A relatable tale about the bonds of family, the power of community, and hope in the face of adversity.
In O’Leary’s brief novel set in rural Michigan, a widower contemplates his life as he hopes for rescue during a natural disaster.
The story opens with Seamus (who recently lost his beloved wife, Marie), huddling in the bathtub of his secluded cabin, seeking safety from a violent storm. When it grows into a deadly tornado, his small dwelling is crushed by the surrounding trees, trapping Seamus inside. Badly injured, he thinks of his daughter Faith, and especially his young grandchildren, Timmy and Casey. What follows is a race against time as Faith’s husband, Jeff, along with others from the tightknit community, work to clear the devastation and rescue Seamus. With only memories to keep him company, the widower wonders if help will come in time, or if death will reunite him with Marie. As the narrative unfolds in alternating chapters, readers will be drawn into the protagonist’s heart-wrenching emotional and physical struggles, and they’ll admire the relentless determination of those working to save him. O’Leary’s accessible prose and succinct, compelling chapters generate an irresistible sense of momentum, and amid the turmoil, the author lightly weaves a subtle thread of spirituality in the narrative to offer comfort and reflection: “Every stargazing night was different. It might just be the alignment of the planets or an abundance of falling stars….But the one constant was always there. In the immensity of the universe, Marie and I had found each other.” Readers of O’Leary’s previous works, such as Emmet and the Boy: A Story of Endless Love and Hope (2019), may recognize familiar themes, but they won’t find them to be a distraction.
A relatable tale about the bonds of family, the power of community, and hope in the face of adversity.Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2024
ISBN: 9781733534161
Page Count: 222
Publisher: Swan Creek Press
Review Posted Online: March 1, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2024
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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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