen finds herself getting more caught up in events that will scandalize a small town and change her life forever.

I'll admit this book took a chapter or two to fully get. Each chapter starts with part of a letter the grown up Gretchen has received, a few thoughts of her own, then flashes back to the third person account of the story as it unfolded. Once I got into the story, I was hooked. Foreshadowing keeps the suspense up, while the writing style pulls you in. I felt like I was in the small Oklahoma town that summer with its problems, prejudices, and pride. The ending is as surprising as it is logical and extremely powerful.

In spite of all I've heard about her, this is my first Carolyn Hart book. It won't be my last.

I really enjoyed this book and wanted to savor it and rush through it simultaneously (I opted for savoring it!). Ms Hart's writing style easily moves the story forward and gives depth to her characters, and the ending is both unexpected and satisfying.