I know little about handwriting, and I haven't seen the book yet; I find the combination of a nicely shaped "S" with ordinary block letters intriguing. It is also interesting that they included a proof of purchase. Fortunately, being anonymous you don't need to worry about replying.
I have just ordered a copy of the relevant from your shop.

Pierre, I've just seen your order, thanks! I hope this mysteriously anonymous missive will add a layer of intrigue as you read the book...

I had a look at a few graphology sites, and this one in particular caught my eye:
http://astrology.indiainfo.com/astrologers/nirajmancchanda/articles/sexual-strokes.html

- I think no.8 probably explains the comment on the acknowledgements page.

4 might do it too, Naomi :)

How ridiculous - it reminds me of a similar comment I once read regarding Sarah Waters... which said it was sensationalist porn. I doubt these people live in the real world and if they saw any real porn they might have a stroke on the spot.

I love Needle in the Blood and am currently reading The Book of Love - well done to Sarah Bower - it's beautifully written and so evocative... and the sex bits are pretty good too! Watch out for another onslaught of ripped out pages Emma.

Sarah

Well, I know I'm not flavour of the month with Snowbooks at the mo, but just had to drop in and say... WHAT??

The Needle in the Blood is outstandingly wonderful in every way, not least the gorgeous writing. It’s just... brilliant. I couldn't stop thinking about it for months afterwards. I'm waiting with bated breath for The Book of Love to be delivered and can’t believe it can possibly be better than Needle (but I bet it will be).

WTF? I recall hearing some rock star being interviewed once about his feelings regarding people burning his records and he said "I don't worry to much, after all they have to buy 'em to burn 'em". A good point.

I think the fact that the note is entirely written in capitals tells us that they aren't perhaps familiar with the written word, and the nicely formed 'S' that someone else mentioned indicates that they are middle-aged - I'm in my (whisper it) late 30s and was one of the last generations to be taught 'proper' cursive handwriting.

But give them a little credit - at least they were concise!

I have to confess that I haven't read Needle in the Blood yet despite all the praise I've seen for it. Must order it and add it to my tottering TBR pile.

"which said it was sensationalist porn."

Ooh, yes, I remember that comment - in fact I bought the book on the strength of it, and found it far less sensationalist than I had been expecting.
Doh. ;)

Since last night I've been practicing my Ys and have almost prefected a no.2. Phew. ;) :)

I'm thinking shelf-talker.

Jon, it will work. Let's do it.

Now I REALLY want to read this book!

You too! We used to get scarily similar stuff - with crossings out and general abuse across numerous ripped out pages. Hilarious.

There are certainly some very strange people out there.

You already know my opinion on Sarah's sordid and abysmal style but she does it so awfully well, doesn't she? I hope you're going to frame it and either hang it on your wall or present it to Sarah.

The sad fact, though, is that I don't suppose this person bought a copy at all. S/he probably shuffled round the library in his/her grubby mac and furtively tore out the relevant page.

I hope you've kept the envelope for the necessary DNA testing.

Actually, I think it was a delightfully quirky way to comment and will use a variation somewhere in my next novel - and make what you will of my personality!

(Disclaimer - no, it wasn't me, though there are books which would tempt me to do likewise.)

I thought that the Ss looked like ampersands, rather than well-crafted Ss: and I particularly admired the use of the word "abybmally". But shouldn't that read "written abybmally", rather than "abybmally written"? Or am I being too pedantic, once again?

Sally - as long as it was one of the sample libraries for PLR!

I've got a wee collection of these from the library. I can't wait until I get a few of my own. I'd weep a tear of sheer joy if anyone described my writing as 'sordid', especially if they'd bought it first.