Penitence by Kristin Koval

My thoughts

I believe this is a debut novel. It's one you don't want to miss. It has so many feelings and will give you such deep emotions. In parts I got goosebumps and sure shed lots of tears. But the overall story is so good. It made me look at some things in a whole new way. Especially where kids who have committed crimes are concerned. 

This is a story of a murder and the road to forgiveness. A story of a family torn apart by a tragedy that they never saw coming. This is a story that will definitely make you shed so many tears. And wonder why. Why did this happen? 

Angie and David Sheehan have two children. Until they don't. Nora and Nico are very close siblings. Even in age they are being just eleven months apart. Nico is fourteen and Nora thirteen. Then Nora takes her dads gun out of his gun safe and shoots Nico three times. What could have made her do such a thing. 

David goes to Martine Dumont, a lawyer, for help. He begs her to help his daughter. Martine is not a criminal defense attorney so she calls her son Julian. Martine and Julian have been somewhat estranged for many years. Only talking on the phone occasionally. Julian is also Angie's ex boyfriend. In high school the two were inseparable. Until they weren't. 

This book is three stories in one but not in the least hard to follow. Each thing comes together in a way that makes the story that much better. This book is almost perfection. It's a story of people who need forgiveness. Of ones finding it. Of ones giving it. Sometimes it's hard to find forgiveness. And sometimes people just never think they deserve it.

I could not put this book down. It was that good. I have to highly recommend it to everyone I know. Yes it's sad but it's not graphic about things. No blood and gore. No horrors. Just a story that will hold your heart hostage until the very end.

Thank you #NetGalley, #CeladonBoos, #MacmillianAudio, for this ARC. 

Five big stars.

About

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 each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.

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 post-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.