A Letter from Sheri by Cheryl GyantMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
A deeply disturbing, involving book - a page-turner that you can't put down.
Cheryl Gyant’s "A Letter from Sheri," is a compelling story that contains scenes of a graphic nature with adult content including sex, drug use, child abuse, abduction, and violence. It’s an unsettling narrative with an atmosphere that lingers long after the last page is turned.
The serial killer murders committed by Charles Ng and Leonard Lake in California in 1986 serve as the inspiration for this tragic story. In 2001, the author started to write a book about what it was like to be adopted. She was made to believe as a child that her biological father had killed her biological mother. However, when she was a teenager, she immersed herself in a ten-year, seemingly endless search for answers.
Consequently, her mother had been a victim of the 1985 Calaveras County, California Charles Ng, and Leonard Lake serial killings. This was confirmed when her biological aunt located her as an adult. When she contacted the retired detective that had worked on the case, he forwarded her an eleven-page letter from her mother that had been retrieved from a mountain of other evidence left at the crime scene. This letter provided answers to almost all of her questions. She came to the conclusion that her mother was never heard or given a chance in life after learning everything from her letter, her biological father, and her adoption files.
"A Letter from Sheri," a story that was once about an adoptee's quest for understanding, has altered its course to tell the terrifying tale of a victim. The details provided in the letter depict a life of trauma that began when Sheri was a young child and culminated with her death at the hands of ruthless serial killers.
"A Letter from Sheri," is a deeply disturbing, involving book - a page-turner that you can't put down. There are no tidy, last-minute plot twists to make you feel good in this documentary, just focus - to keep the reader focused - and the most disciplined writing I’ve read in years. Very highly recommended and a well-deserved five stars from me.
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