Dead Letters from Paradise

By: Ann McMan

Narrated by: Christine Williams

The year is 1960, and Gunsmoke is the most popular show on TV. Elvis Presley tops the Billboard charts, and a charismatic young senator named John F. Kennedy is running for president. And, in North Carolina, four young Black men sit down at a Woolworth's lunch counter and demand service. Enter Esther Jane (EJ) Cloud, a 40-something spinster who manages the Dead Letter Office at the Winston-Salem post office. EJ leads a quiet life in her Old Salem ancestral home and spends her free time volunteering in the town's 18th-century medicinal garden.

One sunny Spring morning, EJ's simple life is turned upside down when the town's master gardener unceremoniously hands her a stack of handwritten letters that have all been addressed to a nonexistent person at the garden. This simple act sets in motion a chain of events that will lead EJ on a life-altering quest to uncover the identity of the mysterious letter writer―and into a surprising head-on confrontation with the harsh realities of the racial injustice that is as deeply rooted in the life of her community as the ancient herbs cultivated in the Moravian garden.

When EJ is forced to read the letters to look for clues about the anonymous sender, what she discovers are lyrical tales of a forbidden passion that threaten to unravel the simple contours of her unexamined life. EJ's official quest soon morphs into a journey of self-discovery as she becomes more deeply enmeshed in the fate of the mysterious letter writer, "Dorothea". Her surprising accomplice in solving the mystery of the letters becomes one, Harrie Hart: a savvy, street smart 10-year-old, wielding an eye patch and a limitless supply of aphorisms. Together, Harrie and EJ make seminal pilgrimages to the tiny town of Paradise to try and uncover the identity of the mercurial sender and, ultimately, learn a better way to navigate the changing world around them.

©2022 Ann McMan (P)2022 Audible, Inc.

Masterful as always.

Leave it to Ann McMan to be able to tackle racism, homophobia, single parenthood, a mystery, a romance, and a botonay lesson in one fabulous book. Well done.

Excellent read, hope there will be a sequel!

Thanks for another great book, but the only problem is I now have no other books I can read by Ann McMan! Set in the past this book definitely brings some more modern thinking to where it should have already been, and quite honestly probably already was(but not by all, by a long shot). The characters are well thought out and you can’t help but love them. I hope there is a sequel to this as much as I’m hoping for a book 5 to the Jericho series!

Great story, as always

A well-written story, believable characters and wonderfully performed. The book is filled with an excellent range of English vocabulary, which was quite refreshing. The editor missed one egregious mistake: “I saw both she and Inez hard at work behind the house.” Really?

What a pretty little gem

What a pretty little gem!!!
I have listened to several books of Ann Mcman and I have been surprised by her beautiful story telling several times. And this time too!!
It’s a slow burn story with lots of laughs during my reading and even though the romance part doesn’t seem as the main part of the story it’s alway the small fire throughout the story. The story is slow and it’s kind of predictable but it really doesn’t destroy the book at all!

I love books that blows me away by it’s beauty- and this one definitely did!!!

Awakening

This book is a singular delight. Set in Winston Salem, North Carolina in the 1960s the book is written in the more florid language of that time and, as a result, I felt transported to that period and place. While there is a mystery which drives the plot forward I would say that the book is more about awakenings; awakening from benign neglect when it comes to personal responsibility in matters of race and gender equity, awakening to sensuality and freedom of self expression, and awakening to the joys and benefits of fellowship with good people.

Here’s a lovely passage from the book about that last (any punctuation mistakes are my own as I dictated this while listening to the audiobook):

“With shock, I realized that I had known them less than a month. It was impossible for me to recognize the swift intimacy and affection that had grown up between us in such a short period of time but I chose not to question it and resolved instead to be grateful for the richness that their friendship added to my once solitary life.”

Those friends E.J. reluctantly lets into her life are just a few of the many interesting characters in the book not the least of which was Harry, the young daughter of E.J.’s new neighbor and the sidekick E.J. never saw coming nor knew she wanted. I loved Harry as a kindred spirit and enjoyed every scene she was in. The gradual development of their relationship as well as the others were some of the best parts of the story.

The audiobook narration by Christine Williams was quite good. She did an excellent job with the pace of the story along with its tone, the regional accent and differentiating between characters. She has a nice voice in the lower register which was quite pleasant to listen to as well.

I can definitely see myself relistening to this book in the future as I enjoyed the tale and the excellent conclusion left me in high spirits and with a smile on my face.

Did people really speak like this in 1960?

This isn’t the type of story that I normally read, but it was more or less engaging. One thing that took a while to get used to was the very formal or even stilted manner of speech that the characters engaged in. I wonder if people in this particular period or place actually spoke to one another in this stylistic way? It seemed rather odd! Overall, it was a gentle awakening of a middle-aged woman, nothing especially memorable or exciting, but I still managed to finish the story in just a couple of days.

Ann McMan strikes again!

I love Ann McMans' heartfelt stories and most lovable characters. and Christine Williams voice just sets the tone perfectly. I am looking forward to the next story by this dynamic duo.

Good Story!

Ann McMan is a gifted writer. She creates quirky, likable characters and weaves various themes throughout the story. EJ’s mission to find the author of a set of undeliverable letters written by the same hand opens her up for self discovery, opening her heart to new people and expanding her social network, and learning about her own strength. Christine Williams is superb as narrator. I highly recommend this book,

Quirky and different

This is a well-written book that really holds your interest. It's a small setting, an intimate story that captivates you with it's unusual characters and setting. It's a bit like a European film: it shows an intimate portrait of life in a small town in the south in 1960 involving a series of mysterious letters, but there's no murder or mayhem.
It really charmed me but I wish the narrator had been a little less syrupy.

Perfection

Dead Letters From Paradise, by Ann McMann, is an absolute gem. I rarely give out five stars, reserving that fifth star for those rare works that are so well written and deeply moving that they shake me to my core. Those rare works that you can’t stop thinking about weeks, months, and years later. Dead Letters From Paradise is one of those rare works.
FYI: I listened to the audible version and the narraction was award winning quality.