An inventive, reflective story about cultural phenomena and personal connections to literature.
A professor applies to become part of a popular writer’s outlandish literary stunt in this novel.
Literature professor Christopher Krafft is on his way to Chicago for a unique conference organized by bestselling author Elizabeth Winters. The Logos Alive project selected 753 applicants to attend, all of whom had a single word assigned to them that will later be compiled for the prologue for Winters’ next novel. Chris’ journey takes a bizarre turn when news breaks that Winters has died en route in a plane crash. Stunned attendees show up at the conference to hear from her partner, who tells them about the next part of the project. Each participant (all of them literary junkies) will have a microchip implanted that contains 100 words of the forthcoming Winters novel. But the book won’t be published for more than 100 years, when scientists will retrieve the chips and the manuscript will be reassembled. Of course, the Logos participants have to agree to not be cremated. Chris, who is newly single after his girlfriend left him, is enough of a Winters fan to eagerly agree to the chip, and his new conference friend Beth also signs on. But with Chris despairing over his ex and Beth just a temporary companion, he struggles to unlock Winters’ mystery amid a sea of the author’s other admirers. Morrissey’s concise novel is delightfully literary and pulls in enough modern tech and internet realities to keep the genre current. The story revels in a background debate about fame versus talent and whether Winters’ bizarre stunts are her only offering, a view voiced mainly by Chris’ former girlfriend. It’s all approached very warmly, this desire these devotees have for a mystery, breaking news, and to feel a part of something grand. Strongly written with some light moments, the tale delivers an up-in-the-air premise that nicely amplifies its introspective tone.
An inventive, reflective story about cultural phenomena and personal connections to literature.Pub Date: N/A
ISBN: 978-1-7331949-2-1
Page Count: 188
Publisher: Twelve Winters Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 9, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2020
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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