Dear Future Me

by Deborah O'Connor

In 2003 Mr. Danler's high school class got an assignment to write letters to their future selves. Twenty years later they receive them in the mail. Upon opening them the students are shocked to find that their envelopes contain old secrets that threaten to expose the truth about the tragic death of one of their classmates—and when one letter leads a student, Miranda, to jump to her death, the small community is rocked to its core. Stunned by what has happened and armed with a clue of her own, Miranda's best-friend Audrey decides to track down her former classmates to get to the bottom of Miranda's death. In doing so, she sets off a chain of events that could expose the truth not just about one untimely death but two.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook, Suspense, Crime

361 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 3, 2025

About the author

Deborah O'Connor is a writer and TV producer. Born and bred in the North-East of England, she lives there with her husband and two children.

Reviews

[Jackie Southam · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was beyond excited to dive into Deborah O'Connor's Dear Future Me. The premise alone—a high school assignment where students write letters to their future selves, only for those letters to resurface two decades later with devastating secrets and a tragic death—had me absolutely hooked. I anticipated a gripping mystery, a deep dive into past betrayals, and a suspenseful unraveling of long-buried truths. Unfortunately, what I got was an utter letdown, leaving me feeling more frustrated than fulfilled.
The initial setup is intriguing: a class receives their twenty-year-old letters, and suddenly, secrets about a classmate's tragic death come to light. The immediate shocker, Miranda's death after opening her letter, should have set a chilling tone. Yet, the narrative quickly devolves into a convoluted mess. Audrey's decision to investigate her best friend's death, armed with a vague clue, feels less like a compelling quest and more like a forced plot device to connect disparate characters.
The core issue lies in the execution. The "old secrets" hinted at in the summary never quite deliver the punch they promise. Instead of building genuine suspense, the plot relies on flimsy reveals and conveniently timed coincidences. The pacing often felt sluggish, punctuated by moments of forced drama that failed to resonate emotionally. Characters, rather than feeling like real people grappling with dark pasts, often came across as two-dimensional vehicles for the plot, making it difficult to truly care about their fates or the secrets they held.
Ultimately, Dear Future Me felt like a wasted opportunity. The compelling concept was squandered by a meandering plot and underdeveloped characters. What should have been a thrilling journey into a twenty-year-old mystery ended up being a tedious read that left me profoundly disappointed.

[Lauren Self (lauren.shelby.reads) · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC review • pub date 06.03.25

Twenty years after writing a letter to their future selves in high school, the “Dear Future Me” letters arrive in everyone’s mailbox. But when Miranda receives hers, she is saddened as she reads about her boyfriend Ben that died right before the letter was written. She leaves her house, and her body is found a few hours later. Her best friend Audrey is determined to find out why Miranda did this - and goes to all the other classmates trying to get clues about what happened to Ben - and maybe that can help her figure out Miranda’s movements.

This book is jam packed full of emotion. I absolutely adored Audrey and her heart! Lots of characters and their stories and it all comes together so well at the end. A mixture of before & after, and everyone’s letters that harbor their own secrets. I think this story will stick with me for quite awhile.

4⭐️

Thanks to Poisoned Pen Press for my gifted ARC.

[Laura Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

DEAR FUTURE ME BY DEBORAH O'CONNOR
Release date set for the 12th of June 2025.
This was a slow paced book for me personally. However I did get into the story and thought it was an enjoyable read.
I did enjoy how the story all came together.
#NetGalley
#BonnieBooksUK

[Joanne Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always loved this authors books and find her writing to be incredibly engaging as she brings her characters and their stories to life. Dear Future Me doesn’t sound like the psychological thriller that is behind the cover as it doesn’t convey the sheer depth of emotions that the letters unleash in their authors once delivered back to them. The reactions of the characters varied from person to person with a very extreme level of response from Miranda and one that shocks her friend Audrey into seeking out the truth behind the facts revealed. Audrey is a wonderful character creation, one who hasn’t lived up to the expectations she had as a young adult but I found her story to be relatable and inspiring and her determination shone through every decision she made.
I adored this book and it totally lived up to expectations for me (which were probably unrealistically high in the first place) so I can highly recommend it to new readers of Deborah O’Connor as well as fans of her previous books.

[donna backshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not at all what I was expecting, and I'm so glad for the original story, not a typical travel-back-to-childhood or do-over trope. It's kind of surprising this book doesn't have better reviews, because it was well-written and engrossing, with great character development.

[Erin Dunn · Rating 3 out of 5]

✨✨✨So Many Secrets ✨✨✨

I really liked the concept of Dear Future Me and it started off very intriguing. I also enjoyed that there were a lot of secrets and twists. I also really liked the MC, Audrey and I felt for her!!!

I think as the book went on the amount of characters and trying to keep up became a little overwhelming. I thought this book would kinda be like Thirteen Reasons Why but with a murder instead of suicide and then seeing how it affected the teenagers once they were adults and received their dear future me letters. It wasn’t quite like I had expected, but for the most part it was pretty interesting!

I ended up feeling pretty middle of the road on this one to be honest. I enjoyed this one but I didn’t absolutely love it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free ebook copy in exchange for an honest review. This book will be released June 3, 2025.

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a common assignment: a teacher asks students to write a letter to their future selves and mails them out a specified time later. Twenty years after she wrote her letter, Audrey, our narrator, receives her letter in the mail. She had dreamed of going to university, but failed to get in and is now living as a housecleaner. Her friend and classmate, Miranda, also gets her letter, and proceeds to jump to her death. Audrey is sure that the contents of Miranda's letter hold the key to her friend's death, so she starts to track down her classmates to find out what their letters might also reveal. We also get some flashbacks to the time when the letters were written, and the death of one of their classmates, Ben, which Audrey believes might be connected to Miranda's death.

This one had a fun premise and the author definitely kept you guessing as to the reasons and individual(s) behind Ben's and Miranda's deaths. Perhaps too much, as it seems everyone in the novel has incriminating secrets and feelings of guilt, all parceled out at convenient times. There were perhaps a few too many layers to this one and the characters weren't quite fully realized, but the mystery of it pulled me along.

[Katie Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for a complimentary early release copy of Dear Future Me by Deborah O’Connor.

The premise for Dear Future Me is interesting, I liked the idea of these characters future selfs receiving these letters that they had written as children. The letters were some of my favorite parts to read, the letters all shared that same energy that children have. I liked to see what each child dreamed of what their future selfs would become then we see what they’ve actually done with their lives. It was interesting to see the ways that these letters changed/affected the lives of those who received them. I enjoyed reading from all the perspectives of this book, the characters were interesting to read, and though the story could be slow at times I still found there to be enough thrilling moments/elements that kept me invested.

The ending of the book feels decent, I liked the writing and characters but the reveals felt a bit lackluster. After finishing, the book feels average. There isn’t anything about this book that really sticks out to me at all. Overall Dear Future Me was a quick popcorn thriller kind of read.

[Candace · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story of past lives, the story of the follies of youth. This novel wraps us in the story of the death of Miranda shortly after classmates from the early 2000’s received letters they wrote themselves back in high school. Was it suicide; was it murder?

This book had a pretty good plot in how it weaved the stories of the classmates from then and now together. The twist didn’t have me gaping but it was nicely done. 3.25 stars — solid read!

[Janalyn, the blind reviewer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Future Me by Deborah O’Connor, when the books starts everyone is receiving their letters and it is Miranda who is so upset by hers she rushes out the house only to be found at the bottom of the cliff later that day. Her best friend Audrey is devastated through everything Audrey went through Miranda had been there when she didn’t go to college to raise her little brother Miranda supported her and so her death leaves her reeling. when local police call it a suicide Audrey refuses to believe it and just like when her parents died she soon is taking care of Adrian and Edward Miranda‘s children while her husband also comes to terms with her untimely death. Audrey has sacrificed a lot for the ones Sue loves so when she decides to investigate Miranda‘s depth having Miranda as her only friend she doesn’t know where to turn. When she finally starts looking into it however she will find out things about those she thought she knew that would be shocking and then one case it will be life-changing and deadly. OK let me stay upfront there were a lot of things that irritated me about this book especially the letter to the perpetrator at the end but I digress despite any negative thing I can say the one thing I can absolutely say with certainty as I absolutely recommend this book. I did not see the ending coming and I must say Miss O’Connor set me up and knocked me down it truly was a twist out of left-field that was expertly done so I definitely recommend this book even though some of it had my eyes rolling in my perturbed antenna up.#NetGalley, #TheBlindReviewer, #MyHonestReview, #DeborahO’Connor, #DearFutureMe,

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a little while to get into this one,mainly because there are a lot of characters, and my brain was at “wait, who’s that again?” every few pages, I needed a flow chart to keep up. But keep going, they will all make sense.

The premise is brilliant: a group of former schoolmates take a trip down memory lane and it ain't in 1st class! After receiving letters they wrote to themselves in school, Sounds lovely right? wrong… there are so many secrets to spill and someone turns up dead obvs. Classic reunion vibes, really.

This is no ordinary whodunnit. Deborah O’Connor does a masterful job of making everyone look shady. I suspected basically every character at some point, including people who weren’t even in the room. Just when I thought I had a grip on it, another twist would knock me sideways. And the final reveal? Absolutely did not see it coming. Hats off.

Smart, layered, and a little dark, with a nostalgic edge and plenty of tension. If you enjoy thrillers that keep you guessing and make you side-eye your old classmates, this one’s for you.

thanks to NetGalley and Poisoned pen for the ARC

[Jessica-sim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun thriller with a good premise and its idea is worked out in such a way to avoid the obvious.

[Ellie Simcock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to netgalley and the author for this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Love the concept of this book, the use of the letters and intertwining the past and present. The twists near the end definitely kept me on my toes. Would definitely recommend this! A nice and easy read

[BookCLE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Future Me,

Turn Christina Aguilera off, dry your tears, pick your head up, and find your voice within. That’s what I keep telling myself at least. It’s not working. Something is growing inside of you and if you don’t start acknowledging it soon, you’re going to burst—not physically obviously but you get the point. It’s time to tell the truth about...

Record scratch—could you imagine being ripped from the present and slammed back into you 17 year-old self without warning? Forced to reckon your hopes and dreams and SECRETS twenty years later? Well that's exactly what Deborah O’Connor does with her latest novel. "Dear Future Me" is a cold-hearted blast from the past aimed to rip the rug out from underneath you.

When a high school time capsule project resurfaces twenty years later, the returned letters don’t just stir nostalgia—they unearth unexpected truths that reignite the pain of a classmate’s tragic death. What begins as a simple reunion with the past spirals into a chilling investigation when one of the former students takes her own life after reading her letter, prompting her best friend to dig deep into secrets long buried. Told through a mix of the letters, flashbacks to 2003, and a new story playing out in real time, everything converges like a stunning puzzle masterfully connected. But it’s not just about solving a mystery—it’s about facing the version of yourself you thought you’d left behind.

Through the intimacy of the letters, you care about the characters' dreams and fears. You're invested in their journeys—what motivates them, what they fear, what they're insecure about, and what they envision for their future. And then you get to peek behind their carefully constructed adult façades into the baggage they've carried from adolescence. The dichotomy implores the reader to revisit their own adolescence and wonder, "Am I where I thought I would be?" And spoiler alert...you probably aren't. What O'Connor highlights is life is messy and it rarely turns out exactly as planned. But it's never too late to change course and there is no expiration on hopes and dreams.

"Dear Future Me" hits the sweet spot of nostalgia, mystery, and redemption. This isn’t just a whodunnit—it’s a who-am-I-now.

Thank you to Deborah O'Connor, Poisoned Pen Press, & NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my authentic review.

[myreadingescapism · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this storyline! It was so unique in a saturated world of similar storylines. This stood out sooo much. 4.5⭐️

[Emma · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love a solid first chapter and this one DELIVERED! The book slows in the middle, but it definitely felt like a real life experience- the answers take time (though I KNEW how it was going to end).

[The Bookish Elf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dear Future Me begins with a simple yet chilling concept: what if the letters you wrote to your future self twenty years ago contained secrets that could destroy lives today? Deborah O'Connor crafts this premise into a psychological thriller that excavates the dangerous territory between memory and truth, friendship and betrayal.

When former teacher Mr. Danler decides to mail back the "Dear Future Me" letters his students wrote in 2003, he expects nostalgia, perhaps some gentle reminiscence. Instead, these innocent white envelopes become ticking time bombs, each one detonating long-buried secrets across the seaside town of Saltburn. The most devastating explosion comes when Miranda Brévart receives her letter and, within hours, throws herself from Huntcliff cliffs—clutching those very pages in her hands.

A Mystery Wrapped in Emotional Devastation

O'Connor demonstrates considerable skill in structuring what could have been a straightforward mystery into something far more complex and emotionally resonant. The story unfolds through dual timelines—the present-day investigation led by Miranda's best friend Audrey, and the haunting revelations about what really happened during a school trip to the Lake District twenty years earlier, where student Ben Spellman died in what appeared to be a tragic accident.

The author's decision to reveal information gradually through multiple perspectives creates an almost archaeological feel to the narrative. Each chapter peels back another layer, exposing how the past continues to contaminate the present. This technique works particularly well when O'Connor reveals that Miranda wasn't alone on those cliffs—dashcam footage shows a second figure standing beside her in her final moments.

Character Development: Nuanced but Uneven

Audrey emerges as a compelling protagonist, a woman whose life was derailed by family circumstances but who possesses an unwavering loyalty that drives the entire investigation. O'Connor captures beautifully the way grief can consume someone, how the need for answers becomes an obsession that threatens to destroy relationships with the living while pursuing justice for the dead. Audrey's determination to understand why her best friend felt she couldn't confide in her adds genuine emotional weight to what could have been a purely plot-driven thriller.

The supporting characters reveal O'Connor's understanding of how trauma echoes through time. Leighton Walsh, now a gym owner harboring disturbing secrets, and Melvyn Arkwright, the former outcast turned academic, are both convincingly drawn as adults still shaped by their teenage experiences. The author particularly excels in showing how childhood roles persist into adulthood—the popular, the marginalized, the overlooked—and how these dynamics can turn deadly when combined with adult resources and opportunities.

However, some characters feel more like plot devices than fully realized people. Marcel, Miranda's husband, remains frustratingly opaque throughout most of the novel, and his potential involvement in his wife's death feels more like manufactured suspense than organic character development.

Atmospheric Writing That Captures Coastal Gothic

O'Connor's prose style mirrors the story's emotional landscape—sometimes gentle and nostalgic, other times sharp and unsettling. Her descriptions of Saltburn and the Yorkshire coast create an effectively gothic atmosphere where beauty and danger coexist. The recurring image of Huntcliff—"a giant promontory that pushes up and out toward the sky, as if it is trying to escape from the beach"—becomes almost a character itself, brooding over the town and its inhabitants.

The author's background in television production shows in her ability to craft scenes with visual impact. The moment when letters drop through letterboxes "like a series of bombs going off" immediately establishes the story's central metaphor, while the dashcam footage revelation provides a genuinely shocking twist that recontextualizes everything that came before.

Exploring Themes of Guilt, Secrets, and Consequences

At its core, Dear Future Me examines how secrets metastasize over time, becoming more dangerous the longer they remain hidden. O'Connor skillfully weaves together multiple threads: the toxic culture of a private school, the long-term effects of bullying, the way mental illness is stigmatized and hidden, and how the desire for revenge can corrupt even seemingly innocent people.

The revelation that Ben Spellman was not the victim but the perpetrator of attempted murder during the school trip provides the novel's most effective plot twist. It forces readers to reconsider everything they thought they understood about victim and villain, showing how perspective shapes narrative and how the "truth" can be far more complicated than it initially appears.

Where the Novel Stumbles

Despite its many strengths, Dear Future Me suffers from pacing issues in its middle section. The investigation occasionally feels repetitive, with Audrey pursuing leads that don't substantially advance either the plot or character development. Some revelations feel telegraphed rather than earned, particularly regarding Marcel's affair and its connection to Miranda's emotional state.

The novel's resolution, while satisfying in its revelation of the truth about both deaths, feels somewhat rushed after the careful buildup. The climactic confrontation lacks the emotional punch that the story's careful character work had been building toward. Additionally, some plot threads—particularly regarding the university investigation into Jago's affairs—feel included more for red herring purposes than organic story development.

Technical Craft and Writing Style

O'Connor demonstrates solid technical proficiency throughout, particularly in her handling of multiple perspectives without losing narrative coherence. Her ability to maintain suspense while gradually revealing information shows considerable plotting skill. The author's experience with previous novels (My Husband's Son, The Dangerous Kind, The Captive) is evident in her confident handling of complex family dynamics and psychological tension.

The dialogue feels natural and character-appropriate, avoiding the stilted exposition that often plagues mystery novels. O'Connor particularly excels in capturing the way people avoid directly addressing difficult topics, creating subtext that adds depth to seemingly simple conversations.

Final Verdict: A Solid Addition to the Genre

Dear Future Me succeeds as both psychological study and mystery thriller, offering enough twists to satisfy genre fans while providing the emotional depth that elevates it above pure puzzle-solving. O'Connor's exploration of how the past refuses to stay buried resonates particularly strongly in our current cultural moment of reckoning with historical injustices and hidden traumas.

While the novel doesn't revolutionize the domestic thriller genre, it executes its central concept with skill and genuine emotional intelligence. The book's examination of friendship, loyalty, and the price of truth provides substance beyond its plot mechanics. For readers who enjoy character-driven mysteries with gothic atmospheric elements, this represents a compelling and satisfying read.

[Sam Benitez · Rating 2 out of 5]

⭐️ 2.5 stars
I hate rating books badly but this one was just a dull story to me. I didn’t connect with any of the characters and the only character I truly enjoyed was Ben’s storyline and POVs. For how smart Audrey supposedly is she was so frustratingly slow 😩 the story picked up a lot near the 75% mark but the end felt rushed. I did enjoy Audrey’s ending. Not for me but for fans of really slow burn mysteries maybe try it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC.

[Beth Reads Crime]

Dear Future Me unfolds in 2023, with flashbacks to events from 2003. It’s the school-trip-gone-wrong trope, but with a really interesting angle delivered (literally!) in the form of letters written by the characters as teens, which are then received by them 20 years later.

See, these letters to their future selves don’t just contain their dreams and ambitions. They actually expose the truth about the tragic death of one of their classmates. After receiving her letter, Miranda promptly leaves home and jumps off a cliff.

Her best friend Audrey can’t believe Miranda would do such a thing and is desperate to get to the bottom of her friend’s letter, some pages of which are missing. And also to figure out the meaning of the strange note that was left in her own letter.

This was an interesting mystery, with lots of great characters and I especially loved the letters aspect of this, though I’m now wondering what happened to all those time capsules we made at school!

Thank you to Compulsive Readers and Bonnier Books for the gifted copy and including me on the tour

[Madelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

thank you to NetGalley and Poisoned Pen Press for the ARC!

yeah idk. this isn't bad but I feel like it could have been way better. there are like... three characters too many here, and some of them genuinely seem to have very little point in the story or development of the protagonist. that said, speaking of the protagonist, I really did love her. I think O'Connor did a great job with a character in a pretty unusual situation for a book of this kind. just wish the other characters had some more development. also boy... her brother sucks and there's not really any reckoning with this and that bothered me.

oh one spoilery thing that thrillers are doing lately that I don't love: introduce love interest. love interest revealed as Sketchy. it turns out that's a red herring and actually love interest is fine. at the end of the book, protag ends up with love interest, but we still don't really KNOW anything about them. BOOORING.

[Stacia Vega · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very impressed.

Dear Future Me by Deborah O’Connor
.
In 2003 a high school class was assigned to write letters to their future selves. Now it is twenty years later and the letters have been mailed to them. On the day her letter arrives, Miranda jumps to her death and her best friend Audrey is convinced it was over these letters.
.
Ok, wow. I see you now Deborah O’Connor.

This book really impressed me! It had layers upon layers to the story and I was completely fascinated with every page.
Everytime I HAD to put it down I was sad because I just wanted to keep reading it.
I saw one small element to the story early on and was so proud of myself. Otherwise, wow what a twisty-turny little mystery that was!

I won’t say more because I don’t want to spoil anything. 🤐
.
5🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 Loved every minute of it! Highly recommend if you enjoy mystery books.

[Wynnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

An unassuming morning and a range of letters are delivered. Each of them letters were written for a school assignment 20 years ago by the recipients: 'Dear Future Me'...


Early on, it transpires that one of the women who received her letter commits suicide. Audrey, her childhood friend, is now on a mission of finding out why, and how the letter is related to this.

I found the concept incredibly appealing and really wanted to be engrossed by the book. However, the writing seemed a bit clunky in places, and I'm very sorry to say that I found the main character a little annoying, unfortunately.

[Lily-May · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had the pleasure of arc reading this book in return for an honest review

2.5 maybe a 3⭐

I loved how the story starts it gets you gripped from the start,
At one point in the middle I felt to much was going on with to many people and I felt I lost the purpose of the story
However it quickly got me back hooked
And I really enjoyed the story overall

I wish there wasn't so many names at one point as I couldn't work out who was who as some of the names were similar

But the story is such a good story and I really love the idea of this outside a book (the letters only not the rest) 😅

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

All my reviews can be found at damppebbles.com

Twenty years ago a group of teens wrote a letter to their future selves as a class project. In the present day the letters, long forgotten, suddenly start dropping through letterboxes. The letters receive a mixed reception. Some recipients enjoy the nostalgia. Some are reminded of a time they would much rather forget. Miranda, Audrey’s best friend, is found later that same day at the bottom of the cliff. Audrey is devastated. She remembers the time twenty years ago well, when the class were asked to write these letters. How they started writing them the day before the class trip to the Lake District. How dreadful and upsetting that weekend trip became. But it doesn’t help explain what has happened to Miranda. Audrey decides to take matters into her own hands and starts to investigate why Miranda’s letter had the effect on her it did.

Dear Future Me is a slow-burn mystery, full to the brim with emotion and intrigue. I really liked Audrey. She had so much promise at school. Everyone knew she was destined for great things and had her hopes set on a place at Cambridge. When that didn’t quite materialise as she expected, she decided to steer her life in a very different direction, as the sole carer for her much younger brother. There are so many ‘could have beens’ and ‘what ifs’ that I couldn’t help but warm to her. Audrey sets out to talk to her former classmates still living in the area to see if she can fathom why Miranda was so upset with her letter and stormed out of the house that fateful morning.

Would I recommend this book? I would, yes. Dear Future Me is another gripping, character-driven, suspense packed thriller from Deborah O’Connor. I love the concept of this book. How different are we now from our seventeen-year-old selves? Very different, in my case! I loved the nostalgia, the looking back to the past, and seeing the characters then and now. The North Yorkshire setting was vivid and dramatic. O’Connor really invokes a sense of place in the novel. I enjoyed the small-town vibe; the fact that so many of Audrey’s classmates had stayed in the same area for so long really helped that feeling of community. There is a fairly large cast of characters, but I was able to keep track of who everyone was and the relationships they had. The reader gets to experience a number of the ‘dear future me’ letters, allowing us to see what made these people tick. What their hopes and dreams were. Where they were in their young lives at that particular point in time. Some were uplifting and inspirational. Others were heartbreaking. All in all, I very much enjoyed Dear Future Me. It’s a beautifully written tale of grief, secrets and regret. Full of heart and with plenty of intrigue. An intelligent, suspense-laden read. Recommended.

[Ashley Gillan · Rating 4 out of 5]

As the teenagers in Saltburn prepare to graduate and go on their various paths, their English teacher assigns them to write a letter to themselves in the future, promising to mail it to them in 20 years. That day has come, bringing some people laughs, some reflection, and for Miranda Brevart, something terrible, as she walks out of her house in the middle of making breakfast and jumps off a local cliff. Now her best friend, Aubrey, is left to figure out what went wrong and why. And the answer isn’t nearly as simple as anyone thinks.

The story is told mostly from Aubrey’s POV in tge present, but it does sometimes switch to other people, in the present and in the past, during the year the letters were written.

I actually had a teacher in 8th grade (the last year of middle school) that had us write a letter to our future selves and she mailed them to us four years later, right fore high school graduation. It was a fun exercise, with low stakes. I mostly rambled about what boy I liked and my friends and my hopes for college. Most things were very different by the end of high school, and it was fun thinking back, even if it was just a little bit prior.

So, the idea that these letters could be deadly was very interesting for me. What could possibly be so Earth-shattering that it could cause such a reaction? Well buckle up, because you are in for a twisty, wild ride that involves two interesting mysteries: what happened to Miranda that morning and what happened on a class trip the girls’ senior year, when Miranda’s ex-boyfriend died, and whose death seems to be at the heart of the mystery.

I was definitely hooked by all of the drama swirling around and the twists kept coming and coming, but the book did seem to drag a little bit in the middle. Also, with so many characters to keep straight, it was a little bit hard. Lots of names of people that appeared maybe once or twice, or even not at all, you just heard about them.

But that certainly didn’t slow me down with my reading, and it shouldn’t deter you. The mysteries are stellar, and the solutions are top-notch.

Put this one on your radar!

[Tayler.Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audrey is a maid who has lived in the small town of Saltburn her entire life. Once she had dreams of going off to school, majoring in history, and becoming a better version of herself, but after her parents both pass away and she doesn’t get into her dream school she stays in her hometown to take care of her brother and their family home. Several of Audrey’s classmates, including her best friend Miranda, still live in town and one day their lives are turned upside down by letters they receive in the mail.

As high schoolers, they wrote “Dear Future Me” letters filled with dreams, aspirations, confessions, and more. Twenty years later, their old English teacher sends these letters out into the world, rekindling feelings forgotten. Audrey’s friend, Miranda, reads her letter and the next thing we know she is dead at the bottom of a cliff side. Has she jumped and committed suicide, or is there a possibility this could be murder?

The rest of the book follows Audrey as she meets with her former classmates and tries to figure out what has happened to her friend. Filled with excerpts of everyone’s letters, this book connects the past with the present in a very clever way. There are a lot of characters and moving pieces that cause intrigue and at times, confusion to what happened to Miranda.

Overall, I thought this book was interesting and well written. The characters were multifaceted and thought out well. I would read more from this author in the future.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

[Leighanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

What fun!
Twenty years ago, Audrey and her classmates completed a class assignment to write letters to their future selves. The assignment went mostly forgotten until the letters started showing up in the mail slots of the now thirty-somethings. A single vague note tucked into Audrey's letter kicks off questions about a young man's death in 2003, a woman's death in 2023, and the way the trajectories of people's lives can be upended or cut short in unexpected ways. How much did we really know about what was going on with our friends when we were seventeen?
Dear Future Me is a tightly plotted, fast-paced thriller about secrets, memories, and the evolution of relationships. I'm around the same age as the characters in the book, so the acknowledged reality that we can never talk to our younger selves, that that kind of communication can only ever go in one direction, added a layer to this one that I felt on a personal level. You're not going to find like a jaw-dropping, genre-changing experience here, which is absolutely fine. This is a SOLID thriller. Exactly what I was looking for.
The book mostly follows Audrey, but later we also get perspectives from other characters in the present day, and we also get to read their letters from 2003. I've grown to love multi-POV thrillers, and the technique is used really well in Dear Future Me.
I'm looking forward to checking out O'Connor's backlist titles.

3.5 stars rounded up

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

A compelling, character-driven thriller which manages to develop realistic, engaging characters without sacrificing a fast-paced, addictive plot. 

Audrey gave up on her dreams decades ago–after her rejection from Cambridge and her mother's death, which left her the sole caregiver for her baby brother. Now, she cleans homes for a living, a mundane, repetitive, safe existence. Her life is thrown into disarray when her best friend Miranda completes suicide after their graduating class receive the "Dear Future Me" letters they wrote. 

Believing that there's more to it, Audrey throws herself into finding out what could have triggered Miranda's death–and was it truly a suicide? What follows is a fast-paced, twisty exploration of the secrets that can't stay hidden in a small town. 

I thoroughly enjoyed all the different points of view reflected in this novel. The characters now have jobs, kids, spouses, joys, and regrets, but they all started out with the same youthful optimism, hopes, fears, and insecurities. The glimpses into their lives paint a realistic portrait of the mundane, everyday lives that most people lead despite their biggest childhood dreams. 

Overall, one of the more memorable thrillers that I've read in a while, made all the more readable and relatable because of its characters.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Twenty years ago, a high school class was given an assignment to write letters to their future selves. When several students, now adults, receive their letters, they contain secrets about the death of a fellow student on a class trip shortly after the letters were written. When one of the former students commits suicide after she opens her letter, the former classmates are thrust into another police investigation. Dear Future Me is an engaging thriller with an interesting and unique plot, as the reader is immediately pulled in with a quick and shocking opening as the contents of the letters are revealed by each addressee. The plot is propelled by Audrey, the best friend of the girl who commits suicide, as she doggedly tries to unravel the mystery, and her character is easy to root for throughout her ordeal. The author definitely delivers on an interesting concept in this twisty, entertaining read. I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Hailey Branson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you netgalley, Poisoned Pen Press and Deborah O’Connor for an advanced reading copy of Dear Future Me!

This book follows a group of classmates who receive a letter they had written to themselves 20 years prior. In a tragic turn of events one of the classmates is presumed dead by suicide. Her best friend is determined to figure out the cause and unveils secrets her friend held, as well as everyone else in the class.

I really enjoyed this thriller! I thought the writing was beautiful, well paced, and kept me interested. I couldn’t figure out who was responsible and my guesses kept changing- the plot twist and the ending were not predictable. I definitely recommend adding this to your tbr