A madcap black comedy about family ties, real estate, and long-buried secrets.
Quirky brothers battle a mobster over the future of their family’s hotel in 1950s Los Angeles in Haddad’s novel.
The tightknit but contentious Shapiro family has been operating the small Paradise Palms hotel for decades. The property is prime Hollywood real estate, but the hotel business has fallen on hard times. The older sons—responsible David, finance whiz Leo, and stylish Aaron—plan to modernize to attract a new, wealthier clientele. When they suggest putting up a trendy new neon sign, their elderly father, Max, tells them he’s already arranged to have it done for free by Vance “Red” Gordo, a shady mobster who owes Max a favor. As the story goes on, the brothers desperately try to rein in and protect the increasingly erratic Max while clashing with the brutish Red; Max’s greedy, much younger companion, Kitty; and the brothers’ younger, dissolute sibling, Rudy. The plot springs one surprise after another as it switches between fast-moving, present-day action and scenes from the past that illuminate the Shapiros’ complicated relationships and personalities. Tough women, bumbling villains, government bureaucrats, naïve tourists, the Palms’ loyal staff members, and a trio of eccentric long-term residents rounds out the cast. The action features extortion, violence, gambling, arson, murder, and shocking revelations—as well as reunions, romances, weddings, births, and funerals. The novel is rich in period detail, from the Sputnik launch to the Howdy Doody TV series’ finale, as well as aspects of car culture, the freeway system, fashion, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The writing is vividly descriptive, snarky, and funny, but it doesn’t shy away from engaging with serious issues, such as homophobia, racism, and police corruption. Haddad’s background as an Emmy-nominated TV writer and producer is obvious, as is his deep affection for the city of Los Angeles and its history.
A madcap black comedy about family ties, real estate, and long-buried secrets.Pub Date: July 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68-433720-0
Page Count: 295
Publisher: Black Rose Writing
Review Posted Online: July 11, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
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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