Author: Kristin Koval
Year published: 2025
Category: Adult fiction (thriller)
Pages: 320 pages
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2025 Google Reading map): USA (CO, NY)
Summary: 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.
Review: I love a good thriller, and this one worked for me ok, but not great. The premise is sound: a young girl commits murder, totally turning her family upside down. The lawyers brought in have (too) close relationships with the family, and through flashbacks, we learn how they are all intertwined.
I don't know exactly what didn't work for me with this one. I didn't come to care for the characters and their circumstances. I am loathe to blame the book; maybe I wasn't in the right space for this particular story. I find that I don't have much to say about it, which tells me something.
Challenges for which this counts:
- Alphabet (Title)--P
- Cover Lover--Wintry scene
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