Book Review – The Lost Letters of William Woolf by Helen Cullen

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  It is currently available now in the UK; available in the United States on October 2, 2018; however, will not be available in Canada until 2019.

William Woolf works as a letter detective at the Dead Letters Depot in London.  He is only one of several “detectives” that are responsible for reviewing letters and parcels that are sent to his department because they were undeliverable due to circumstances like incorrect addresses, insufficient addresses, or ripped packages.  William spends his days searching for addresses and people to determine whether the letter or parcel can be delivered.  Sometimes if it is a valuable item and he can determine the recipient, he hand-delivers the item to ensure it arrives at its destination safely.

William has been married for a number of years to Clare.  She is a successful lawyer who has started becoming resentful of what she perceives to be William’s lack of ambition to better himself.  William had plans to write a book about his adventures working at the Dead Letters Depot but long-term writer’s block has pretty much scuppered that plan.  Their marriage has become strained and when William discovers several letters from a woman named Winter who is looking for her soulmate that she hasn’t met yet, William starts to wonder whether he is actually Winter’s soulmate.

I found this book enjoyable, especially the parts where William solves the mystery of an undelivered parcel and ensures that it gets to its rightful owner.  I think the author did a good job of showing the feelings of both William and Clare so you felt empathy for both individuals.