A wonderfully spun yarn with an unforgettable narrator.
In Whitehorse’s novel, a woman’s eyes are opened to the secrets of her one-of-a-kind lover.
When readers first hear about Charles Madison Montgomery Washington, he’s just a boy living with his sex worker mother, with his only examples of manliness being his mother’s many clients—any one of whom could be Charles’ biological father. However, Charles isn’t the focus of the story; that’s narrator Sweetie Bird Charles, whose unique manner of address—a sort of patois of literary Southern drawl, coastal slang, and general linguistic laziness—is sure to dazzle readers from the outset (“I know a thing or two about slick-talkin’ folks,” she begins). Sweetie met Charles in adulthood and became one of his lovers, and not long into their affair, he began moving furniture and appliances into her home. Soon after, though, Charles told Sweetie he was going away on business, and he’d be gone nearly a year. Not to worry, he said—he’ll return from this “conference” with a slew of new contacts in his field. Sweetie’s still not sure what field that is, but she finds out when Charles’ 20-year-old associate, Dick E.—his getaway driver—spills the beans. Dick is there to case the joint, but he doesn’t get far because Sweetie’s wise now, and after she sends him packing, she immediately proceeds to tear apart Charles’ belongings, hoping to unearth every long-held criminal secret. This is the point at which Sweetie’s, and the reader’s, true enlightenment begins, as both find out just what kind of guy Charles is. Over the course of this novel, Whitehorse sketches out Sweetie as a character who’s equal parts Huckleberry Finn and Scout Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird; she’s a rare character who’s simultaneously intelligent and ignorant, and readers will surely find her sober renderings of the lies people tell to be appealing, whether those falsehoods are big or small. Sweetie’s unique narrative voice will make readers follow her anywhere, but there’s also plenty of plot to make sticking around easy.
A wonderfully spun yarn with an unforgettable narrator.Pub Date: Nov. 28, 2023
ISBN: 9798891321076
Page Count: 268
Publisher: Atmosphere Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 19, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 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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