Penitence
A Novel
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
“Gripping and propulsive, Kristin Koval’s Penitence is an exploration of the struggles and impossible choices of two families linked by tragedy, guilt, blame and love.” —The Washington Post
For readers of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, Penitence is a poignant exploration of love and forgiveness. It’s a suspenseful, addictive page-turner filled with literary insight that compels readers to consider whether the worst thing we’ve ever done is all that defines us.
When a shocking murder occurs in the home of Angie and David Sheehan, their lives are shattered. Desperate to defend their family, they turn to small-town lawyer Martine Dumont for help, but Martine isn’t just legal counsel—she’s also the mother of Angie’s first love, Julian, a now-successful New York City criminal defense attorney. As Julian and Angie confront their shared past and long-buried guilt from a tragic accident years ago, they must navigate their own culpability and the unresolved feelings between them.
Spanning decades, from the ski slopes of rural Colorado to the streets of pre-9/11 New York City and back again, Kristin Koval’s debut novel Penitence is an examination of the complexities of familial loyalty, the journey of redemption, and the profound experience of true forgiveness.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This finely wrought story explores love, forgiveness, and the motives for murder. Angie and David Sheehan are shattered when a murder is committed in their small-town Colorado home. But as the pair work with defence lawyer Martine Dumont (who happens to be the mother of Angie’s long-ago first love), they must confront the shared past that has brought tragedy—and possibly also absolution—into their lives. Finding the beating heart in a cold and challenging legal system, debut author Kristin Koval expertly mixes the Sheehan family’s saga within the ongoing crime story, pairing two timelines for a compelling and unforgettable narrative. As a lawyer herself, Koval fills her tale with piercing insights about the ways our legal system can manipulate us through love, fear, and cruelty. With our hearts engaged, we were truly on edge to see if justice would win out in this stunningly heartfelt read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
A family deals with a mysterious act of fratricide in Koval's harrowing debut. In the small ski town of Lodgepole, Colo., Nora Sheehan, 13, is charged with the murder of her 14-year-old brother, Nico, who was recently diagnosed with Huntington's disease, and who died from gunshot wounds. The police believe he was killed with their father, David's gun. David, a park ranger, is often away, leaving parenting duties to his wife, Angie, whose favoring of Nico was no secret. After Nora's arrest, David persuades a local attorney to get her son, New York lawyer Julian Dumont, on the case, as he specializes in juvenile criminal defense. It turns out Angie and Julian were high school sweethearts, and a parallel narrative follows an earlier tragedy, when Angie's seven-year-old sister, Diana, died in a skiing accident while in the teen couple's care. Nora's motive remains murky as the case progresses, prompting the Sheehans to wonder whether she killed Nico out of mercy or spite after both sides eliminate the possibility that the gun went off by accident. Along the way, secrets kept by Angie and Julian about the aftermath of Diana's death come to light. Koval maintains the pacing of a thriller while going deep on themes of guilt, forgiveness, and the toll of keeping secrets. Readers won't be able to look away.
