While not exactly innovative, a highly entertaining, speculative glimpse of the end of the world.
A debut novel offers a fusion of apocalyptic fiction, SF, and horror that chronicles a family’s struggle to survive after civilization collapses.
In near-future Southern California, 20-year-old Grace Baker’s life is turned upside down when terrorists destroy the national power grid, effectively throwing the country into chaos. Her father, a former military man who used to have top-secret clearance, succeeds in getting his family (which includes Grace, her mother, and her older brother) out of Los Angeles before the city is bombed to rubble by an unknown adversary. Dodging roving bands of criminals and collecting valuable goods along the way, the Bakers make it north to a secluded cabin they own hidden in a remote forest. But their chances of survival are greatly reduced when they realize that the post-apocalyptic world is now inhabited by invisible monsters that are hunting humans like prey. One by one, Grace’s family members are killed until she is left alone to fend for herself. While on a scavenging mission in a nearby town, she fatefully meets Nick Gates, a young cafe worker (and potential love interest) she knew from “Before.” Together they decide that they need to figure out a way to kill the monsters, even if it means dying in the process. While the story’s apocalyptic setting brings nothing new to the table and the invisible-monster thread has more than a few plot holes, Shannon delivers the goods by creating characters that are identifiable and emotionally compelling. Grace, for example, is a book nerd and analytical problem solver who turns out to be an ultimate badass at world’s end. Her bond with Nick is tumultuous and complicated but also undeniably authentic—and the evolution of that relationship throughout the horrors they face is an unarguable strength of this utterly readable tale.
While not exactly innovative, a highly entertaining, speculative glimpse of the end of the world.Pub Date: Oct. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-63867-004-9
Page Count: 294
Publisher: Dorrance Publishing Co.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 28, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
DYSTOPIAN FICTION | SCIENCE FICTION | SUSPENSE | FAMILY LIFE & FRIENDSHIP | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT DYSTOPIAN FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT MYSTERY & THRILLER | GENERAL SCIENCE FICTION | APOCALYPTIC & POST APOCALYPTIC SCI-FI | SUSPENSE | GENERAL THRILLER & SUSPENSE
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
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.
A woman accused of shooting her husband six times in the face refuses to speak.
"Alicia Berenson was thirty-three years old when she killed her husband. They had been married for seven years. They were both artists—Alicia was a painter, and Gabriel was a well-known fashion photographer." Michaelides' debut is narrated in the voice of psychotherapist Theo Faber, who applies for a job at the institution where Alicia is incarcerated because he's fascinated with her case and believes he will be able to get her to talk. The narration of the increasingly unrealistic events that follow is interwoven with excerpts from Alicia's diary. Ah, yes, the old interwoven diary trick. When you read Alicia's diary you'll conclude the woman could well have been a novelist instead of a painter because it contains page after page of detailed dialogue, scenes, and conversations quite unlike those in any journal you've ever seen. " 'What's the matter?' 'I can't talk about it on the phone, I need to see you.' 'It's just—I'm not sure I can make it up to Cambridge at the minute.' 'I'll come to you. This afternoon. Okay?' Something in Paul's voice made me agree without thinking about it. He sounded desperate. 'Okay. Are you sure you can't tell me about it now?' 'I'll see you later.' Paul hung up." Wouldn't all this appear in a diary as "Paul wouldn't tell me what was wrong"? An even more improbable entry is the one that pins the tail on the killer. While much of the book is clumsy, contrived, and silly, it is while reading passages of the diary that one may actually find oneself laughing out loud.
Amateurish, with a twist savvy readers will see coming from a mile away.Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-250-30169-7
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2018
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