Readers won’t soon forget this dark little novel.
Milnes’ novel follows a disillusioned 69-year-old art afficionado who embarks on a quest to push back against a cultural “tide of trash.”
The creepy, nameless narrator is a failed actor of surpassing paleness (he was “Ghoul 14” in the 1971 Charlton Heston movie The Omega Man) and a former band promoter who once worked on Barry Manilow’s U.K. tours. Now, living in Spain with a detestably superficial woman who considers herself an artist—she paints what he describes as “kitsch rubbish”—something inside the man (who deeply loves art and its connection to culture and history) snaps. Armed with a rifle, he sets off on a mission to rid the world of “trasheteers,” those he sees as villains forcing trash culture down upon him. His first victims are a group of graffiti artists who have defiled iconic locations all over Europe that have been featured in famous paintings. (“In Spain you were in the landscapes of Goya, Bustillo Salomón, Velasquez, in France you were in the landscapes of Lorraine, Monet, Cezanne, Lavieille.”) After that, he targets more well-known artists, like the now 81-year-old Manilow, who is in London on a tour, and novelist Bernadine Evaristo, the president of the Royal Society of Literature, to name a few. Equal parts unhinged manifesto, thinly veiled social commentary, and serial killer’s meandering travelogue through Europe, this circular narrative is decidedly disturbing—particularly with real figures like Evaristo and others being targeted for death. (Readers will never experience a Barry Manilow song in quite the same way again.) But it’s the depth of depraved character development that truly powers this twisted tale. The narrator’s skewed view of the world, as seen through the lens of his frustration and anger, is, unsettlingly, almost understandable, especially considering his many failures, both personal and professional, throughout his largely unfulfilled life.
Readers won’t soon forget this dark little novel.Pub Date: Aug. 31, 2025
ISBN: 9781916183216
Page Count: 210
Publisher: whattradition books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 8, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
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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