The Dead Letters

by Tom Piccirilli

Book Overview

Five years ago, Eddie Whitt's daughter Sarah became the victim of a serial killer known as Killjoy, and Whitt vowed to hunt him down--no matter what the cost. But the police have given up. And Killjoy... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553384074
• ISBN13: 9780553384079
• Release Date: September 2006
• Publisher: Bantam
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 4.3" x 6.8"

Customer Reviews

Dark Fiction's Most Consistent Writer

4 AND 1/2 STARS Tom Piccirilli has been on quite a role over the last few years and he deserves all the accolades he's been getting. The quality of his writing is stellar - both original and deeply moving. I had some minor problems with a drawn-out fight sequence towards the end, but other than that, I very much enjoyed this thriller/mystery. Although this is still in the genre family of horror, I would love to see him delve into straight horror one of these days. While he doesn't write with a typical, conventional style, this is where he separates himself from the average published novelist. His words have deeper meanings than what is just on the surface, and it's always a pleasure to begin to figure them out. This book is a dark, rich, and disturbingly psychological ride - one you won't forget for a long time.

Better than the last novel and November Mourns was fantastic!

Tom Piccirilli's novels just get better and better and The Dead Letters is no exception to that theory. HisownPicSelf drew me into the story with his tragic "hero" Eddie Whitt, a man with a dead daughter and an insane self-abusive wife. Being a father myself with a young daughter, I can relate to the wide range of emotions that Eddie goes thru and that makes this novel real for me. Great scenes, bizarre characters, superb dialogue and a nice satisfying sad ending, this novel really had me close to tears several times. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy, read it and tell me why I'm wrong. Troy

Another Great Tom Piccirilli Novel

Piccirilli writes dark. His novels are full of dread, sadness, and his characters often have little hope. They are all misfits of some kind and all of them have lost something. It could be their limbs, their lifestyle, their freedom, their sanity, normalcy, or a loved one. In this book it's the loss of a child that haunts the protagonist. The plot concerns a man who has dedicated his life to finding the serial killer who murdered his daughter, and then other children. The killer smothered his daughter in her bed while she slept with her own pillow. After several more killings, a twist comes into the case. The killer starts kidnapping children from abusive homes and then brings them to the families of the children he killed. This novel has all of the characteristics you come to expect from a Piccirrilli novel. A main character filled with tremendous loss of some kind, guilt, and a need for closure or acceptance. It has some really strange people in it in the form of a wacky cult who's involved with their own serial killings whose members who are as odd and deadly as they come. The story has supernatural elements with both the wacky cult and the main character himself to keep horror readers adequately enthused. And it has an ending that defines a Piccirrilli novel. I enjoyed this novel much more than Headstone City. Its plot was straightforward without a lot of sub plots or distractions. Its mood was sullen and depressing giving punch to the chills and very thrilling portions of the story. And the story itself was disturbing enough to make me come back to it in my mind after I finished the last page. When an author writes a book as great as November Mourns, (or even Choir of Ill Children) there is a tendency to compare all other books he writes after it to that masterpiece. This is unfair to the author (look at King's work after "It") and it's tempting to do so. But I'm gonna do it anyway...this book is not as good as the two mentioned above, but it is certainly a great read and I would place it at number 3 of my all time favorite Piccirilli novels. I would recommend this book to Piccirilli fans and to those who have not read the author before. T.T.Zuma

Another fantastic book from Tom Piccirilli

This is perhaps Piccirilli's most mainstream novel to date but that doesn't mean it lacks any of the quirky characteristics of his earlier work. The Dead Letters is still chock full of odd characters caught up in surreal situations, all told in the unique and lovely voice that so many have come to adore. I highly reccomend this book to new and old fans alike, anybody looking for a great, dark story with real wit and style.