Privilege has its own problems, and this engaging novel brings them to life.
If Succession and Downton Abbey had a baby, it might look something like this novel about a wealthy family facing an uncertain future.
The Brooke family has lived for generations in Albion, a stately 20-bedroom sandstone manse modeled on a Greek temple and surrounded by a 1,000-acre estate in the Sussex countryside. The death of its most recent patriarch, the charismatic and reckless Philip, brings his not-so-nearest and dearest to Albion to bury him—and shred one another. Eldest daughter Frannie lives at the estate with her young daughter, Rowan. Frannie and Philip overcame an estrangement and have spent the last decade “rewilding” the estate (there’s some lovely description of nature) and making it more resilient to climate change. Philip was so pleased that he’s left everything to Frannie—including, she’s just discovered, a thorny financial picture. Philip’s widow, Grace, is moving into her daughter’s former cottage and happy about it; her marriage was miserable, and she’s come to hate the big house. Her only solace has been her friendship with Philip’s old pal Ned, who long ago helped create an event that Albion is still famous for, a Woodstock-style festival called the Teddy Bears’ Picnic. Sweet-natured, resourceful Ned still lives on the grounds, growing pot in his old school bus. The other man who keeps the place running, Jack, inherited the job of gamekeeper from his father—but he’s ready to make a change. Returning to Albion for Philip’s funeral are his other two children. Milo is a blithely entitled finance bro who’s found his cause: psilocybin therapy. He’s trying to sell Frannie on the hallucinogen’s spiritual and financial potential because he wants her permission to build an elite retreat on the estate: “We can birth a new ruling class right here.” Youngest sister Isa doesn’t like the idea, but then she doesn’t like much of anything—even in this prickly, resentful family, she stands out as a ball of rage. The plot slows down in spots—so many characters, so many backstories—and dialogue sometimes sounds more like editorials than conversation, but when the Brookes gather (along with a few surprise guests), sparks fly, and shocking secrets are dug up as Philip, in his handwoven willow casket, is put in the ground.
Privilege has its own problems, and this engaging novel brings them to life.Pub Date: June 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780063427150
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 16, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2025
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
SEEN & HEARD
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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