A moving novel filled with nuance and insight.
In Meis’ novel, an American grieving the loss of his parents moves to Mexico and becomes embroiled in romance and the investigation of a suspicious death.
In the forlorn aftermath of his parents’ deaths during the Covid-19 epidemic, 30-something Dawson Wozniak moves from California to Puerto Vallarta; as a book editor, he’s able to work remotely, and he pines to start his life anew. One evening, he shares a furtive kiss with Ivan, who works at the apartment complex where Dawson lives. The two hear a loud argument and then witness a young man falling off the roof to his death. Ivan is anxious to conceal his whereabouts at the time of the incident and convinces Dawson to keep mum, but after the death is ruled an accident Dawson is bedeviled by guilt over their lack of full disclosure. In this subtly composed narrative, Dawson pursues a relationship with Ivan, who is both unsure of their compatibility—they hail from “different worlds,” he believes—and his own sexuality. As evidence of foul play mounts regarding the death of Benito Perez, the young man who fell (or was pushed) off the roof, Dawson grows increasingly fretful that he has neglected to take his own moral responsibility seriously. In stirringly candid terms, Ivan challenges his sense of duty: “Do you realize how American you sound right now? Talking about truth and justice? You come here to our country and tell us how to do things. It’s so…ingenuo, what’s the word…like simple. You are ready to ruin other lives, so you can settle your own conscience.” This is a deeply layered novel that intelligently explores issues of sexual identity, grief, and moral accountability. In each case, Meis avoids any sententious moralizing; instead, he relates a consuming story in powerfully simple prose.
A moving novel filled with nuance and insight.Pub Date: May 3, 2025
ISBN: 9780997672886
Page Count: 304
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2025
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 romance that could have used significant rethinking.
Childhood friends, almost-sweethearts, a misunderstanding, and a funeral.
Blair Lang and Declan Renshaw were best friends who went on one date before a disagreement and an accident sent them in different directions after high school. Now Blair is back from college to be with her great-aunt Lottie, who’s dying, and to support her single mother in small-town Seabrook, California. Finding a job at a coffee shop puts her in the path of her former boyfriend, since he turns out to be its owner. Can the two get past their mistakes? The novel uses the popular second-chance romance trope, but Pham fails to energize it through interesting characters. Blair’s grief over her great-aunt’s death and her plan to help her mother are overshadowed by internal monologues about her feelings, the way her friends aren’t paying attention to her, and the novel she plans to write. Declan’s distinguishing characteristic, besides being a former high school quarterback, is his skill at building birdhouses. Unsurprisingly, the couple doesn’t have much chemistry; when they embrace, their “bodies meld like…memory foam.” The wooden characters, unusual word choices (“conglomerate of pedestrians,” “litany of plants”), and odd turns of phrase (“tension melting from his eyebrows like butter melting in a warm pan”) are almost enough to obscure the lack of plot development. What passes for stakes is easily defused when Blair comes into an inheritance that saves her from working as a consultant at Ernst & Young in New York—so she can write a romance novel.
A romance that could have used significant rethinking.Pub Date: March 3, 2026
ISBN: 9781668095188
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: Feb. 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2026
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