Afternoon Hours of a Hermit

by Patrick Cottrell

A darkly funny and profoundly moving new novel by award-winning author Patrick Cottrell.

And who did I think I was, trying to teach the troubled youth how to write?...
I would say I was Dan Moran, a Korean adoptee, single, approaching forty, once plain-in-appearance as a woman, now ugly as a man, that's who or what I thought I was.
Most importantly, I was no longer useless, I was a writer.

Five years after the death of his youngest brother, Dan Moran is now the published trans author of the autofictional novel Sorry to Disrupt the Peace. He is teaching fiction in Brooklyn and working on his next book-a psychological thriller-when a mysterious envelope arrives for him in the mail. Addressed to the wrong name, it includes a childhood photo of his deceased brother. But who would send such a thing, and why?

Against his better judgment, Dan returns to his childhood home on the eve of his brother's memorial dinner. His estranged family is surprised to see him, but he ignores them. He drives around in his brother's Honda Accord, believing he is a detective. He searches for a constellation of unidentified women who may have been involved with his brother, all while being mistaken for another man. He hopes his investigation will reveal exactly who he was to his brother, but in a series of unsettling and destabilizing encounters, what he discovers is the irrevocable distance between who we are and how we are perceived.

Afternoon Hours of a Hermit is Patrick Cottrell's long-awaited second novel--an existential noir, an absurd comedy, a complex character study, and a heartbreaking inquiry into the paradox of identity, memory, and the very enterprise of writing fiction.

Genres: Fiction, Queer, Mystery, LGBT, Transgender, Contemporary

224 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication April 21, 2026

Reviews

[Iris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Actually exceptional, a damn find book to read.

[Mayra Kalaora · Rating 4 out of 5]

what an absurd book. and killer title. feeling cool and lucky to have gotten my hands on an advance copy. it was so strange. i loved the writing

[Ellen Ross · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had the perfect amount of dark humor and the perfect amount of serious emotions to make it the ideal read. Dan was fascinating and complex and I was really rooting for him as he tried to get to learn more about his brother and the people that were in his life. This book put me right inside Dan’s brain. I swear I felt the emotions and confusion and the contemplations as if they were my own. Some parts had me puzzled and concerned while others left me snickering to myself. This is truly a unique and special book. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't find this darkly funny, just dark...and sad. A white, Catholic, Wisconsin couple adopts three unrelated Korean children, and they become a family. The youngest took his own life five years ago when he was in his late teens/early 20s. Since then, the middle child has transitioned to male, although many of his relatives still address him by his "dead name." In the audiobook, this name is spoken as "Blank" (which I found confusing at first). There's also the eldest brother with whom the MMC had minimal interactions. Bottom line, a dysfunctional family, mental health issues, gender dysmorphia, suicidal tendencies, and estrangements all discussed almost dispassionately by the middle child: a self-proclaimed "detective" and published author now in pursuit of his second book.
The audiobook was well narrated. I just needed more resolution from the story, not just a recounting of old wounds.
My thanks to the author, publisher, @HarperAudio, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook of #AfternoonHoursofaHermit for review purposes. Publication date: 21 April 2026.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A continued portrait of familial grief five years after a brother's suicide, except narrator Dan has transitioned to male, further alienating himself from his former peers in Milwaukee than he already was as a Korean adoptee. I don't think I've read anything quite like Afternoon Hours of a Hermit, and I was really invested in how Dan interpreted the people and events around him. Mysterious, poignant, and emotionally charged.

[James B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Netgalley and Ecco for the ebook. Trans author Dan Moran is living a simple life as an author and teaching writing in Brooklyn, but as the five year anniversary of his younger brother’s suicide approaches, Dan gets an anonymous letter involving his brother that sends him back to his hometown, where most people still remember him as the depressed and angry daughter of the nice Christian couple who adopted three Asian children. Dan takes on the guise of a detective to try and learn if there was more to this suicide than anyone could have imagined.

[Jesaka Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

Patrick Cottrell's AFTERNOON HOURS OF A HERMIT is an exquisite novel. The main character Dan Moran, a trans man, is still mourning his youngest brother five years after he died by suicide. When Dan receives a picture of his brother from an unknown sender, he goes home to see if he can learn anything more about his brother and his life before suicide claimed him. What unfolds is a remarkable exploration of memory and how it's impacted by family--and how it's impacted by the relationships within the family. Dan encounters information other members of his family, particularly his mother, had not previously shared, which heightens Dan's already intense need for answers. We also see the different way people are perceived within Dan's family. For example, middle brother Matthias refers to the youngest brother as "my brother" with a strong emphasis on "my." Through comments from various family members, including Matthias, we get very different perspectives on Dan, especially young Dan (or ___ Moran) before he transitioned. This further complicates understanding Kevin Moran as a young child and as an adult before he died. The novel asks if we really know the people in our family even if they were with us as we grew up. It also asks what and why things are kept secret in a family. Joining Dan on his weeklong stay with his family as he navigates reactions to his transition as well as his failures and triumphs to learn more about his brother Kevin is a gift. Dan has a singular perspective and a distinctly dark yet funny way of expressing himself; I mourned losing that voice when the novel ended. I could have easily spent another 200 pages with Dan Moran and it still would not be enough. I loved this novel and highly recommend it.

[Alicia Garcia-Webster · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pick my books by the cover, and I try to go in as "blind" as possible, so I am not sure how this book is being described, or to whom it is being marketed. To sum up this novel as succinctly as possible, without spoilers, I would say, "Korean man with major issues, manages to alienate everyone he has ever known, without any discernible reason, and manages to double-down in his efforts during a time of familial grief." And yet it works somehow! The MMC is such a swirling vortex of solipsism, rage, delusions of grandeur, and navel-gazing. He is completely and utterly devoid of emotion, and cannot conjure up even a modicum of respect or solemnity, even when the occasion is screaming for it. Dan Moran is a fascinating man; a completely closed loop and devoid of empathy for anyone and everyone who has ever crossed his path. I have never encountered a character (real or imagined) who, while profoundly introverted, also behaves in such a way that simultaneously screams, "Look at me! Look at me! Look at me!". Like a person with low self-esteem who assumes a posture of performative bravado in order to overcompensate for his deficiencies, but in Moran's case it is without the requisite low self-esteem part. I would definitely recommend this book. It has a compelling storyline, it is a quick and entertaining read, and it provides insight into the type of psyche not often found in literature, or humanity for that matter, a true megalomaniac. ** This ARC was provided by the publisher but all views are my own.

[Candice Stull · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m not entirely sure why this is a five-star read for me, which feels fitting for a novel that resists clarity at every turn.

Afternoon Hours of a Hermit is deeply disorienting—almost vertiginous. Being inside Dan’s mind feels claustrophobic: he fixates on his brother’s suicide, but even his grief turns inward, refracted through his own sense of self. I found myself constantly questioning him. Is he lying? Is he reliable? Does he even understand the world around him?

There’s a strange instability to everything—his job, his relationships, even reality itself. The novel hovers at the edges of something surreal without ever fully becoming it, which only deepens the unease. Dan is intensely introspective yet profoundly oblivious, so consumed with examining himself that he fails to truly see anything outside of him. Others treat him as if he’s barely there—and in some ways, he participates in that erasure.

It takes so long for his brother to even be named—Kevin—as if grief itself resists being fixed in language. And when clarity does come, it lands hard: “The person dissolves into nothingness, and you can’t bring them back.”

I didn’t always enjoy being in this book, but it stayed with me. There’s something quietly devastating about a character who observes everything and understands almost nothing—especially himself.

I closed it feeling unsteady, and somehow, that feels exactly right.

[Jo B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dan Moran, a trans man who is part of the “writer and adjunct teaching community in Brooklyn,” returns home for his younger brother’s memorial service following the receipt of a mysterious photograph of said brother being mailed to him - no return address or letter included.
Dan is determined to find the sender of the photo and “solve” his brother’s death (a suicide).
The narrative moves fluidly between present and past - blending memories, reflections, grief, and the never ending need for answers to mysteries that might not be solvable.
Cottrell’s writing leans into a very literary, impressionistic but blunt style - less emphasis on a straightforward “solve the mystery” plot and more on atmosphere and internality. He utilizes a repetitive almost poetry-prose way of writing that at times was very effective but easily slipped into being a little irritating.
I had a lot of trouble feeling any kind of consistent empathy/attachment to Dan - maybe an intention of Cottrell. While there were moments of poignance where my heart went out to him, I found Dan to be really distant as a character.
I think if you’re a reader who enjoys a quasi-nonlinear exploration of grief, identity, etc with a helping of some bleak, dark humor then this is a book for you. It unfortunately wasn’t my particular cup of tea.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for this eARC

[Jake Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rounded up from 3.75 stars.

Dan Moran returns home for his brother's memorial only to discover that someone has mailed him a mysterious photo, addressed to his dead name, of his younger brother dressed as a detective.

Dan then embarks on a series of questionable decisions in an effort to "investigate" his brother's suicide, and who might have possibly mailed him this photo.

Cottrell's style is blunt and un-fussy, and there are certainly poignant moments, but I had difficulty latching onto Dan as a narrator; he is quirky and aloof, which also might reflect his experience growing up as a Korean adoptee in suburban Milwaukee. He is also, like all writers, a bit self-centered and disconnected from reality, and while there are jokes here, they are awfully bleak.

That said, I think Cottrell achieved everything he wanted. I just can't say I *enjoyed* it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco for the advance copy!

[Kris V · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a whirlwind of a book! Having read his first novel, I was excited to read his second, and boy is the mind of Dan Moran complex. There were times that I was moved and saddened by how isolated Dan seemed to be everywhere he went, but also at times confused and a little frustrated by how the outside world responded to him.
Through all the emotional pitfalls, Cottrell is a beautiful writer and the pace had me turning the page and following along easily. I definitely didn’t expect the novel to end where it did, as I would’ve gladly continued to follow Dan around as he did his Detective work. Most of all, I finished reading the novel wanting the best for Dan Moran, a sensitive soul who no one seemed to truly understand.

Thank you to Ecco publishing house for my advance copy! All opinions are my own.
I will be purchasing a copy to sit alongside “Sorry to Disrupt the Peace” on my bookshelves.

[Jenny · Rating 2 out of 5]

I simply don't think I am the target audience here.

I am not too familiar with mystery as a genre without anything else being added in, so I'm not sure if this is how mysteries usually go about. It felt like I was in the head of the worst detective of all time, and they have so many issues going on personally and emotionally that it was hard for me to get a grasp or take them serious in any manner. The novel blurb touts comedy though, so maybe I did understand it.

Overall found it hard to give in to the story.

The narrator was nice though.

thank you to netgalley and ecco for the eARC!

[Tara Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this was truly touching. This is a strange story, because our narrator is a strange person. I personally think he falls somewhere on the neurodivergent spectrum, and some of his behaviors are completely inappropriate. But regardless of his methods, this book follows Dan as he tries to uncover more about his brothers suicide. I thought the unconventional grief of our main character, the way he handled a family that is unaccepting of a gender transition, the way he viewed the world, was all done so well. I was really impressed with this book.

Thank you to the publisher for the advanced copy. 4.5 stars.

[Briann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Afternoon Hours of a Hermit is a creative exploration. I appreciate the author’s artistic use of ______ to symbolize the narrator’s deadname. My heart broke a little when the narrator finally named his brother halfway through the book, and it shattered completely at the end when Dan’s mother still refused to use his name. While I expected some great revelation or closure, I got none; however, perhaps this is a more realistic portrayal of grief and loss.

[Gillian · Rating 4 out of 5]

this is a really unique book, it kind of breaks the fourth wall with the author’s own experiences and previous work. I didn’t read Cottrell’s previous book ‘Sorry to Disturb the Peace’ so I’m sure I miss out on some deeper characterizations of the main character and his family, but I still really enjoyed reading this!

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really cool and unexpected follow-up to Cottrell's first novel, which was one of my fave books of 2017. A nice mix of moody, funny, lowkey noirish, meta, and subtly moving. I hope some genius movie studio snags this and gets Kogonada to direct it.

[Sarah Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

His best book yet <3

[Michael]

Review TK.

[Maddy Court · Rating 5 out of 5]

If the first person doesn't feel like a snowcone being covered and saturated deep with red 40 syrup, I don't want to read it. Patrick Cottrell DELIVERS another banger. Visionary.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoughtful and introspective, but a bit repetitive. I liked the vibe and ideas, just wanted it to go deeper or be more direct.

[Maya Patel · Rating 2 out of 5]

‘Evil Genius’ and ‘The Afternoon Hours of a Hermit’ are both evidently character-driven novels centred on awkward, lonely and isolated protagonists. In ‘Evil Genius’, Celia is a bored 1970s telephone billing operator trapped in an emotionally abusive marriage and obsessed with love and death. In ‘The Afternoon Hours of a Hermit’, Dan is a lonely man investigating the death of his adoptive brother while struggling with an identity crisis.

Reading these novels back to back highlights how similar the protagonists are. Both characters feel trapped, disconnected, and emotionally complex. They may seem awkward at first, but their lives and inner thoughts are what make the stories compelling and keep the reader engaged.