Gritty, gripping, and fearlessly committed. A notable beginning.
A Wild West–type tale of rustling and villainy, blood and belonging, transposed to the bleakly beautiful fells and sheep flocks of northern England.
Preston’s debut arrives like a punch to the gut, darkly phrased and launching quickly into the ghastly consequences of foot-and-mouth disease spreading through the farms of Cumbria. Sheep are slaughtered and burned by the thousands, and small farmers ruined, including the elderly father of loner Steve Elliman—“I like dogs more than people”—the tough but upright narrator of the story. One farmer, William Herne, tries to buck the rules, and Steve lends a hand, until Herne is forced to submit. Steve then returns to his other job—“Only two things I knew was driving and sheep”—until his father’s death brings him back to the fells, and to Herne and his compelling wife, Helen, whom Steve has known since childhood. Herne pulls Steve into another risky enterprise, this time driving one of the trucks in a big sheep robbery spearheaded by slippery Colin Tinley. The job goes well enough, but Tinley sticks around afterward, bringing mayhem and lawlessness with him. Steve’s been well paid but doesn’t want to get involved with the next job, which goes wrong anyway. This phase of the story is a blur of fighting, police involvement, guns, and savage dogs, all leading to a showdown high in the hills. But even with an end to the crimes, the destiny-defining drama among Steve, William, and Helen is not done. Preston delivers his narrative in clipped yet rhythmic prose: “I eyed up the three lads, stood nervy they were, and all a step too close,” although the vernacular might require a glossary for those unfamiliar with “nowt,” “bowk,” and much more. This is an elemental tale shaded in tones of heroism, machismo, moral intensity, and mythmaking. It’s also a love song to the landscape: “These rocks make me want to bloody cry.”
Gritty, gripping, and fearlessly committed. A notable beginning.Pub Date: June 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781668050675
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Scribner
Review Posted Online: March 9, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2024
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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