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Your next favorite book
is waiting.
by Susan McGuirk
Recommended for readers who enjoy The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams and An American Beauty by Shana Abé.
Three hearts. Love lost. One impossible choice.
A character-driven historical saga featuring the love triangle of a seaman, a governess and a wealthy speculator. Told through letters, the sweep of 19th century events like the gold rush, whaling voyages, and the streets of Manhattan unfold.
"Fans of historical novels will find much to like in McGuirk's debut. An ambitious work of historical fiction." —Kirkus Review
"If you're into historical fiction with a strong emotional core, Dear Missing Friend is a genuinely compelling pick. It's the kind of book that stays with you—not because of grand plot twists, but because of the quiet, deeply human moments that shape Catherine's path." —The Gloss Book Club
"This captivating epistolary novel illustrates the hopes and hardships of 19th-century Irish immigrants starting over in America. The book is historically rich and emotionally riveting." —The Christian Science Monitor
"In Susan McGuirk's epistolary novel Dear Missing Friend, letters go where the heart is meant to travel, enabling a kind of freedom that feels unattainable in daily life." —Foreword Reviews
"McGuirk creates a powerful foundation for a story that embraces many elements, from history to mystery, using Catherine's strengths and character to bring this era to life. Recommendable to book clubs." —Midwest Book Review
"It resonates with works like The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan and The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri in its examination of cultural identity and resilience. Urgent and timeless, the novel offers an unflinching look at the cost of forging a new life in a foreign land and a tribute to the women who defied societal constraints. Simply Un-put-downable." —The Prairies Book Review
This information about Dear Missing Friend was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Susan McGuirk posts about historical fiction heroines on her free newsletter on Substack, and on her website susanmcguirk dot com. Susan worked at Anthology Film Archives, a historical film museum, where she received its Film Preservation Award and serves on the Board of Advisors. She honed her writing skills at HBO programming, composing hundreds of in-house film reviews. After running a media mentoring program at City College of New York, Susan accepted their Presidents Award. She earned a BA and MA in Media Studies from the New School and lives with her husband in New York City.
If you liked Dear Missing Friend, try these:
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Two ambitious writers in 1960s LA face betrayal when one writes a novel based on the other's life.
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