A novel whose bright dialogue only somewhat enlivens its familiar plot.
A middle-aged mother contemplates an affair in Rasmussen’s debut novel.
At age 45, suburban Connecticut mom Maggie Dolin finds herself at a crossroads. Her psychologist husband, Jim, seems both constantly stressed out and uninterested in the intimacies of marriage; her college-bound, 17-year-old daughter, Gia, has a new boyfriend whom Maggie doesn’t trust; and Maggie’s beloved father has moved to an assisted living facility, due to Parkinson’s disease. Formerly a successful book editor, Maggie left her job to stay home and raise Gia, but more than a decade later, she feels adrift as her best friend and former colleague, Ellen, continues to succeed. Maggie starts going to the gym and meets Michael, a handsome, 34-year-old freelance writer with a self-described penchant for younger women—except where Maggie is concerned. After Maggie’s father receives a new, life-altering diagnosis, her emotional connection with Michael deepens. Maggie doesn’t want to give up on her marriage or her daughter, but as her life becomes increasingly overwhelming, she seeks solace in this secret relationship. When everything seems to go wrong at once, she decides to change her circumstances, once and for all. Rasmussen is a freelance journalist and former TV sitcom writer and the latter is evident in the novel’s sharp, funny dialogue (“You need to finish getting dressed. The last time I checked, your school required pants”) and Maggie’s wry, observational narration; at one point, for instance, she describes clothes shopping with her teen as “like trying to tweeze a stray hair from your eyebrow, only to find it isn’t a hair, just a drop of mascara, and now you’re bleeding.” However, the book’s distinctive voice only partially spices up the storyline, which suffers from clichéd elements, such as a rebellious teen daughter and an emotionally distant husband. Also, sporadic chapters from Jim’s and Maggie’s father’s perspectives feel clumsy and unnecessary.
A novel whose bright dialogue only somewhat enlivens its familiar plot.Pub Date: April 6, 2021
ISBN: 978-1647420147
Page Count: 272
Publisher: She Writes Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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