A thoroughly engrossing novel brimming with eccentric strengths.
A doctor who recently lost his wife fights for a second chance at happiness in Connolly’s novel.
Hank Cleary is a physician and the director of the nursing home in Alma, a tiny town in Wisconsin. Three years ago, his wife Sarah died of ovarian cancer, and now Hank struggles to restart his life and pull himself out of his ennui: “He felt outside of himself. Like he was a half a beat off from the world. Or maybe that the world was a half-beat off from him.” Hank begins to take a shine to Livy Reyna, the owner of a local bar and cafe and a volunteer firefighter who is trying to have a baby on her own, “courtesy of the sperm clinic at the state university.” He grows more and more infatuated with her, so much so that he pines to give her the baby she seeks by artificial means. Then disaster strikes—a massive fire consumes Alma’s recycling plant, compelling both Hank and Livy to spring into perilous action in an emergency that simultaneously brings the town together and threatens its destruction. Prior to the crescendo of the fire, the plot moves at a restrained pace, but it’s never dull—the entire narrative crackles with an electric emotional energy. In this intelligently executed novel, Connolly explores the familial backgrounds of her characters with great sensitivity (Hank’s Irish ancestry and Livy’s Mexican roots in particular). Hank is a compelling protagonist whose psychological rut is thoughtfully portrayed. One of the victims of the fire—she’s called Silent Margaret because she almost never speaks— turns out to be a fascinatingly enigmatic character. The author’s prose is startlingly nimble; Connolly quotes freely from literature and poetry, and philosophically ponders everything from the nature of love to “something in that hidden space [that] holds galaxies and galaxy clusters together, while causing space itself to fly apart.” This is a powerful emotional drama, intellectually lively and unpredictable.
A thoroughly engrossing novel brimming with eccentric strengths.Pub Date: April 16, 2024
ISBN: 9798218378127
Page Count: 194
Publisher: Slainte
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 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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