Wednesday, January 29, 2025

Book Review: "Penitence" by Kristin Koval

I had such FOMO from everyone who got to read this early, so I was excited that Celadon Books and NetGalley gave me an advance copy. This was a fantastic debut novel!

Angie and David Sheehan’s lives are completely upended when a tragic, shocking murder occurs in their home. They turn to Martine, a lawyer in their small town of Lodgepole, Colorado, to defend their family. But Martine is more than just another lawyer in town—she used to be best friends with Angie’s mother and is the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian.

Julian and Angie were part of a tragedy that occurred when they were teenagers, a tragedy which left them feeling sad and guilty nearly every day. It was the strain of this tragedy and the façade they had to keep up that ultimately doomed their relationship. It’s been nearly 15 years since they’ve seen one another.

Now, Julian is a criminal lawyer in NYC, and Martine asks him to come home and help her with the case. Julian’s return unearths emotions, secrets, and regrets long kept hidden, yet his expertise is truly needed.

This is a book about the weight of secrets and guilt, and the ripples these cause for many. It’s also a story about shared tragedy and how we can never truly move beyond it, no matter how hard we try.

Kristin Koval said in her author’s note, “Getting to forgiveness is often hard, but it can also be profound and even beautiful.” This is so skillfully illustrated in this book, which shifts from the late 1990s to the late 2010s. I’ll be thinking about this book for a while.

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