Penitence

A Novel

By: Kristin Koval

Narrated by: Thérèse Plummer

For listeners of Ann Patchett and Celeste Ng, Penitence is a poignant exploration of love and forgiveness. It’s a suspenseful, addictive audiobook filled with literary insight that compels listeners to consider whether the worst thing we’ve ever done is all that defines us.

"A deeply engrossing listen that will have you reflecting on guilt and forgiveness.”—Booklist

“Plummer is a joy to listen to. She brings insight and emotional depth to the characters as they grapple with mistakes from their pasts. Plummer imbues her performance with the perfect amount of energy and tension.”—AudioFile

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.

A Macmillan Audio production from Celadon Books.

©2025 Kristin Koval (P)2025 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

"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

"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.' An intelligent, deftly crafted suspense debut."—Kirkus

Unexpected

This is more of a family drama than it is a thriller or mystery. Basically, it's a fairly well-written story about two families with a couple things in common: death and sacrifice. There was a lot going on--the murder, the "lost love" angle, parenthood, mental illness, guilt, self-loathing, and family dynamics. Because the focus was a bit disjointed, the point of the story was muddled.

While it was pretty easy to piece things together fairly early on, the premise was interesting. Overall, it's a decent listen but the story started to drag on.

I need another!

I need this to be a series or at least have a second book! Very easy to follow along and I enjoyed the twists and turns.

complicated family drama and crime procedural

4.25 stars for Penitence by Kristin Koval. I was so excited about this book I actually put the release date on my calendar! It was definitely worth it, although I have some very minor critiques. This is the story of a family in crisis. It begins with a 15 year old being shot by his 13 year old sister. Three times. You know from the very first page she did it because she admits this on the 911 tape. What you don't know is why. Enter the legal team of Martine and her son Julian who have a very intimate and estranged history with this family and the book evolves into a multi family and generational drama as well as a much more complicated mystery told between now and then. Koval really paints a brilliant picture of how quickly and brutally a family implodes on itself with this one violent act and I have high praise for the way she fleshed out these complex characters and gave us an authentic if sometimes ugly core of who they really were. The tiny bit of critique I have is for the court/legal procedural aspects of the story which came off (to me, at least) as a bit preachy. The lawyer, Julian, has strong opinions on everything from the "three strikes, you're out" law to the way teens are treated in the legal system. There was a strong them of crime and punishment versus compassion and rehabilitation in this story and while I was unanimously on the same page as the lawyer, I sometimes felt the themes were being a bit overplayed. But, to be fair, this was a crime and procedural story and the themes worked with the plot. Just felt like Koval could have eased up on the gas a few times and still gotten to where she was going with that. On the flip side of that, the ending may leave some readers a bit frustrated. I personally think this is a perfect pick for a book club discussion for that exact reason. SO MUCH material here to talk about. Really, really recommend!

Not what I was expecting

When I started this book, I really had no idea if it was going to be for me but it left my jaw on the floor. This was a perfect debut novel for Kristin Koval full of family tragedy, conflict, love and forgiveness. The narration was perfect; Therese Plummer did an incredible job.

This is not fast paced but very suspenseful, I felt like I was hanging on just waiting for answers.
The characters are likeable and infuriating at the same time. This book is full of actions that are difficult to understand and will make you question what you would do given the circumstances. There are so many significant themes throughout the story and for me, it was difficult to stop listening. The ending was not what I hoped for, but it worked. Usually, I'm a reader that wants the clean ending- everything has been worked out and we have all the answers. This is not that book.

Told in dual timelines with past and present conflict, completely gripping and thought provoking, and just overall a fantastic debut novel!

What is Forgiveness?

PENITENCE by Kristen Koval

Therese Plummer does a fine reading of this suspenseful story. This is Kristen Koval’s debut and I thought it was well written and I’m excited to see what she does next.

Opening family wounds and bringing dark truths to light with the guilt we live with.

Lives are shattered when Angie and David discovery a shocking murder in their home. Turning to a mom of a former boyfriend of Angie’s, for legal counsel, both Angie and David are confronted by impossible decisions. Digging into the intricacies of forgiveness and human frailty. The journey of finding forgiveness, compassion, and mistakes is not always a clear path.

Why?

Interesting, premise and characters, but the author left us hanging. The ending left me angry.

Don’t compare to Patchett or Ng

I fell for the promo ad comparing this to an Ann Patchett or Celeste Ng story. The characters were inscrutable and the motive for the central act was left unexplored. Meh.

Amazing Debut Novel

Penitence is masterful story-telling at its finest. Readers are compelled to wrestle with the philosophical and moral dilemmas of wonderfully complex characters in this tale of love, imperfection and forgivenss. Koval's distinct and unique writing voice is a breath of fresh air in a world of followers and imitators.

a little disappointed

The narrator is outstanding. The story gets really bogged down with back story in the middle section and becomes quite boring and tedious. At the same time, something is missing from this book, not sure what. It feels incomplete or liked a missed opportunity.

Bittersweet

This was such a heavy and well-written story. I loved the characters but felt their heartache so deeply. We are all flawed and the path towards forgiveness can be crooked and unexpected but, in this case, it lead to a bittersweet ending requiring quite a few tissues.