A fascinating historical drama.
A witch hunter must come to terms with the repercussions of his actions in Fearns’ historical novel.
In 1545, Geneva city magistrate Henry Aubert—a deeply religious man who lost his entire family to the plague—is summoned by John Calvin and tasked with trying witches in a small community. On his way to the assignment, Henry encounters Louise de Peney; she is a pretty young woman and a former nun, now a healer. Henry is intrigued by her. He begins investigating witchcraft, and, via torture, he manages to get a confession from the husband of an accused woman, but injures him so badly he must send for Louise. Louise doesn’t think much of his interrogation methods; still, she believes he is a good man and tries to warn him off his quest (“How many witches can there be? It is a sorry business, and it will destroy you. There can be no happy ending to this, whatever the truth”). The plot thickens when several women in town are accused of participating in a satanic ritual and arrested. As Henry continues with his work, Louise challenges his worldview, arguing that the women he is accusing of witchcraft are no more guilty of heresy than he is. Henry cares for her, but has trouble agreeing. When Louise is inevitably accused of witchcraft, everything Henry believes is thrown into question. There is a compelling tension in Henry between his desire for sex and his piety that, in his eyes, casts any interest in women as sinful. But his absolutism is constantly challenged as he struggles to fulfill his mission and questions whether he should adhere to his faith or adjust based on what he has learned. Louise is a fascinating character, too; she’s smart and well read (better read than Henry). Louise understands what is happening better than Henry does—she knows the accused women are only guilty of being women. Henry is a bit naïve, and although that changes as the novel progresses, he also remains anchored in Calvinist thinking, leading to a tragic ending. The narrative provides a deep look into the fear of witchcraft, underscoring how gender and sex were at the heart of it.
A fascinating historical drama.Pub Date: Oct. 20, 2023
ISBN: 978-1958228272
Page Count: 214
Publisher: Quill & Crow Publishing House
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2023
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
