A well-crafted thriller about memories regained.
In Blanchard’s novel, a young woman has lived with survivor’s guilt for eight years about an accident she can’t remember—and then the whole truth finally comes out.
Growing up, Emma Gillen was close to her cousin Lucy Harnett, who often came to stay with her family during her own mother’s absences. In school, Emma was shy and got picked on, but Lucy was her protector. They went to college together and lived together in a cabin high in the mountains, and that’s where it all went wrong. Lucy, it turns out, was also a manipulative bully. One night, while Lucy was in a particularly bad mood, Emma argued with her about who should drive to the store for food. Eight years later, Emma still doesn’t remember the car crash that ended three lives and left her disabled. Lucy disappeared, and in the wake of the ensuing trauma, grief, and guilt, Emma built an artists’ co-op with her former therapist, Jonah. Each day, she grapples with shame about what happened, but she has her father, her work at the co-op, and a few friends to help her through. Her life takes a chaotic turn when Lucy reappears; she’s changed her name to Lyssa Morales and is seeking money. Meanwhile, acts of vandalism appear around the co-op, and a handsome detective enters Emma’s life, possibly changing everything. Also, someone working near Emma may have a secret connection to her past. Over the course of this novel, Blanchard delivers a skillfully executed story of suspense with compellingly complex characters. Emma is a relatable protagonist with realistically described disabilities, including expressive aphasia: “My brain thinks of a word but my voice swaps it…for another. I have to speak slowly, one sound at a time.” The author shows how the condition makes areas of her protagonist’s life difficult, but also that she has a fierce spirit that allows her to persevere. Lucy is written as believably mercurial as she wreaks havoc on Emma’s life. Together, the two characters drive the story forward to unexpected turns and a satisfying ending.
A well-crafted thriller about memories regained.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2024
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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