An engrossing and thought-provoking, if uneven, courtroom tale.
Two defense attorneys fight a case against long odds.
In this third installment of a legal drama series featuring Star Gwiazda and Tadeusz “Zenko” Luczek, Charns turns to the case of an undocumented immigrant on trial for a rape he did not commit. Lawyers Star and Zenko, childhood sweethearts from Michigan who turned into platonic colleagues in North Carolina, are chosen to serve as public defenders for José Martínez, a Salvadoran immigrant accused of raping his girlfriend’s 9-year-old daughter, Mariposa Garcia. The attorneys face an uphill battle, with a hostile judge making their defense difficult and a victim who is clearly lying about the identity of her attacker. Salvadoran gangs, United States foreign policy, and the shifting political climate all contribute to making it hard for Star, Zenko, and José to find justice. Charns has created a pair of compelling protagonists whose similarities (both suffer from mental illnesses controlled by treatment) and differences (Star is resolutely atheist while Zenko’s Roman Catholicism shapes his worldview) make them effective foils for each other. The dark screwball comedy of their interactions can be a delight to read. (The subtle humor is also evident in an effective scene where Zenko, after a frustrating day in court, takes great pleasure in ordering his dog, named Judge, to sit.) The courtroom scenes are well done, blending technical details with plot development. But other parts of the text are not as well developed: The pacing is uneven and the secondary characters are somewhat flat. Mariposa, in particular, seems uncaring or malicious until her reasons for lying are revealed in the book’s final pages. In addition, the story describes the physical effects of her violent rape in graphic detail, which some readers may find excessive. Still, Charns does a good job of presenting the case as a micro-level instance of the harm done by official incompetence, preconceived notions, and U.S. involvement in El Salvador, allowing the novel to explore broad themes of justice.
An engrossing and thought-provoking, if uneven, courtroom tale.Pub Date: Dec. 26, 2021
ISBN: 979-8790837807
Page Count: 114
Publisher: Independently Published
Review Posted Online: Feb. 23, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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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