Entertaining escapism but a too-obvious pastiche of classic literary memes.
Rindell, who exhibited her own skill at noir romances in The Other Typist (2013), borrows heavily from Charlotte Brontë, du Maurier, and Hitchcock in this gothic yarn about secrets not shared by a young wife and her wealthy older husband.
When the San Francisco orphanage where she lives mysteriously burns down, 13-year-old Violet and two older friends—flashy Cora and common-sensical Flossie—end up in a bordello run by Mr. Tackett, who hires the 16-year-olds as dancehall girls and mousy, sensitive Violet as a maid. Two unhappy years later, Violet finds miserly, vicious Tackett dead from a suspiciously violent stomach ailment. Violet, who suffers from strange blackout spells, has reason to worry he’s been poisoned. Serendipitously, the 1906 earthquake occurs almost immediately, leveling the bordello with the dead man inside and leaving his money for Violet, Cora, and Flossie to divide. Reinventing herself as a respectable shop girl, Violet is wooed by dashing, wealthy Harry Carlyle, whom Rindell could easily have named Edward Rochester or Maxim de Winter. Harry’s first wife, Madeleine, evidently died in the earthquake. Or did she? Harry and Violet agree not to discuss their pasts, one of the novel’s many convenient contrivances. Despite Cora’s grouchy disapproval, Violet marries Harry with Flossie’s support. Enter prune-faced housekeeper Miss Weber. Whether jealous over Harry or loyal to Madeleine, she makes Violet’s life miserable in all the ways readers of Victorian melodrama know well. Meanwhile, strange nocturnal events of the standard tinkling piano and lit candle variety lead Violet to fear a ghost is stalking her. Given Harry’s flashes of temper and Violet’s insecure curiosity, the marriage understandably becomes strained. Then Harry is hospitalized for—guess what—stomach problems! Is he being poisoned, and, if so, by whom? Who may not be whom they seem? Who is a criminal? Or a ghost? Since everything revolves around secrets and distrust, readers may gleefully assume they shouldn’t trust Violet as narrator. Or should they?
Entertaining escapism but a too-obvious pastiche of classic literary memes.Pub Date: July 28, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-525-53920-9
Page Count: 432
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 3, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2020
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
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
