Satire meets mystery in this entertaining update of Hitchcock and Agatha Christie.
When a passenger seems to disappear during a surreal train journey to Quebec, a group of strangers comes together to work out what happened in Barbé Hammer’s mystery.
Worlds collide in this novel set aboard a train headed across the United States to Quebec, bound for the titular city. Mack, a teacher-in-training and bagpipe musician of mixed Scottish/Salvadoran heritage, is on his way to a piping convention when he meets Allison, a no-nonsense goth girl who has twisted her ankle while on the train. While the two seem immediately at odds (Allison’s brusque personality rubs Mack the wrong way; he asks Allison if she fell “out of [her] black leather post-punk stroller” as a child), when Allison reports that the elderly man she befriended on board has vanished, Mack agrees to help her find him. They encounter a sweep of eclectic characters, including Jimmy, an Evangelical rodeo star; Joe, a former congressman and actor / Afghanistan vet / Princeton graduate; and a Chinese social media influencer documenting her trip across the United States. “We have not seen any guns” comically notes the culture-shocked influencer, who goes by May-Bel, in one of her vlogs. Despite Allison’s and Mack’s efforts, which include enlisting the help of the congressman and May-Bel, no one seems to be able to confirm that the old man even exists. Heavily referencing classic films and novels like Murder on the Orient Express and The Lady Vanishes, Barbé Hammer crafts a sly, satiric story that takes the tropes of a train-set whodunit and brings them into the 21st century, exploring themes of race and discrimination (one of the narrators is a Black female writer, who reflects on her position in society and in the narrative), psychology, and spirituality. While the characters’ introductions feel heavy-handed, and the author’s depictions of characters can be cliched—particularly in the case of the eye-liner-bedecked Allison—the author succeeds in delivering a fast-paced and deceptively complicated novel that balances suspense and social commentary. Some readers may find the novel’s quirks off-putting, but those who climb aboard will enjoy the winding journey.
Satire meets mystery in this entertaining update of Hitchcock and Agatha Christie.Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2023
ISBN: 9798985069037
Page Count: 226
Publisher: Picture Show Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2023
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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