Penitence

By Kristin Koval
Cover of the novel "penitence" by kristin koval, featuring an abstract painting of slender white birch trees set against a vibrant blue background.
Title: Penitence
Author: Kristin Koval
ISBN: 9781250342997
ON SALE: 02/18/2025

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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.

Woman smiling in a field with mountains in the background, wearing a brown jacket and white top.
Kristin Koval is a former lawyer who always wanted to be a writer but initially wandered down other paths. While writing Penitence, she completed a twelve-month novel generator class at Catapult Publishing. She’s an alumna of Sewanee Writers’ Conference and Aspen Summer Words, and her short story Inheritance was named a Finalist in the Salamander 2022 Fiction Contest. She attended Phillips Exeter Academy, Georgetown University and Columbia Law School. She lives in Boulder, Colorado and Park City, Utah with her husband, two sons and two great danes.

Praise for Kristin Koval

Fans of Little Fires Everywhere will appreciate this deeply moving novel about what it takes to let go of guilt and find redemption. Koval’s background in law lends realism to her image of America’s broken criminal justice system, and her prose poignantly exposes what it takes to find forgiveness.

Booklist

"While exploring the complexities of personal and family relationships, this engrossing, emotionally charged novel also examines the way forgiveness comes from acceptance that “each one of us is more than the worst we’ve ever done.""

Kirkus

"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."

Publishers Weekly

Penitence, riveting as a thriller, is a wise and profound novel. After a shocking tragedy unfolds in a small Colorado community, those intimately affected must grapple with their limitations and their buried histories. Kristin Koval relays their stories with great wisdom and compassion in this remarkable debut.”

Claire Messud
bestselling author of The Emperor’s Children and This Strange Eventful History

“When we meet Angie and David Sheehan at the start of this impressive debut novel, their lives have been shattered by violence, but the journey of the book is one of forgiveness and understanding, of learning how to come to terms with the past. Kristin Koval’s prose is crisp and readable and insightful, allowing the reader access into multiple characters so that we see all sides of this story as it unfolds. Penitence will grab you on its first page and hold you tight until the end.”

Laura Spence-Ash
author of Beyond That, the Sea

“This story begins with a shocking act of violence but unfolds into a tender story of family, long-held secrets, and what ifs. Penitence is both a gripping page-turner and a loving exploration of what it really means to forgive. I look forward to whatever Kristin Koval writes next.”

Mary Beth Keane
bestselling author of Ask Again, Yes and The Half Moon
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