Original and hilarious, this novel about a Gen X midlife crisis reveals that base instincts can coexist with the maternal.
A roman à clef disguised as a murder mystery, or vice versa? Either way, the suburban mother who narrates the story has to contend with a lot of trouble.
Perdita Jungfrau and Theo Vestergaard have two young children, son Atticus and daughter Honor, and live in San Diego. Everything should be coming up roses, but Perdie is unhappy with her lot: What happened to her feminist rockabilly band? Why does Theo gag whenever he’s asked to change a diaper? Will Atticus ever outgrow his pernicious allergies? Perdie spends most of her time watching true-crime shows while she nurses Atticus. She loves America’s Worst Murders Ever because “you always find out who did it in the end.” One day, her neighbor Jill’s roofer takes a bad fall and Perdie’s rush to his aid may, as she tells everyone, have saved his life. She takes a bad fall, too, metaphorically speaking, and decides she’s in love with Fernando Acuña. The narrative cuts from the early days of their flirtation in 2007 ahead to 2010, when everyone is shocked to discover Nando has been fatally shot at close range in an apparent robbery. Perdie’s narration, via Neyenesch’s prose, is mordantly funny and perfectly pitched, whether describing married sex (she says Theo was like an “asshole roommate” who “smelled good, and he knew how to make me come”) or the fact that her troubled brother Spencer imagines beating his steakhouse customers “over the head with the long-ass peppermill.” However, the humor shares space with unease. Nando’s girlfriend, Charleigh, seems to be stalking Perdie, showing up in her Volkswagen Beetle wearing green aviator sunglasses, while detectives question Perdie and her divorced parents about convicted felon Spencer’s whereabouts. Is it possible that, despite finding her soul mate, Perdie knew nothing about Nando? Anyone who has ever felt estranged from their nearest and dearest will appreciate how Perdie manages to take back control of her own life.
Original and hilarious, this novel about a Gen X midlife crisis reveals that base instincts can coexist with the maternal.Pub Date: May 5, 2026
ISBN: 9781668213124
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Summit
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
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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