A rollicking ride that combines political realism with flights of satire.
The unlikely head of an energy company struggles to survive ruthless competition and environmentalists’ protests in Pepper’s in this third novel in a series.
Lindsey Harper Crowe becomes the chair of New York City–based Crowe Power Company, a “global energy goliath,” after she ousts her incompetent husband, Robbie, from the role. However, her newfound power comes with an equal share of burdens; although Robbie left the company in dire financial trouble, the “deposed king”will stop at nothing to return to the throne. Lindsey also sees her daughter, Missy, as a traitor who makes common cause with “Planetistas” protesting the very company whose cash fills her trust fund. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Energy Jessica Holtgren is putting the squeeze on the entire industry; she’s portrayed as an empty talking head fronting equally empty policies. The true existential threat to Lindsey’s company, though, comes from Harold “Hacksaw Harry” Crenshaw, a hedge fund manager who aims to slice the company into pieces under the disingenuous guise of ecological responsibility. Lindsey hires a world-weary public relations expert, Marty McGarry, to help spin a palatable narrative for the public, while also exploring a new form of fusion technology that could move the world past dependence on fossil fuels. Over the course of the novel, Pepper irreverently and intelligently exposes ways in which some calls to environmental integrity are often corporate or political expressions of a will to power. The satirical focus is not on a commitment to ecological obligation, but rather how it can be twisted by selfish hypocrisy. For example, Missy is as discomfited by her “deeply embarrassing wealth,” even as she is dependent upon it. The author has a tendency to aim low with his comedy, which can be crude; Lindsey’s tenure is described as proof “you don’t need some remnants of founder jizz coursing through your veins to run Crowe Power.” Despite this, the novel’s farcical depiction of American politics is often as humorous as it is astute.
A rollicking ride that combines political realism with flights of satire.Pub Date: May 14, 2022
ISBN: 979-8436592312
Page Count: 251
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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