A deeply satisfying suspense tale.
The stories of two women separated by miles and years intertwine in Thomas’ riveting blend of family drama and thriller.
Single mother and journalist Leslie Graham has shaken off a disturbing past event and now leads a full life in California with her two teenage daughters, Rhonda and Jillian. Leslie is shortlisted to become the first Black news editor at the local paper in the charmingly named town of Dancing Hills. Suddenly, her world is thrown into turmoil when her daughters are involved in a car crash that is no accident: An SUV intentionally hits their vehicle, but why? In contrast to Leslie’s success and family life, 10 years earlier, New Yorker Barbara Morris, unhappily married to her husband Edward and aware he is planning to divorce her, develops a plan to keep their young daughter, Nancy, should the marriage dissolve: Barbara intends to hide their daughter and insinuate that Edward is to blame for her disappearance. It is a dark plan, concocted by a woman with significant psychological issues; Barbara fears she may suffer from schizoaffective disorder, likely inherited from a mother confined to a mental institution for killing her boyfriend (“The noise in my head, the voices. I couldn’t ignore them. The voices, those damn voices!”). Secrets abound throughout the book, and none of the women, young or old, is who she seems to be. Mother/daughter issues—good, bad, and very, very bad—knit together a narrative that brims with surprises. Characters who initially seem sympathetic turn otherwise, and vice versa. Leslie’s and Barbara’s stories are told in alternating chapters, with the two narratives converging in an explosive finale. Throughout, attention to small details helps make the characters feel more real, such as Leslie’s love of crocheting, Rhonda’s smile that reveals retainers, or Barbara’s approval of styling her dreadlocks in a French twist.
A deeply satisfying suspense tale.Pub Date: May 7, 2024
ISBN: 9798218389680
Page Count: 327
Publisher: Diverse Arts Collective
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 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
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.
After being released from prison, a young woman tries to reconnect with her 5-year-old daughter despite having killed the girl’s father.
Kenna didn’t even know she was pregnant until after she was sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend, Scotty. When her baby girl, Diem, was born, she was forced to give custody to Scotty’s parents. Now that she’s been released, Kenna is intent on getting to know her daughter, but Scotty’s parents won’t give her a chance to tell them what really happened the night their son died. Instead, they file a restraining order preventing Kenna from so much as introducing herself to Diem. Handsome, self-assured Ledger, who was Scotty’s best friend, is another key adult in Diem’s life. He’s helping her grandparents raise her, and he too blames Kenna for Scotty’s death. Even so, there’s something about her that haunts him. Kenna feels the pull, too, and seems to be seeking Ledger out despite his judgmental behavior. As Ledger gets to know Kenna and acknowledges his attraction to her, he begins to wonder if maybe he and Scotty’s parents have judged her unfairly. Even so, Ledger is afraid that if he surrenders to his feelings, Scotty’s parents will kick him out of Diem’s life. As Kenna and Ledger continue to mourn for Scotty, they also grieve the future they cannot have with each other. Told alternatively from Kenna’s and Ledger’s perspectives, the story explores the myriad ways in which snap judgments based on partial information can derail people’s lives. Built on a foundation of death and grief, this story has an undercurrent of sadness. As usual, however, the author has created compelling characters who are magnetic and sympathetic enough to pull readers in. In addition to grief, the novel also deftly explores complex issues such as guilt, self-doubt, redemption, and forgiveness.
With captivating dialogue, angst-y characters, and a couple of steamy sex scenes, Hoover has done it again.Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5420-2560-7
Page Count: 335
Publisher: Montlake Romance
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2021
SEEN & HEARD
BOOK TO SCREEN
BOOK TO SCREEN
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