A coming-of-age tale with a dynamic pair of brothers and plenty of light action.
In Higgs’ debut modern-day Western novella, two young Oklahoman brothers must transport a bull to a neighboring state and encounter unexpected danger.
Times are tough on the McConnell farm, as drought and hailstorms have ravaged their crops. Indeed, Robert and Rachel McConnell are one step away from foreclosure on their 320-acre ranch in Northeastern Oklahoma. They’re forced to sell their beloved purebred Hereford breed bull to satisfy the bank, and they find a buyer online who has one caveat: The animal must be delivered to Oscuro, New Mexico, in three days. Robert is injured trying to herd the animal into a trailer, so it falls upon their two sons, 20-year-old Tommy and 17-year-old Andy, to make the delivery. However, their journey is anything but straightforward. After the bull escapes from the trailer while the boys are changing a flat tire, local police and a TV news team unexpectedly get involved. Later, the siblings pick up Cassie Henshaw, a diner server who has dreams of making it big in Los Angeles; Andy saves her from an enraged chef at her job, and, from this beginning, Higgs delivers a sweet romance. (Although Tommy is reluctant to bring her along, Cassie later saves the day after Tommy loses his wallet.) Overall, the author delivers a feel-good Western that retains all the familiar hallmarks of that genre, but he places them alongside present-day obstacles. The action effectively culminates in a theft that’s followed by an adrenaline-fueled chase, which ends in a rather lopsided shootout. Through it all, Higgs makes sure that the brothers' love for their family—and their determination to do what they must to keep their livelihood intact—shines through.
A coming-of-age tale with a dynamic pair of brothers and plenty of light action.Pub Date: July 22, 2022
ISBN: 979-8-84674-059-4
Page Count: 118
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Oct. 19, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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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