A single mother’s complicated history begets a somber, searing melodrama.
In Burgess’ novel, a woman’s checkered past clashes with the relatively quiet, white-collar life she’s currently living.
London-born Roxy Reid is a successful investment banker in the U.S. Her 12-year-old daughter, Taylor, believes Roxy’s conservative ways make her a rather “boring” mother. Roxy’s past life, however, catches up to her just in time for the holiday season. She first runs into Nathan Hancock, whose late father is also Taylor’s father. But Roxy has kept this tidbit from Taylor, along with most specifics about her troubled youth in London. Another recent familiar face is Nicholas Drednaught, a real estate businessman. Back when Roxy knew him, he was a drug dealer who went by Nick Dredd. Her involvement with drugs and violence is certainly something she also wants to shield from Taylor. But that’s not so easy when Dolores DuCharme realizes who Roxy is. Dolores is a department head and the guidance counselor at Dunmore Academy, Taylor’s private school. She’s also Nathan’s mother and the widow of the same man Roxy was sleeping with all those years ago in London. Dolores is all too willing to talk about Roxy’s scandalous history, although there’s much more to the harsh world Roxy once endured. Roxy wants to keep Dolores away from Taylor, but as her friend puts it, Roxy can’t kill Dolores. She does nevertheless have street smarts, physical prowess, and, perhaps, a switchblade at the ready, so she can undoubtedly find some sort of solution.
Though this is a follow-up to Burgess’ earlier book Flawed Perfection (2020), reading both novels is not a requirement. As this story relies heavily on its predecessor, it regularly cites Roxy’s previous life in the U.K. more than a decade ago. Still, none of the backstory slows down the steadily paced narrative, making this short novel a quick read. Roxy is a sublimely complex protagonist who deserves sympathy. Her childhood entailed an abusive mother, and she herself is a loving mother to Taylor, though their relationship is sometimes fractious. At the same time, she tends to push others away, and her actions can be distinctly unsettling. Several supporting characters are equally worrisome, largely due to their unpredictability. While Dolores hardly veils her animosity for Roxy, Nathan and Nick are more ambiguous since their intentions aren’t immediately clear. All three characters, too, represent the bad old days that Roxy has been trying to escape. Throughout, Burgess creates an involving ambiance, frequently detailing the cold weather outside as well as the forthcoming winter holidays. Snow, in particular, is a recurring image. For example, one morning a contemplative Roxy “seated herself on a sofa that faced the tall windows that looked out onto the snow-covered grounds. The fireplace was behind her and warmed her back.” The ending, quite fittingly, leaves a few issues unresolved.
A single mother’s complicated history begets a somber, searing melodrama. (dedication, author bio)Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-64701-275-5
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
Review Posted Online: Feb. 17, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
Great crime fiction.
An apparent suicide threatens to destroy an Irish farm town in the final volume of French’s Cal Hooper trilogy.
In the fictional western Ireland townland of Ardnakelty, “there’s a girl going after missing.” Soon young Rachel Holohan is found dead in the river. Shortly before, she had stopped at Lena Dunne’s home, and nothing had seemed amiss. The medical examiner determines she’d swallowed antifreeze, and he presumes she then fell from a bridge into the water. The medical examiner and the town agree she’d died by suicide. But there is far more to the plot: 16-year-old Trey Reddy thinks Tommy Moynihan murdered Rachel. Moynihan doles out favors and punishments to the local townsfolk, who know it’s best not to cross him. Now rumors spread that Moynihan wants land and has a secret plan to forcibly buy up parcels from the locals. A factory will be built, or a great big data center, or who knows what. If Tommy’s son, Eugene, can get elected to the local council, then compulsory purchase orders for land will follow, and the farms will disappear. Eugene, who’d been romantically involved with Rachel, is wonderfully described as “on the weedy edge of good-looking” and just fine as long as you “don’t have high expectations in the way of chins.” Lena is engaged to the American Cal Hooper, an ex-cop turned woodworker. They are “more or less raising” Trey, and these three core characters are drawn into the mystery of Rachel’s death and may have to face the looming clouds of civilizational change for Ardnakelty. Lena is chastised for “asking your wee questions all round the townland,” and Trey wants to quit school, against Cal’s advice. Finally, the story’s best line: “You can’t go killing people just because they deserve it.”
Great crime fiction.Pub Date: March 31, 2026
ISBN: 9780593493465
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2026
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