A bleak, compelling psychological novel that vividly captures creative collapse.
Wort’s novel charts the psychological descent of a once-famous novelist.
Henry Levi is a celebrated mystery novelist known for his popular series featuring a hard-boiled fictional detective. Henry’s life unravels after a car accident costs him a leg and extinguishes his creative spark. When his wife leaves him in the aftermath, Henry retreats further into isolation and alcohol, spending his days watching old interviews that serve as painful reminders of his former success. Concerned about Henry’s self-destructive spiral, his manager repeatedly recommends he check into an exclusive rehabilitation retreat located in Europe. The facility, the Hawthorne Wright Institute, brands itself as a luxury mental-wellness center specializing in curing artists of their creative hang-ups. Dr. Wright is the enigmatic founder and head whose altruistic spiel rings alarm bells in Henry’s mind. His reservations are well founded—after he arrives, he witnesses a drunk patient fall from a balcony to a gruesome death. Within the institution, Henry encounters a cast of deeply scarred patients, each grappling with their own trauma. Among their ranks is a figure from Henry’s past, Anders Fischer, an old acquaintance and traumatized rock star. He vaguely recognizes other public figures, like Mateo Santos, once a prominent voice in progressive media before a career-ending scandal, and Viviane Yates, a former actress turned body-positive influencer. As time passes, Henry begins to wonder if he’s improving or worsening under the influence of the doctors and his fellow patients. Delivered from an intensely personal and often disorienting perspective, the narrative effectively captures the claustrophobic experience of being trapped within one’s own mind. Although the plot plods along at times, Wort excels in his depiction of Henry’s bitter and self-destructive inner life. The institution (“The high fences were fancifully crafted and topped with gilded brass spikes”) is a great backdrop for his musings—the isolated location heightens the tension. While the novel evokes the psychological dread of a horror novel, its grounding in human psychology (rather than overt supernatural elements) strengthens its story.
A bleak, compelling psychological novel that vividly captures creative collapse.Pub Date: Aug. 6, 2025
ISBN: 9780903733410
Page Count: 298
Publisher: Endangered Poet Productions
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2026
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.
What hasn’t legendary legal eagle Grisham tried yet? How about a thriller about serial kidnapping and international terrorism.
When Paul and Chelsea Tanner disappear during a day trip on their Paris honeymoon, their abductors demand a ransom of $2 million from Chelsea’s wealthy parents, and a few days later the same sum from Paul’s much less well-heeled parents. After orthopedist Lowell Clayburn, Chelsea’s father, ponies up the ransom without breathing a word to the authorities, his daughter is promptly released. But even though Paul’s parents sell their home, liquidate their assets, and borrow money from the Clayburns to meet the kidnappers’ demands, the villains hold on to Paul anyway. Asked whether he’s ever seen such an outcome in a double kidnapping, FBI deputy director Andrew Strong tells Lowell: “No, this is a new one.” But it’s not, as Strong knows all too well; it’s the third such active case, all involving honeymooning couples whose bridegrooms had served in the armed forces. After masterfully drawing readers in with his bare-knuckle account of the Tanners’ abduction and the attempt by their families and the CIA to tell the lies required to keep caring friends and the rapacious press at bay, Grisham effortlessly switches gears to follow CIA agent Rae Claire Russo and Stuart Nash, a former Department of Justice prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay who agrees to marry her so they can serve as bait for the kidnappers, whose motives include justice and revenge as well as cold hard cash. So much for the imprisoned Paul’s wistful reflection that “hopefully, it was only about money.”
The story unfolds so irresistibly that newcomers may think Grisham’s been writing thrillers like this his whole life.Pub Date: Sept. 29, 2026
ISBN: 9780385550543
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Doubleday
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2026
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.
A violent attack hijacks a woman’s memory in this novel of domestic suspense.
McFadden wastes no time pulling the trigger in this harrowing story that starts with gunfire then swiftly propels readers into a crack tale of secrets and misdirection. Originally self-published in 2016, the book carries the same formidable weight as McFadden’s later novels featuring unsuspecting women who lose their power then fight to recapture it—mostly from men who have betrayed them. That formula perfectly fits Dr. Charlotte McKenna, a 37-year-old dermatologist who isn’t looking for love until the most handsome man she’s ever seen begins to woo her. There are warning signs about Clark Douglas and Charlotte overlooks them to her detriment—but is he a killer? The novel has dual timelines split between events leading up to the day Charlotte barely survives a head wound meant to kill her and the months afterward, when she struggles to reclaim her memory and her mobility. In real life, McFadden is a physician trained to treat brain injuries. Her expertise gives Charlotte’s rehabilitation authenticity, and her writing talent makes it interesting and engaging. As good as that timeline is, readers will yearn to get back to the alternate timeline about who wants Charlotte dead. It’s only a matter of time before Charlotte starts to remember who tried to kill her, and the clock is ticking toward their next attempt. McFadden dishes up plenty of suspects: Charlotte’s secretive husband, Clark; a former patient turned stalker who confronts Charlotte on her honeymoon; and the angry husband of a patient who blames Charlotte for his wife leaving him. Though the story is delicious and dark, McFadden brightens things up with a possible love interest for Charlotte and a surprise ending sure to please the author’s many fans.
Starts with a bang and closes with a knockout punch of an ending.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249617
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: July 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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