In Kristin Koval’s debut PETINENCE the reader enters the world of forgiveness, as the title suggests, for some truly unforgivable actions. Angie and David’s 13-year old daughter Nora shoots and kills her 14-year old brother Nico. They enlist Angie’s first love Julian’s mother Martine as Nora’s criminal defense attorney. This brings up the convoluted past, denoted by both tragedy and secrets, between Angie and Julian. 

While I thought at first this would be like DEFENDING JACOB, but PENITENCE doesn’t stay in the legal space. I’d say it’s more of a mash-up of DEFENDING JACOB with an Angie Kim novel.  

PROs:

* This novel gives the reader a lot to think about.

* The world consists of shades of gray, and that haziness is explored. 

* The twists weren’t shocking and were expected well in advance. I’d say this is a pro because it indicates the plot had good groundwork. This isn’t a popcorn thriller so I don’t want twist after twist.

CONs:

* It does come across a bit heavy-handed with its themes. 

* I thought it could have explored Nora’s motivations more than it did, and it was difficult to get to know the main characters. 

* Possibly tied with the previous, I didn’t always like the writing style. I tend to like a closer third person or even first person narration, and this felt too far removed from the characters, more tell and less show.

Therese Plummer is the audiobook narrator. I thought she did an okay job - not bad, not great. I’d suggest sticking with how you tend to like to read books with this one, whether that be print or audio.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for an advance listener copy in exchange for an honest review. 

PENITENCE publishes January 28, 2025.