An engaging, tender tale of two people uncovering the truth about the world, each other, and themselves.
In Graham’s novel, a man travels to France to settle the estate of his recently deceased aunt and encounters more than he bargained for.
Carl Box calls it “a bit of mischief” when he learns that Aunt Lillian has left him land in France upon her apparent death. He doesn’t want to travel at all, much less for someone he barely knows, and what little he does know of his aunt suggests she was estranged from the family for unclear reasons. When he arrives in Paris, he does all of the right things; he goes to her apartment and searches for information. After retrieving her ashes, Carl learns three things about his aunt: She is, in fact, alive; she’s being pursued by a mysterious killer; and she’s been smuggling KGB documents from Moscow to Paris to use as leverage to free her lover from wrongful imprisonment in a psychiatric institution. She has, along with faking her own death, selected her nephew to lend credibility to this ruse, but once he becomes a suspect in her murder, Lily gets him to help her gather information and escape certain death. Graham folds these larger-than-life events together masterfully, using humorous dialogue and specific details to bring readers into the world and make it real. Her vivid descriptions make easy work of picturing each situation and place: “Billy had taken to his Prussian blue dog bed like an overwrought lady in a Victorian melodrama.” Likewise, Graham does a remarkable job of building suspense throughout her novel, and each section comes with both new questions and answers, continually giving readers fresh developments to ponder. Additionally, the cast’s voices infuse levity and personality into the text. For example, in response to Carl revealing that the police suspected him to be Lily’s killer, she replies nonchalantly: “‘But of course you didn’t,’ she said soothingly while spooning potatoes onto [Carl’s] plate.” These parts swirl together to create a striking balance of excitement, humor, and sincerity, perfect for anyone seeking a lively, twisty adventure.
An engaging, tender tale of two people uncovering the truth about the world, each other, and themselves.Pub Date: May 26, 2025
ISBN: 9798992174724
Page Count: 378
Publisher: Vendome Books
Review Posted Online: March 19, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2025
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
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