An exciting work of survival fiction with strong female characters.
Moore presents a novel about two sisters who must face their shared trauma after dangerous circumstances reunite them.
Red Nelson, the lead singer of the rock band Sleek, is on the run after finding her manager and ex-husband, Vern, unconscious backstage at a North Carolina show. His attacker tried to hurt her, as well, but she was able to get away. It appears that her old boyfriend Billy Cotton was behind the incident, so she steals Vern’s plane to get as far away as possible. She travels near the Adirondacks, where her long-estranged half sister, Kate, lives. However, Red’s piloting skill fails her, and she crashes in Panther Gorge. Injured, isolated, and desperate, she texts Kate’s 22-year-old daughter, Molly, who’s also not getting along with her mother. Molly rescues Red and houses her in a cabin on Kate’s property. As she begins to heal, she confronts her history of tumultuous relationships. On the other side of the sizable property, Kate is also struggling. She’s a keen pilot, as well, but because she’s had a series of severe blackouts recently, she’s been barred from flying. She also happens to be a member of a local search-and-rescue team investigating the recent plane crash at Panther Gorge. Before long, a media frenzy builds around Red’s sudden disappearance, as she’s a suspect in the attack; Billy also appears, just released from prison. The sisters must make tough choices—between fighting and fleeing and between self-preservation and forgiveness—to protect their family and clear Red’s name. Moore’s engaging offering not only gets across the ruggedness of the Adirondacks setting, with its “jagged cliffs and craggy trees,” but also presents a touching tale of siblings. The author ably brings her characters to life; each woman is flawed and vulnerable, which makes them feel realistic and relatable. Red is shown to be shortsighted in many of her decisions, and Kate is depicted as using steadfastness and regimentation as emotional armor. The sisters complement each other and form a strong bond; together, they forge a believable path forward.
An exciting work of survival fiction with strong female characters.Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2023
ISBN: 9798987531709
Page Count: 344
Publisher: Riverbed Press
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.
A young woman’s experience as a nurse in Vietnam casts a deep shadow over her life.
When we learn that the farewell party in the opening scene is for Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s older brother—“a golden boy, a wild child who could make the hardest heart soften”—who is leaving to serve in Vietnam in 1966, we feel pretty certain that poor Finley McGrath is marked for death. Still, it’s a surprise when the fateful doorbell rings less than 20 pages later. His death inspires his sister to enlist as an Army nurse, and this turn of events is just the beginning of a roller coaster of a plot that’s impressive and engrossing if at times a bit formulaic. Hannah renders the experiences of the young women who served in Vietnam in all-encompassing detail. The first half of the book, set in gore-drenched hospital wards, mildewed dorm rooms, and boozy officers’ clubs, is an exciting read, tracking the transformation of virginal, uptight Frankie into a crack surgical nurse and woman of the world. Her tensely platonic romance with a married surgeon ends when his broken, unbreathing body is airlifted out by helicopter; she throws her pent-up passion into a wild affair with a soldier who happens to be her dead brother’s best friend. In the second part of the book, after the war, Frankie seems to experience every possible bad break. A drawback of the story is that none of the secondary characters in her life are fully three-dimensional: Her dismissive, chauvinistic father and tight-lipped, pill-popping mother, her fellow nurses, and her various love interests are more plot devices than people. You’ll wish you could have gone to Vegas and placed a bet on the ending—while it’s against all the odds, you’ll see it coming from a mile away.
A dramatic, vividly detailed reconstruction of a little-known aspect of the Vietnam War.Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9781250178633
Page Count: 480
Publisher: St. Martin's
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
PERSPECTIVES
BOOK TO SCREEN
SEEN & HEARD
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.
The sequel to It Ends With Us (2016) shows the aftermath of domestic violence through the eyes of a single mother.
Lily Bloom is still running a flower shop; her abusive ex-husband, Ryle Kincaid, is still a surgeon. But now they’re co-parenting a daughter, Emerson, who's almost a year old. Lily won’t send Emerson to her father’s house overnight until she’s old enough to talk—“So she can tell me if something happens”—but she doesn’t want to fight for full custody lest it become an expensive legal drama or, worse, a physical fight. When Lily runs into Atlas Corrigan, a childhood friend who also came from an abusive family, she hopes their friendship can blossom into love. (For new readers, their history unfolds in heartfelt diary entries that Lily addresses to Finding Nemo star Ellen DeGeneres as she considers how Atlas was a calming presence during her turbulent childhood.) Atlas, who is single and running a restaurant, feels the same way. But even though she’s divorced, Lily isn’t exactly free. Behind Ryle’s veneer of civility are his jealousy and resentment. Lily has to plan her dates carefully to avoid a confrontation. Meanwhile, Atlas’ mother returns with shocking news. In between, Lily and Atlas steal away for romantic moments that are even sweeter for their authenticity as Lily struggles with child care, breastfeeding, and running a business while trying to find time for herself.
Through palpable tension balanced with glimmers of hope, Hoover beautifully captures the heartbreak and joy of starting over.Pub Date: Oct. 18, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-668-00122-6
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Atria
Review Posted Online: July 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2022
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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