Kubica’s skill at writing teenagers is even more impressive than her twisty plot.
A woman must discover the motive for a horrific murder in order to save her niece—unless her niece was involved.
When Courtney Gray discovers the bloody, battered body of her sister-in-law, Emily, she briefly considers whether her brother, Nolan, might be to blame. Ever since he lost his job six months before, their marriage had been crumbling under the strain and they’ve barely been able to keep their fighting private. While it may have been Emily’s idea that the two families rent a cottage together at a primitive resort in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, Courtney knows that Nolan and teenagers Reese and Wyatt were unenthusiastic, even resentful about the forced family trip. But when she immediately finds Nolan’s body, and 17-year-old Reese appears to be missing, the deaths take on an even more sinister significance and become an even greater mystery. Did someone break into their cottage, and if so, to what end? Did Reese, who had fought bitterly with her parents the night before, have anything to do with their deaths? Is Wyatt sleepwalking for real, or is he just pretending? And why does Courtney’s husband, Elliott, have flecks of blood on his shoes? Kubica mostly alternates chapters between Courtney’s perspective in the present and Reese’s voice in the past. The chapters from Reese’s point of view are easily the most poignant; Kubica builds a complex character who suffers from uncontrollable rages and is still straddling the line between childhood and adulthood, resenting her mother even as she wishes for her attention, making vulnerable decisions in order to feel liked. In some ways, it would have been interesting to experience the entire novel through her eyes instead of the common structure of two voices, two timelines that often drives contemporary thrillers.
Kubica’s skill at writing teenagers is even more impressive than her twisty plot.Pub Date: Feb. 3, 2026
ISBN: 9780778387992
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Park Row Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 22, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2026
Gleefully sadistic, gloriously gratifying revenge fiction.
A frustrated advice columnist takes matters into her own hands.
Before dropping out of MIT during the second semester of her sophomore year, Debbie Mullen had designs on becoming the next Bill Gates. Now, almost 30 years later, the stay-at-home wife and mother of two uses her considerable genius to keep the Mullens’ Hingham, Massachusetts, household functioning “like a well-oiled machine.” In her spare time, Debbie also gardens and shares “the fruits of [her] wisdom” with neighbors via the weekly advice column she writes for Hingham Household, a local “family-oriented” newspaper. Though Debbie is proud of her husband and teen daughters’ accomplishments, her own life sometimes feels a bit empty. As such, she’s both honored and excited when Home Gardening magazine selects her backyard to feature in their next issue. Then, at the last minute, the publication decides to go in a different direction and instead spotlights the roses of her arch rival. Later that day, the editor-in-chief of Hingham Household axes her column because she’d counseled a reader to get a divorce. That evening, Debbie learns that her hard-working husband’s miserly boss refused his promotion request, her brilliant older daughter’s sketchy boyfriend broke her heart, and her athletically gifted younger daughter’s chauvinistic coach cut her from the soccer team for being “chubby.” Enough is enough. Debbie has always given great advice—everybody says so. If certain individuals don’t know what’s best for themselves, maybe it’s her obligation to help them see the light. Increasingly unhinged entries from a “Dear Debbie” drafts folder pepper the briskly paced, meticulously crafted tale, which unfolds courtesy of a pinwheeling first-person narrative. Some of the plot’s myriad twists are more impressive than others, but plucky, puckish Debbie is a nontraditional antihero for the ages.
Gleefully sadistic, gloriously gratifying revenge fiction.Pub Date: Jan. 27, 2026
ISBN: 9781464249624
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Poisoned Pen
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2026
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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