A fascinating, potent examination of how a single violent act can spark endless repercussions.
A startling double murder shakes a small American town in Kravetz’s debut novel.
Reporter Matt Foster, after five years at a weekly in Benfield, Massachusetts, has a line on a story that will appeal to bigger publications: 18-year-old Billy Lawson, during a burglary, shot and killed elderly Pete and Tara Blythe in their sleep. As Matt interviews Billy’s mom, will he become more devoted to the sympathetic woman than to his “juicy” news story? This is the first of 12 interlinked tales that highlight various characters in the homicide’s aftermath over the course of 2014. Shelby, the older of the couple’s two daughters, bonds with a local female reporter and debates what type of letter to send Billy in prison—scornful or empathetic. Shelby’s sister, Samantha, is estranged from her husband, Carlton, a sanitation worker with plans to confront the former police chief who had a hand (however inadvertently) in Billy targeting the Blythes. The author breaks up these stories with glimpses of Pete and Tara’s married life through the decades as they struggle with infidelity and the pressures of raising kids. Kravetz’s stellar characterization pays off in a series of profound turns as his cast question not only the horrifying crime but also their own lives. As these tales aptly reveal, such misfortunes as loneliness, alcoholism, and broken relationships may start with one or two people but hurt myriad others. Characters pop up in multiple stories, giving readers varied perspectives (Billy’s friend, Barry Epstein, seems both a troublemaker and a troubled soul). Throughout, the author ornaments the taut prose with metaphors that pack a punch (“Life is a broken jaw, always aching”; an end-of-the-workday body is “wrung out like a damp washcloth”).
A fascinating, potent examination of how a single violent act can spark endless repercussions.Pub Date: May 20, 2024
ISBN: 9781960018915
Page Count: 292
Publisher: Running Wild Press
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2024
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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