Letter 26 Book Review

by Catalina Bonati

2.5/5 stars ★★⯪☆☆

Jacob Moon’s Letter 26 (2024) is a thriller that centers around Abby, a dietitian who is abducted by a serial killer who is focused on collecting corpses from women whose first letter of their jobs eventually make up the whole alphabet. Detectives Randall and Tan are on the trail of the elusive PK (Profession Killer) and must find Abby before her time runs out.

The strength of this book lies in its truly disturbing ambiance and in the killer’s (named Frederik) warped view of his victims. The story becomes increasingly creepy and near the end it is quite ominous. Frederik is absolutely lost in his own fantasy, and after a while the most unhinged things become normal even to the reader. What is also quite startling is the description of the mortuary tools used by the killer to position his corpses and a long explanation of the embalming processes. These details are quite specific and obviously well-researched, and adding this information so the reader can fully grasp Frederik’s insanity is a brilliant decision on the author’s part.

The police investigation is a bit boring to read. The detectives spend a lot of time discussing details of the crime scenes which are irrelevant to the story, which makes these scenes drag. Detective Randall expresses zero surprise at anything as apparently nothing is new to him, which makes him a bit flat and dull to read about. Detective Tan is not fleshed out enough and has no particular personality. Additionally, their investigation is lousy and  lackluster and they have no original ideas. Apparently, they have unlimited funds and what they come up with is a billboard. Frederiks’s MO is not varied or hard to pin down, so it is difficult to understand why he hasn’t been caught.

Some things are unexplained in this novel. For instance, Frederik has unlimited funds with which to make his deranged funhouse of corpses, and how he has obtained such money and free time to spend on this project is concealed from the reader but not in a way that seems mysterious; rather, it feels unfinished. Frederik is also the character with the most backstory, which might arguably make him the main character rather than Abby. Abby has a layered background, yet she still lacks a developed personality.

And most importantly, the end reveal is quite absurd.

Overall, this book had some good macabre vibes but it needs stronger characters, more fleshed out writing that fill the story gaps, and much stronger development of police processes. It would have been ideal if the police investigation had been as researched and though-out as Frederik’s mortuary process. Nevertheless, it is a disturbing read and this might be enough for some thriller and horror readers.