An emotionally intense drama with a satisfying, unexpected conclusion.
In the twilight of the 17th century, fanatic persecution of the few remaining Cathars, practitioners of a medieval offshoot of Christianity, brings tragedy to a prominent French family.
Loux’s tale opens in the Pennsylvania settlement of Penn’s Woods decades after the mysterious disappearance of Jean-Pierre Laux, the eponymous seigneur. A letter arrives at the chateau of Magdalena Laux, wife of a Pennsylvania legislator, warning that a man claiming to be the long-lost father of Magdalena’s own father, Pierre, is on a ship bound for Philadelphia. The life of 20-something Magdalena, a self-proclaimed Cathar, will soon be inexorably changed. Here, the novel jumps back in time to the beginning of the ordeals of Jean-Pierre Laux. He, a Protestant feudal overlord of ancestral land dating back many generations, is walking with his son Pierre, preparing for a two-week trip for an audience with the Catholic King Louis XIV. Jean-Pierre’s beloved wife, Eleanor, is a secret practitioner of the Cathar faith. Although official Catholic persecution of the Cathars has ended centuries earlier, Eleanor worries that the king’s new policy of stationing troops in the home of Protestants will reveal her secret. Her fears are warranted. As Jean-Pierre heads out on his journey, he faces considerable danger. Will he fall prey to a maniacal priest who obsessively hunts out Cathars? Loux prefaces his elegant novel with a useful historical primer for readers not familiar with the history of the Cathars, practitioners of an ascetic and gnostic form of early Christianity. The beautiful, at times lyrical, prose ambles slowly but captivatingly, alternating between Jean-Pierre’s experiences and the lives of his descendants in Pennsylvania. It’s a tale of violence, tragic losses, regret, personal growth, and reconciliation, with vivid portrayals of a curious cast, especially of one compelling secondary character, a waif who takes on increasing importance. With a touch of mysticism plus a couple of deranged villains, the novel is an intriguing mix of personal saga and disturbing religious history.
An emotionally intense drama with a satisfying, unexpected conclusion.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9781954065048
Page Count: 226
Publisher: Wire Gate Press
Review Posted Online: July 11, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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