An imaginative and entertaining novel about life, death, and mother-daughter relationships.
The Grim Reaper’s daughter must save her friend from eternal damnation in Paisley’s comic debut novel.
Trixie D’Vita’s mother is death—literally. As in, the Grim Reaper. “She was a red-headed, black-corseted, stiletto-wearing force of nature,” Trixie reports with a mix of awe and annoyance. “And she casually moved through time and space.” Trixie, who was raised primarily by her “uncle,” former drag queen Aunt Harry, isn’t interested in joining the family business. Instead, the 22-year-old works as a waitress at Aunt Harry’s popular Seattle bar, Quandors, where witches, zombies, vampires, and the tourists who want to mingle with monsters enjoy all manner of alcohol- and blood-based cocktails. When agents from the Angel Investigative Bureau show up asking for her mother’s whereabouts, Trixie finds herself caught up in a scandal involving a potentially rigged game show. To the Wheel features newly departed souls winning desirable next lives…or being cast into the pits of Hell. Trixie doesn’t want to get involved—her relationship with her mother is complex—until her best friend, Zuzi Gonzales, dies suddenly and ends up as a contestant on the show. Can Trixie save her friend from a horrible afterlife, even if it means descending into Hell itself…and, even worse, teaming up with her mother? Paisley brings a great deal of humor and invention to her premise. Here, a demon Trixie meets in Hell describes how torture has been revolutionized through Applied Health Sciences: “We’re all about creative, personalized Hellscapes. Our goal is producing well-rounded, rehabbed souls able to move on to their next lifetimes. By finding each soul’s unique triggers, we break them down and open them up so they can get back on the Wheel of Life.” Paisley takes her characters seriously, even when she places them in screwball situations, which makes for an unexpectedly moving reading experience. The mixture of surreal comedy, mythology, and memorable characters makes for a winning combination that will surely have fans eagerly awaiting a sequel.
An imaginative and entertaining novel about life, death, and mother-daughter relationships.Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2024
ISBN: 9798989277018
Page Count: 229
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
PERSPECTIVES
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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