An in-depth fictional study of two characters’ struggle to fit into a daunting world.
Kruxhammer’s first novel involves two very different men named John whose fates collide in Las Vegas.
At the outset, John Morgan and John Palmer don’t have a lot in common. Palmer is an only child from a wealthy family in California who dropped out of college after developing a disturbing obsession with his female therapist. He spent time in the Belinbreeze Psychiatric Hospital, where he passed many an hour scrawling in a notebook, which contains thoughts such as, “It’s a puzzling life in a preposterous world.” After his parents die in a car crash, he inherits their fortune and leaves the psychiatric hospital with roughly $12 million and vague ideas about taking up writing. John Morgan grew up in Buffalo, New York, and graduated from college with a degree in business, and like Palmer, also has ambitions to write. Morgan’s adult life entails a dicey divorce and copious amounts of beer: “Divorce taught Morgan things aren’t as bad as they seem, they’re worse.” Still, the two Johns must carry on in a world of romantic difficulties. The lives of these men generate a great deal of possibilities. How does one live while flush with cash and desperate for companionship, and how does someone pick up their life (or fail to) after a disastrous marriage? As the men’s destinies careen toward each other—both develop a penchant for Las Vegas—the main question seems to be whether each will keep heart and soul together. Morgan, for instance, intriguingly reflects on his interest in philosophy and how “teachings of famous thinkers made life more satisfying, but also more difficult.” Some aspects of the novel prove tedious, though, such as an early account of Morgan's attempt to get by in Vegas after college, which doesn’t amount to much. Overall, though, readers will be interested to find out what, if anything, these men learn about themselves along the way.
An in-depth fictional study of two characters’ struggle to fit into a daunting world.Pub Date: July 5, 2022
ISBN: 979-8986311302
Page Count: 330
Publisher: Bird's-Eye & Beyond
Review Posted Online: Sept. 21, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.
A lifetime’s worth of letters combine to portray a singular character.
Sybil Van Antwerp, a cantankerous but exceedingly well-mannered septuagenarian, is the titular correspondent in Evans’ debut novel. Sybil has retired from a beloved job as chief clerk to a judge with whom she had previously been in private legal practice. She is the divorced mother of two living adult children and one who died when he was 8. She is a reader of novels, a gardener, and a keen observer of human nature. But the most distinguishing thing about Sybil is her lifelong practice of letter writing. As advancing vision problems threaten Sybil’s carefully constructed way of life—in which letters take the place of personal contact and engagement—she must reckon with unaddressed issues from her past that threaten the house of cards (letters, really) she has built around herself. Sybil’s relationships are gradually revealed in the series of letters sent to and received from, among others, her brother, sister-in-law, children, former work associates, and, intriguingly, literary icons including Joan Didion and Larry McMurtry. Perhaps most affecting is the series of missives Sybil writes but never mails to a shadowy figure from her past. Thoughtful musings on the value and immortal quality of letters and the written word populate one of Sybil’s notes to a young correspondent while other messages are laugh-out-loud funny, tinged with her characteristic blunt tartness. Evans has created a brusque and quirky yet endearing main character with no shortage of opinions and advice for others but who fails to excavate the knotty difficulties of her own life. As Sybil grows into a delayed self-awareness, her letters serve as a chronicle of fitful growth.
An affecting portrait of a prickly woman.Pub Date: May 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780593798430
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2025
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.
A struggling writer finds an unexpected muse when a mysterious man shows up at her cabin.
Petra Rose used to pump out a bestselling book every six months, but then the adaptation happened—that is, the disastrous film adaptation of her most famous book. The movie changed the book’s storyline so egregiously that fans couldn’t forgive her, and the ensuing harassment sent Petra into hiding and gave her a serious case of writer’s block. Petra’s one hope is her solo writing retreat at a remote cabin, where she can escape the distractions of real life and focus on her next book, a story about a woman having an affair with a cop. When officer Nathaniel Saint shows up at her cabin door, inspiration comes flooding back. Much like the character from Petra’s book, Saint is married, and he’s willing to be Petra’s muse, helping her get into her characters’ heads. Petra’s book is practically writing itself, but is the game she’s playing a little too dangerous? Does she know when to stop—and, more importantly, is Saint willing to stop? Hoover is no stranger to controversial movie adaptations and internet backlash, but she clarifies in a note to readers that she’s “just a writer writing about a writer” and that no further connections to her own life are contained in these pages—which is a good thing, because the book takes some horrifying twists and turns. Petra finds herself inexplicably attracted to Saint, even as she describes him as “such an asshole,” and her feelings for him veer between love and hate. The novel serves as a meta commentary on the dark romance genre—as Petra puts it, “Even though, as readers, we wouldn’t want to live out some of the fantasies we read about, it doesn’t mean we don’t enjoy reading those things.”
A dark and twisty look at just how far one woman is willing to go to find inspiration.Pub Date: Jan. 13, 2026
ISBN: 9781662539374
Page Count: -
Publisher: Montlake
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2025
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