A thorough, detail-heavy, and convincing story about the rise and fall of an empire.
A graduate student writes her dissertation about a billionaire real estate developer imprisoned for securities fraud in this debut novel.
K.T. “Katy” Alvarez is working toward a Ph.D. in forensic psychology at the University of Washington when she hears of Mark Kauffman. In a classic rags-to-riches scenario, Kauffman went from spending his childhood in a converted chicken coop to owning a real estate empire valued in the billions. Mark is now in prison for fraud, and Katy, for her dissertation, wants to determine whether he has any mental illnesses or personality disorders that may have influenced his crimes. Mark declines the offer but later reconsiders and tells Katy the story of his life. He assures her he isn’t a criminal and his only intention was to be nice to friends and family, but Katy views him as spoiled and arrogant. As the two get better acquainted, Mark realizes that Katy has endured unbelievable hardships and her academic success did not come easily. Mark’s real estate concerns began with a $6,000 home purchased in Seattle in the 1960s and grew to astronomical heights, so much so that he was able to easily fund his son’s biotech startup. But certain financial maneuvers got the attention of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and Mark’s whole world began to unravel. Pauw’s mostly epistolary storytelling is always captivating and is peppered with enough knowledge of finance and law to give the novel a good deal of credibility. On the emotional side, Katy’s tale about life with a troubled mother adds an important layer as she seeks greater connection with her study subject. Intriguing moral questions are raised here, in large part about law and justice in the United States, though the structure of the book does cram most key issues into the third act.
A thorough, detail-heavy, and convincing story about the rise and fall of an empire.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2020
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 380
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.
A love story about a life of second chances.
In Nassau, in the Bahamas, casino detective Vincent LaPorta grills Alfie Logan, who’d come up a winner three times in a row at the roulette table and walked away with $2 million. “How did you do it?” asks the detective. Alfie calmly denies cheating. You wired all the money to a Gianna Rule, LaPorta says. Why? To explain, Alfie produces a composition book with the words “For the Boss, to Be Read Upon My Death” written on the cover. Read this for answers, Alfie suggests, calling it a love story. His mother had passed along to him a strange trait: He can say “Twice!” and go back to a specific time and place to have a do-over. But it only works once for any particular moment, and then he must live with the new consequences. He can only do this for himself and can’t prevent anyone from dying. Alfie regularly uses his power—failing to impress a girl the first time, he finds out more about her, goes back in time, and presto! She likes him. The premise is of course not credible—LaPorta doesn’t buy it either—but it’s intriguing. Most people would probably love to go back and unsay something. The story’s focus is on Alfie’s love for Gianna and whether it’s requited, unrequited, or both. In any case, he’s obsessed with her. He’s a good man, though, an intelligent person with ordinary human failings and a solid moral compass. Albom writes in a warm, easy style that transports the reader to a world of second chances and what-ifs, where spirituality lies close to the surface but never intrudes on the story. Though a cynic will call it sappy, anyone who is sick to their core from the daily news will enjoy this escape from reality.
Have tissues ready as you read this. A small package will do.Pub Date: Oct. 7, 2025
ISBN: 9780062406682
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: July 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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