Madeline McKnight Signs Off

by Evan Brooke

“An extraordinary exploration of friendship that spans the broadest universal themes of love and loyalty to the most intricate, intimate, and memorable details of a human life.” —Jill McCorkle, New York Times bestselling author

An unconventional relationship between women of two different generations becomes something transcendent in this vulnerable, heartbreaking, and life-affirming debut novel that proves it’s never too late to come of age.

Madeline McKnight is writing her final annual report. A former Wall Street power player, she uses a pie chart to rank her most hated rivals, a line graph to follow the trajectory of her net worth and reputation, and even a formula to predict when the metastasized cancer will kill her. But there’s no equation to predict the likelihood that Bri Davis, Madeline’s estranged best friend’s daughter, will agree to take care of her at the end of her life.

Bri is a nursing student fresh off a breakup, ambivalent about her future, and drowning in debt. She agrees to Madeline’s strange proposal, mostly for the obscene payday. Sharp as knives and intimidatingly smart, Bri finds herself face-to-face with a force of nature rather than an ailing patient. Madeline ropes Bri into the bigger plans she has afoot for her final act. Madeline McKnight has never gone away quietly and she doesn’t plan to start now.

As this unlikely pair teams up to tackle Madeline’s final days can they trade her badwill for goodwill before it’s too late?

Genres: Fiction, Literary Fiction, Contemporary, Friendship

352 pages, Hardcover

First published November 3, 2026

About the author

Evan Brooke earned her MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. Madeline McKnight Signs Off is her debut novel. Her work has also appeared in The Threepenny Review, The Baltimore Review, Cutleaf Journal, Passages North, and elsewhere. She lives with her husband, three kids, and two dogs outside of Philadelphia.

Reviews

[Shelley's Book Nook · Rating 3.75 out of 5]

My Reviews Can Also Be Found On:
The Book Review Crew Blog


⭐⭐⭐.75
Madeline McKnight Signs Off
Evan Brooke
Publication Date: November 3rd, 2026
Atria Books
352 Pages
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
Genre: General Fiction | Women's Fiction

This was a funny and heartwarming read about an intergenerational friendship. I don't know what it is with me and books like this, but I love them. Our titular character, Madeline, is a former Wall Street executive who has cancer. She is dealing with her illness the same way she would a financial audit: with pie charts and graphs. She has a "worse enemies" list, her financial status, and math formulas to figure out her last days.

Madeline needs someone to help her with her bucket list (if I can call it that) and end-of-life care, so she hires Bri. Bri is broke and has recently been dumped; she is also the daughter of Madeline's former best friend. Bri decides to take the job because she needs the money, thinking it will be an easy gig being a caretaker. Little does she know she'll be running crazy errands, fighting with Madeline's old enemies, and dealing with Madeline's emotional baggage. Oh, and did I mention Madeline refuses to go quietly?

This was a very decent debut, and I would definitely read more from this author. I loved Madeline, snark and all. She is smart, funny, and takes no guff. Bri had my sympathies for the most part; as a nursing student, she has debt and needs money fast, so I get why she took the job. Even though Madeline isn't a soft touch, the dynamic between her and Bri worked.

I liked the fact that Madeline is at the end of her life, yet this wasn't a terribly sad story. Madeline has kept her sense of humour, and the mutual respect that develops between the two generations adds to the emotional depth. It was nice to have an older character who had such a high-profile job and was so intelligent. The author has a great way of showing how messy human relationships can be, even later in life.

The middle section of the book deals with Madeline's crazy bucket list tasks, which kinda slowed the momentum down for me. I was more interested in the feeling parts of the book than the doing parts. Still, if you enjoy life-affirming, funny, and heartfelt stories about unexpected friendships, this is a worthwhile read. I enjoy character-driven stories like this very much.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.



Goodreads ratings reflect reader demographics and
popular enthusiasm rather than objective literary merit.

[Kerrin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madeline McKnight Signs Off by Evan Brooke had an intriguing premise, but ultimately it was a mixed read for me.

Madeline McKnight is a wealthy, powerful former stockbroker who learns she has only a few months to live. She hires Bri Davis, the daughter of her estranged best friend, to care for her. Bri reluctantly accepts the job because her drug-addicted mother has squandered Bri’s college fund, leaving her deeply in debt. As Madeline’s health deteriorates, the complicated history between the two families gradually comes to light.

Madeline is obsessed with creating a museum dedicated to Hetty Green, the richest woman in America during the Gilded Age. Known as “The Witch of Wall Street,” Hetty was a notorious miser who died under mysterious circumstances in 1916. Historical aspects of Hetty’s life parallel Madeline's life. I struggled with the fact that neither Madeline nor Hetty was particularly likable. That made it difficult for me to become emotionally invested in Madeline’s story.

The book is also a bit depressing as we watch Madeline slowly decline and face the reality of her impending death. There are some touching moments, particularly in the relationship that develops between Madeline and Bri, and I appreciated the themes of forgiveness, second chances, and the complicated bonds between mothers and daughters and between best friends.

[Alyssa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for inviting me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

This book started off very strong for me, and fell off about 50 or 60 pages in. I was super engaged in the story and thought I would really enjoy the journey of these characters.

I know it may sound a little harsh, but this was an average read to me, hence the 3 star rating. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t love it either.

I don’t mind an unlikable character, usually I love them, but I wasn’t super compelled to support Madeline or Bri so much. I didn’t care about why Madeline and Cara stopped talking either, as mean as it sounds. Lee was probably may favorite part of this book. And Hopie of course!

I get where the book was trying to go, I really do. I was hoping it would tug at my heartstrings more. Madeline is difficult to work with, Bri should dislike her but comes to care about her. It is a textbook type book I would love! It just sadly didn’t do much for me. It is not like I disliked either of them, I just didn’t care, which may almost be worse.

Maybe I wasn’t a huge fan of this book because it was a little too technical. Not that it was hard to understand, I just am not the type of person Madeline is. I am very go with the flow and not as scientific or by the book like she is. I did like all the charts and how the book was formatted. That added a fun element. It just made me detached in general.

A lot of this book was okay we are going to go here and do this, lets learn something about Madeline’s life, let’s learn about Bri and her mom, company stuff, learn more about Hetty, stocks and so on, and it just wasn’t very exciting. I was hoping for a little more soul to the book.

Bri and Beck were kind of cute as well, but I wished it was fleshed out more if it was going to be in there. I almost didn’t need any sort of relationship in the novel. I was fine with knowing about Bri’s ex, because it gave us some insight to her character, but a book like this doesn’t need a romance, even if it wasn’t a very big part of the plot. Lee and Madeline’s relationship was enough for me!

I liked the feminist aspect to this book!

I did enjoy the writing style, and the premise was there for me, the execution just didn’t work. If it sounds up your alley or something you may enjoy, it is worth giving it a shot! It is not the worst thing I’ve ever read, I was just hoping for more.

[Maine Colonial · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madeline McKnight used to be a Wall Street whiz kid, but fell spectacularly when she predicted a stock market crash too soon—a mortal sin according to the male-dominated financial world. But McKnight did make a pile of money in her time and her plan is to use a lot of it to take advantage of the short time she has left in her cancer-stricken life. A big item on her bucket list is to open a museum in New York dedicated to Hetty Green, a real-life financial maven from the Gilded Age. Madeline’s mother had been working on a book about Green’s life, and after her death, Madeline promised her father that she would carry on her mother’s work.

While Green was called the Witch of Wall Street, many of Madeline’s peers called her the Bitch of Wall Street. She’s not an easy person and her no real friends other than her laconic neighbor, Lee, and her Labrador, Hopie. A betrayal meant the end of her bond with her longtime friend, Cara. Though she doesn’t expect to make it up with Cara, she decides to offer an inordinately well-paid position to Cara’s daughter, Bri, to be her nurse for the months she has left. Bri has her own issues with Madeline, and with her mother, who has alcohol problems, but she’s in no position to turn down the kind of money Madeline is offering.

That’s the setup that brings us to Madeline’s Poconos cabin, where she roams around with Hopie and does a lot of fly fishing in her spare time from her Hetty Green project and dealing with her illness. Madeline and Bri get their own narrative chapters. Madeline’s tend to be in the form of the kinds of reports you might see in the financial world. That might come across as labored or cutesy, but it didn’t feel that way to me.

As you might expect, there is a long period of Madeline and Bri sparring with each other, each with her guard always up. Fly fishing and Hopie help them drop their guards. Much is revealed to each other and to themselves.

Many readers will find this book affecting. For me, it was more a case of appreciating it than having my emotions engaged by it. I never felt strongly about the characters, but that very well may be me, not the writing.

[Lori L (She Treads Softly) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madeline McKnight Signs Off by Evan Brooke is a recommended literary novel, for the right reader.

Madeline McKnight's cancer treatment has ended and now she is waiting for the metastasized cancer to kill her. While in treatment, her doctor suggested journaling, which she considers a waste of time, so Madeline is calling it an annual report. In her report she rates how she is doing among other things. Madeline presents her former friend Cara's daughter, Bri Davis, who is a nursing student, a lucrative proposal if she will take time off from school to come care for her to the end. Bri, who has just broken up with her girlfriend and is drowning in debt, accepts.

When Bri arrives at Madeline opulent "cabin" in the Poconos, she meets a woman who is still a force of nature and very much still resembles the former power player she once was on Wall Street. She also meets Lee, Madeline's boyfriend, Sue, her assistant and driver, and a Newfoundland name Hopie. This begins the fly fishing sessions and assisting Madeline in setting up a museum devoted to the life of Hetty Green, who was known as the Witch of Wall Street during the Gilded Age.

Chapters in the narrative alternate between the point-of-view of Madeline and Bri, with additional "reports" written by Madeline. This is technically an exceptionally well-written literary novel, but the actual content and plot would perhaps retain your attention more than it did mine if you are very interested in fly fishing, tying fishing flies, and Wall Street history involving Hetty Green, as the storylines are highly dependent upon this. I care zero about both so this narrative presented a struggle to hold my attention from the start and this continued right to the end.

I liked Hopie. I didn't particularly like or care about any other character. Yes, Madeline reaches acceptance of things she did wrong in the past and Bri matures, experiences emotional growth, and becomes wealthy, but this novel is more dependent upon the plot (fly fishing and information/search for material about Hetty Green) rather than character development. Perhaps the better choice would have been to write a biography about Hetty Green, rather than adding her story to a fictional tale. I may be done with reading books about dying curmudgeonly old women.

Madeline McKnight Signs Off would be recommended for those interested in a literary novel highly focused on Hetty Green and fly fishing. Thanks to Atria Books for providing me with an advance reader's copy via Edelweiss. My review is voluntary and expresses my honest opinion.

https://www.shetreadssoftly.com/2026/...

[Angelie]

I am on page 81, and just can't find the motivation to pick this up. I don't like either of the two main characters at all, and the references about Hetty Green don't seem accurate. I also dislike the JFC use in casual language. For the sake of the author, I think it's best I DNF now rather than persist and end up giving it a very low rating.

Thanks to the publisher for an early copy of this book. It's just not for me.

[Jules The Book Junkie Reviews · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

In her debut novel, Madeline McKnight Signs Off, author Evan Brooke tells the story of Hetty Green through the eyes of her fictional character, Madeline McKnight, whose own journey becomes a story of attempted redemption, connection, and coming to terms with the end of life.

Madeline has decided to stop treatment and has a list of wrongs to right before she dies. Among her goals are helping Bri, the daughter of her estranged friend Cara, and ensuring that the world doesn’t forget Hetty Green, a trailblazer on Wall Street whom Madeline greatly admires and considers a role model.

Through financial incentive, Madeline persuades Bri, a nursing student, to become her caregiver until her final day. What begins as a paid arrangement quickly develops into something much more personal. Madeline has never been one to mince words, and her brutal honesty often puts the two at odds. Yet, as they share life at Madeline’s cabin in the Pocono Mountains, they develop a strong bond. Fly-fishing, Madeline’s great obsession, provides a welcome respite from their disagreements and gives them space to connect. Both women take turns narrating the story, offering insight into their evolving relationship and individual perspectives.

Meanwhile, Madeline pursues her goal of preserving Hetty Green’s legacy by establishing a museum in her honor. With the help of Elizabeth, a professional who assists with the project, Madeline creates a fitting tribute to the woman she so admires and with whom she sees so many parallels. Brooke cleverly mirrors aspects of Madeline’s life with Hetty’s, even drawing connections between their infamous nicknames.

One of my favorite features was Madeline’s reports, sprinkled throughout the chapters. These entries from her “journal-not-journal” provide a candid look at her progress toward making amends and offer another layer to her character.

This is very much a character-driven novel, with Hetty Green almost as prominent a presence as Madeline and Bri. Lee, Madeline’s longtime companion, is an important secondary character who adds considerable depth to the story. Leila, Bri’s best friend, and Cara, Bri’s mother, play smaller supporting roles, though they receive less character development.

I was intrigued by the premise and hopeful for the life-affirming, uplifting story the book promises to be. Brooke’s writing is engaging, and the novel is well-paced and thoughtfully constructed. However, despite its many strengths, the story hit a little too close to home for me. Having watched my own mother pass away, I found some of Madeline’s journey difficult to experience.

Ultimately, Madeline McKnight Signs Off is a thoughtful, well-written story about making amends, forging unexpected connections, and honoring the women who leave their mark on the world. While my personal experience kept me from finding a hopeful message in the story, I do appreciate what Brooke has accomplished in her debut.

I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. For more reading recommendations, visit Book Junkie Reviews at www.abookjunkiereviews.wordpress.com

[Angie Miale · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can hardly believe this is a debut novel! What a thoughtful, tender, and unconventional story about friendship, legacy, and the complicated ways women navigate a world that has historically demanded they make themselves more palatable to men.

Madeleine McKnight is a former Wall Street powerhouse who famously predicted the 1987 stock market crash. Now, facing a terminal stage-four melanoma diagnosis, she’s preparing her final annual report: an accounting of the last year of her life. Enter Bree, the daughter of Madeleine’s estranged former best friend, a nurse navigating a recent breakup and significant student loan debt who agrees to care for Madeleine during her final months. What develops between these two women is an unlikely intergenerational friendship that’s occasionally funny, frequently tender, and surprisingly moving.

I’ve always been drawn to novels featuring women in the winter of their lives, and Madeleine is exactly the kind of complicated character I love. She’s formidable, serious, and unapologetically herself. I could practically picture her commanding a Wall Street boardroom in the 1980s, power suit and shoulder pads included. I especially appreciated the novel’s exploration of who gets to tell a woman’s story, how women reshape themselves to survive within patriarchal institutions, and what it means to take ownership of your legacy.

One thing I absolutely loved was the book’s unusual formatting, including graphs, charts, and presentation-style slides that help illuminate Madeleine’s personality. Here’s something I never thought I’d say: you might actually want to download that supplemental PDF that comes with the audiobook! I’ve never once bothered to do that, but in this case, I think audio-only listeners genuinely miss something. I was fortunate to receive a finished copy from Atria, which allowed me to tandem read while listening. The audiobook narrator also does a wonderful job capturing Madeleine’s commanding, no-nonsense personality.

My one reservation was the pacing. The middle occasionally felt uneven, with some storylines that seemed underdeveloped or didn’t quite lead anywhere. But those shortcomings didn’t diminish how much I appreciated the larger story.

I’d heard some mixed reactions from friends who read this early, so my expectations were somewhat tempered. Ultimately, I think I enjoyed it more than they did! This is a lovely choice for readers who appreciate character-driven, tenderhearted fiction about complicated women. I also think it would make an excellent book club selection, particularly for conversations about friendship, aging, ambition, and who gets to define the story of our lives.

Thank you to Atria for the finished copy!

[Jackie Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book depicts the harsh, unpleasant truth of terminal cancer. It’s complicated and heartbreaking. Yet it’s cleverly written with multiple levels of pain.

Madeline made millions as an investor on Wall Street. In her 60s, she was living in Pennsylvania in a beautiful house near a river and trails in the forest. However, she was dying and needed help. She convinced Bri to take a break with nursing school to be her end-of-life caretaker for an obscene amount of money.

Without question, Bri took the job. Who wouldn’t want it taking hikes in a beautiful area of the country with a smart, loving dog? However, Madeline was headstrong; not exactly easy to be around. Plus, she caused deep financial pain to Bri’s mother with an investment when she was young.

There’s more. Readers were told in the beginning that all the characters were fiction except one: Hattie Green (1834 to 1916). She was a Wall Street genius, admired and at the same time judged for being in a field controlled by men. While Hattie had a frugal lifestyle, she died with an account worth $100 million. It was a significant historical point.

Madeline realized how ridiculously unfair it was that the men were praised in history books for their achievements on Wall Street in the late 1800s and Hattie was relatively left out. She decided to dedicate a museum for this remarkable woman. Interestingly, Madeline’s career took on the same path as she too made an impressive amount from investments. Hattie and Madeline were both super stars working with resentful men in the financial district.

It was engaging showing Madeline and Bri’s POVs with a few unexpected turns. Madeline didn’t want to give up control and Bri stood her ground. It was the raw reality of stressful circumstances – a stark contrast between Madeline as super wealthy and Bri living on the edge. I was surprised to see how much Bri supported her mother in the background as she was unfit as a parent. The final part was sorrowful as expected and yet, we knew what would happen from the start.

My thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC with an expected release day of November 3, 2026. The thoughts I share are my own.

[Dogsandbooksanddogsandbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Publisher for my gifted arc. Opinions are my own.
4.25 ⭐

Dual POV tale of a woman facing end-of-life and a much younger woman facing the fallout of her life when her financial options are gutted by her addict mother. Madeline is dying and hires Bri, the daughter of her ex-best friend, to help her through her failing body and end-of-life. But more importantly, she needs Bri's help to set up a museum to honor her hero, The Witch of Wall Street, Hetty Green (a real life person). A big bonus if she can get Madeline to live until the opening of the museum.

The generational gap is obvious from the get-go and a point of contention. Also problematic is the relationship between Bri and her mother, who is also Madeline's ex-bestie. Madeline is/was a whiz in wall street and bear/bull behaviors are peppered throughout the book. Short chapters of charts and reports between regular chapters share the wins and losses of Madeline's life and current situation. Bri is over her head, missing her ex-girlfriend, and is basically directionless. These two women clash often and the relationship building is slow. But it does get there.

Through anecdotal accounts of fishing, times on Wall Street and some travel, the women forge an understanding of each other. There was a calm romance and a big goofy dog that helped round out the rough edges of the women. And though you knew it was coming, the end brought tears.

Things I loved about this book was the younger woman holding the older generation to a level of honesty and to hold our heroes accountable for their flaws as well as their successes.

[Janine · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars. A charming and witty novel about making amends and finding friendship.

Bri Davis is a struggling nursing student in dire need of finding tuition for her next semester of school. Madeline McKnight, fierce, determined and in need of surviving until she can finish her museum dedicated to Hetty Green, known as “The Witch of Wall Street” is finished needs a helpmate. She reaches out to Bri, whose drug addicted mother had once been Madeline’s best friend which is how Bri ends up at Madeline’s estate. Instead of an ailing woman, Bri finds a “force of nature” who has more plans than just the museum to do before she dies.

The characters are a delight in this lovely book - even the big goofy dog, Hopie. Madeline is a tough survivor of Wall Street much like her heroine Hetty Green who was a real life person it turns out; prickly and difficult but underneath Madeline has a warmth that ensnares you. Bri is directionless and over her head so is the perfect foil for Madeline. She spends some of her time fly fishing - I found that oddly amusing but as fishing goes requires technique and focus which Bri definitely needs. The book alternates between POVs. Madeline’s chapters tend to be in the firm of reports you’d expect someone in the financial world to have.

This is a character-driven story. The generational gap is obvious from the beginning which drives a lot of conflict between Bri and Madeline as they slowly go down the road toward friendship. It’s a delight to read and readers who enjoy friendship stories may agree with me in this.

My thanks to NetGalley and Atria Books for granting me access to this ARC.

[Leslie | Books Are The New Black · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you, Atria Books, for a physical ARC! All thoughts and opinions are my own!

This was such an interesting story. Madeline hires Bri to take care of her for the time she has left. Her cancer has metastasized, and she stops treatment. She goes on a journey to make amends before the end.

Madeline was a character that was hard to love, at first. She's brutally honest, which makes sense since she worked on Wall Street. It made her very intense and almost emotionless at times. She has these little snippets of her journal, "annual reports," throughout the book. They were my favorite part because we really get to know and understand her better. She's in a man's world, and it comes with so many difficulties. I felt bad for Bri with everything going on in her life. I loved seeing her relationship change with Madeline as we go. The relationship with Bri's mother was hard and emotional at times.

The chapters alternate between Bri and Madeline, and sometimes it was hard to keep up. There's a lot of talk about Wall Street and fly fishing. There is a lot of information and research about Hetty Green, which also slowed the pacing at times. At times, it felt dry and hard to stay connected. This is a very character-driven book, and the plot was lacking for large parts. It's well-written, but I wanted a bit more personality and plot movement throughout. I did end up liking the characters.

I thought this was a thought-provoking read! There are a lot of things I would question at the end of my life. I think Brooke did a great job exploring that with Madeline. This is a debut novel, and I look forward to seeing what she writes next!

[Dianne · Rating 2.5 out of 5]

On a side note, thank you to Goodreads for finally allowing us half stars!

This is a very difficult book to describe, and if you pick it up, be prepared to scratch your head in confusion for most of the book. You are going to hate the characters as I did (except for the dog and Lee), or you are going to love them. You are either going to love or hate the formatting, and the same goes for the font -sometimes normal and sometimes (for certain aspects of the book) tiny. Thank goodness for Kindle, so I could change the sizes so I could read the tiny print.

A quick description of this book: it mostly follows Madeline McKnight in her last months as she dies of cancer, and her obsession with Hetty Green, also known as the "Witch of Wall Street," who died the richest woman in America. Madeline was described as "The Bitch of Wall Street" at one time.

Madeline had made a mess of her life after one *ahem* small mistake. She made an enemy of her best friend, became a laughingstock at work, and was an altogether vindictive witch.

Also, you need to know a lot about fly fishing, or at least want to learn about it, since it takes up a lot of this book... well, actually, so do the bits about Hetty James.

This book kept me interested enough to finish, but not enough that I would recommend it with a broad brush.

*ARC supplied by the publisher Atria Books/Simon & Schuster Publishing, the author, and ATTL/Edelweiss.

[Lisa Welch · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for the advance copy.

I liked the idea of the story, but I think the execution falls a bit short overall. I thought Madeline was a great character that if developed in a different way would have stayed with me for a long time. Instead, the author chooses to have Madeline fixate on the history of Hetty Green, which ultimately takes away from Madeline's character arc (we get it......she has much in common with Hetty, but too much of the storyline was focused on it). I also think Madeline's relationship with Bri was a bit clunky in its development - they eventually got to where I wanted them to be, but it just didn't unfold in a way that felt natural. The overall plot was a bit clunky at times as well - parts of it dragged, but ultimately the ending lands in a satisfying way.

[Stacy40pages · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madeline McKnight Signs Off by Evan Brooke. Thanks to atria for the gifted Arc ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Madeline McKnight, a Wall Street power player, has lived her life by reports and spreadsheets. Now as she prepares for cancer to take her, she’s paid her ex-best friend’s daughter, Bri Davis, to care for her and tie up all life’s loose ends.

My favorite part of this was two very
different people, from two different generations, with preconceived notions about each other, are able to find a connection. The character development is key to enjoying the story. Some of the plot background with the business dragged a bit for me but I did enjoy the characters and how all that played out.

Read if you like:
-Unexpected friendships
-Grief or preparatory grief stories
-Female main characters

Madeline McKnight Signs Off comes out 11/3.

[Janereads10 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4/5 ⭐️ A somber read with characters who will make you think about your own friendships.

Madeline McKnight, a former Wall Street power player, is writing her final annual report and tracking her cancer like a business metric. She hires Bri Davis, a nursing student and the daughter of her estranged best friend, to care for her at the end of her life.

Brooke writes characters who aren’t your typical likable fictional people. There is little to like about them, but just enough to keep me with their story. The character arc was profound. Patience is required, with so many crossed wires along the way, but it pays off, as the characters finally own up to their past mistakes, however late and whatever the consequences.

This is for fans of Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman who like a heavy mood and a prickly character at the center.

Thank you, Atria Books and NetGalley, for my advance review copy. All opinions are my own.

[Beth Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

Debut novelist Evan Brooke created a unique and unforgettable protagonist in Madeline McKnight, a rich former Wall Street finance expert, who is dying and pursues her ex-best friend’s daughter Bri to take care of her in her final months. As she prepares for her death, Madeline is obsessed with curating a library devoted to Hetty Green, a woman from history who she shares many similarities with.

There’s a lot to love here with these two unconventional women who live their lives on their own terms. Plus there’s a sweet Newfoundland named Hope (Hopie).

🩷 I liked how these two characters, one older and one in her 20s but not related, slowly grew on one another.
🩷 The characters were great! (This did feel like the HBO show Hacks in many respects.) Madeline was a curmudgeon with a heart of gold, one of my favorite types of characters.
🩷 This novel addresses topics not often explored in novels: not fitting the stereotype of a woman in the 1980s and 1990s, fishing, finance graphs, annual reports, sex positivity at an older age, choosing death on your own terms.

⚠️ While the Hetty Green storyline does come together at the end, I wasn’t pulled in by it for most of the novel. However, all the unique tidbits really elevated the story for me.

I really enjoyed this extremely solid debut with memorable characters.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for both a paper and digital Advance Reader Copy. My review is completely my own.

It will be published on November 3, 2026.

[Destiny || readingisyourdestiny]

DNF at 65%, I can't take these characters anymore.

[Caitlyn Daviau · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars
I got this arc from the publisher and I’m grateful for the opportunity. However this was not my vibe I realized it from the start and honestly just struggled the whole time reading. It was okay but I don’t typically read this kind of novels all the time. There was nothing wrong with it at all just wasn’t for me.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Madeline McKnight, dubbed the Bitch of Wall Street after her spectacular takedown on the Lou Dobbs Show for predicting the dot-com bubble bust, is dying of cancer. As she is no ordinary woman, she deals with her inevitable demise in her own way. This includes three goals that she sets for herself to best use the time she has left-she resolves to settle outstanding debts (which are not all necessarily monetary); give Bri Davis the means to afford a good life and so begin to make reparations to her mother, Madeline's estranged best friend; and open the Hetty Green Museum in New York to honor her turn of the century mentor who was known as the Witch of Wall Street. A tall order in a short period of time.
Bri Davis has had to cope with a mother suffering from phantom pain all her life. Her mom is completely unreliable, to the point where she stole Bri's college tuition as she is trying to complete her nursing degree, using it on liquor and narcotics. As Bri gets further in debt, she can't see her way out of this downward spiral, until she gets a letter from her mom's worst enemy. Madeline Knight, or Aunt Maddie as Bri used to call her godmother, has a proposition. If Bri would pause her nursing education and help Madeline as she deteriorates from refusing cancer treatment, the compensation package would be extraordinary, with a two-million-dollar bonus for staying till Madeline's death. If Bri accepts the position, she will live with Madeline as a caregiver and also be expected to work on the Hetty Green Museum-it was an offer too good to pass up. As she and her mother haven't spoken for years, her mother’s hatred of Madeline for ruining her financially won’t be a factor in Bri’s acceptance. She travels to a luxurious mountain cabin in the Poconos to begin her job and soon discovers how quirky her new boss will be.
Both Madeline and Hetty were forerunners of women breaking the glass ceiling and achieving fame and riches in the cutthroat world of Wall Street finance. They also both suffered the consequences of being successful women in a man’s world and having to survive the inevitable envy and abuse that goes with bucking the system. The difference is that while Madeline is the main character of this novel, Hetty Green actually did exist in New York and made her fortune predicting stock market trends. Author Brooke should be commended for resurrecting Hetty Green and bringing her the attention she deserves. The reluctant partnership of Madeline and Bri is a refreshing take on female bonding-prickly and difficult is so much more interesting than the sugary sweet relationship used in most women’s novels. For those who like their heroines quirky and real, this novel will be a sad and triumphant character study of a woman used to living life and leaving it on her own terms.

[Shannon · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

Thank you Atria & Simon Audio for the gifted copies!

Madeline McKnight Signs Off
Evan Brooke
Publishing Date: November 3, 2026
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

🎧Narrator: Janet Metzger & Tyla Collier🎧

Look at this beautiful BLUE book that published this week 🩵😏💙.

I am a sucker for a book with elderly main characters, so this one grabbed my attention immediately. Madeline is a retired wall street analyst who is dying of cancer and has one more legacy she’d like to leave before she goes. This is a book about love & loss, life & death, regrets & taking chances, and living unapologetically.

I loved Madeline’s snark and humor. I loved her ornery ways at times. I’ve seen many reviews calling her an unlikable character, compounded by the fact that she’s working on a project to honor the real life Hetty Green, who was also strong and disliked. Why are strong women so often pegged as unlikeable?! I think collectively we are, and need to continue, working on this… we need “unlikable” women to change the world.

I found the historical tie in so interesting. The way the author wove the real history, with this fictional woman and her life, was really well done. In order to finish her final life’s work, Madeline calls in Bri, her long-time, and now estranged, best friend’s daughter. This created a really interesting dynamic. I found the history of this friendship to be so sad. Bri’s storyline was honestly not my favorite part, and I could have done without side-character Beck being introduced at all. But Lee, oh what a gem Lee was. We can only hope we all have a Lee in the end. And a Hopie 🐶.

Having lost both of my grandparents within the last year or so, and being there to witness the end stages of life, this book hit home and brought tears to my eyes. It was beautifully heartbreaking in the end.

This was a solid debut novel and I will definitely be keeping an eye on what this author does next.

🎧 I read this one primarily with my ears, and really enjoyed the narration. However I would suggest keeping the book on hand as there are charts and graphs and things you’ll want to be able to see visually!
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“I like to think a satellite somewhere up there captured this image of two sunbathing figures—far enough away not to know which of the two bodies was failing, and which would soon be left alone, but close enough to tell those hands were touching, close enough to make out their fingers intertwined, desperate to hang on.”

“Be sad, but not for too long. Our time here is so unpredictable, it’s easy to waste it—before you know it there’s nothing left.”

People say a parent should never bury their child, and of course, I understand that sentiment, but also— if we’re dying, shouldn’t we have our mom’s by our sides?

“If we are all just travelers, then where are we headed? And how do we get there?”

[Chelsie Potter · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

After spending her life making calculated financial decisions, even at the cost of losing friendships, the former Wall Street power player must face her fate: terminal cancer. But Madeline still has loose ends (and fishing flies) to tie, and she starts by reaching out to her former best friend's daughter, Bri, with an offer that could drastically improve the struggling nursing student's life. After accepting Madeline's offer, Bri gets more than she bargained for when the terminally ill woman she agrees to work for seems anything but. Full of ambition, heart, and lots of banter, this unlikely pair come to understand each other, and more about themselves as they work toward completing Madeline's goals before her time expires.

I really loved this story. Madeline was a career woman, focused on making the right investments based on facts, not feelings. She's portrayed as an unlikeable character, but as her layers fall away, you get to the heart of who she is. Bri is struggling to find her footing, fresh from a breakup, and financially strapped thanks to her mother funding her addiction with her college savings. Both women are struggling, but both have so much to offer each other. I loved the shifting perspective between chapters, and Madeline's dual timeline, which shows the full picture of what made her the complicated woman Bri grows to care for as they both face her impending death.

I also enjoyed the history of Hetty Green woven throughout the story, and how preserving her history tied into how Madeline felt about her own. I love when authors highlight a "forgotten" woman in history, and the mystery behind Hetty's death and the pressure to complete the museum added another interesting layer to this novel.

This is a great book for anyone who enjoys emotionally complicated characters, unlikely friendships, and making peace with the past. It's a slow-moving story, but the beautiful character development makes it worthwhile.

Huge thank you to Atria for providing me with an early copy of Madeline McKnight Signs Off!

An extra note:
I used to work as a caregiver for seniors and was paired with a woman in her 90s. She was a career woman, never married, and had no children. She was highly opinionated, liked things done her way, and wasn't afraid to tell you when she thought you were wrong. She was a woman in a man's world, breaking glass ceilings wherever she went. She was the first woman in many roles throughout her life, and despite working twice as hard, she was never honored for her achievements as she should have been. I worked with her for over three years, and we grew very close. Though she wasn't a senior, I saw a lot of similarities between Madeline and the woman I cared for, which made her character feel vibrantly authentic. I applaud Evan Brooke for her ability to write a challenging character like Madeline with such compassion and grace. I look forward to reading more from her in the future!

[Nrrdgurl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I stayed up very late last night finishing this book. And that says a lot - when you stay up way past your bedtime to finish a book.

Madeline McKnight Signs Off is written in an extremely unique way with a huge amount of creativity. While bringing the reader into the separate worlds of the two main characters, the author uses font changes and punctuation to aid our understanding of their dispositions and temperaments. To flesh out the character of Madeline, former queen of Wall Street, the author uses the tools of that trade -- formulas, graphics, charts, and annual reports to describe her progression with cancer. Most often these are hilarious, and in the end, heartrending.

Of course everyone loves a good dog character, and here you will find the most loveable creature ever. When Hopie the dog has a most traumatic event (that makes your heart beat wildly) the plot from there snowballs into a story that you can’t put down. All the secondary characters, including Leila and Lee with their banter and clever dialog, are developed and engaging.

The concept of love and how it is expressed, unspoken, lost and regained, is a strong thread that in the end resonates powerfully. Evan Brooke shines most bright when she writes poetically of love, loss, and death. The final chapters of the book are distressingly beautiful and woefully poignant.

But the most masterful aspect of this book is the amount of research it took the author to write the story. Madeline’s passion/obsession with Hetty Green and our understanding of this real-life Wall Street figure, place this book firmly in the genre of historical fiction. Brooke also shows a depth of knowledge of everything to do with fishing – casting, making flies, wading into streams… If you like to fish, or want to learn how, this book is for you!

And research Brooke does when it comes to death and dying. It’s no spoiler that Madeline McKnight is dying, and the end of the book is very difficult to read. There’s no whitewashing of how cancer takes a person, and the grief of the caregivers. Yet beyond the sadness is the pathos and some how, the humor. Don’t be surprised when you’re weeping and wiping your eyes while reading Madeline’s last annual report, that you are also smiling.

This book stays with you – you don’t forget Madeline McKnight – just as she would have wanted it.

[Laura Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on November 3rd, 2026.

Madeline McKnight — fierce, determined, a “Wizard of Wall Street”, and … not possessed of too many friends. Fighting against the inevitable resulting from a stage 4 melanoma diagnosis, she is determined to survive it until her museum honoring Hetty Green (1834 - 1916) is opened. She wants people to care about Hetty, and to recognize her brilliance. She sees herself — her accomplishments and her lack of recognition — in Hetty. Hetty was called “the Witch of Wall Street” in her time — Madeline’s epithet rhymes and starts with B. She invites (cajoles, bribes) Bri Davis — struggling nursing student drowning in debt and easily bribable — to help her get to the finish line. The catch? Bri’s mother was Madeline’s best friend until an emotional explosion drove them apart many years ago. Bri’s attitude toward Madeline is ambivalent at best.

Alternating chapters between Madeleine and Bri’s perspectives, the narrative is surprisingly witty, thoughtful, and illuminating. While I shed some tears when the obvious finally occurred, I left feeling more uplifted than down. Excellent writing — clear, humorous at times, and perfectly capturing the internal struggles one faces when considering the parts of one’s life already lived. Themes around money and wealth, atonement, loyalty conflicting with morality, and plenty of thoughtful coverage of how women are treated differently than men — not the heavy handed oppression storyline, but the small ways in which things are harder or more criticized or misunderstood or subject to some doozies of double standards. The latter was particularly interesting because Madeline was forced to acknowledge the complexity of individual human beings. She wanted to make Hetty an unsung hero but the reality of Hetty — known as the “richest woman in America in the Gilded Age” — was more complex. She was a self-made woman with astonishing financial prowess, yet she did nothing to help others, not even supporting women’s suffrage. This led to Madeline’s own soul searching and the recognition and acceptance of her own accomplishments and failures.

Completely engaging.

[Kayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

This was a bittersweet novel that I enjoyed more than the first part would've led me to believe. For about the first 40% of this novel, I was a bit irritated with Bri and Madeline (our two narrators), but also felt that their actions were true to the characters that the author was building. Neither of them is meant to be very likable for a multitude of reasons, and their relationship isn't really formed out of fondness, so I understood that they'd have some awkward moments. I'd compare it to meeting and attempting to bond with a distant relative. It was awkward, painful, and occasionally funny, but very real.

Once I got past that, I started to enjoy the story a lot more. I think the things I appreciated the most were Madeline's characterization and the way this story felt very authentic. Madeline has a lot of regrets and Bri has a lot of bitterness, and that doesn't always solve itself neatly. I also think the depiction of dealing with regrets as you come closer to the end of your life was pretty moving, and there were moments near the end that made me tear up. I also liked the ending; it was both sad and satisfying despite the heavy chapter that preceded it.

However, I was left wanting more relationship building between the two narrators, Madeline and Bri. The characters are standoffish towards each other, and then suddenly very close, and it felt as though I was missing context for how they went from point A to point B. There was no real buildup to their dynamic changing and no specific moment I could point to that led to their sudden closeness. It was just a new chapter and suddenly they're not as standoffish. I also just didn't care for the museum subplot. I understand the purpose it served, but it almost felt like it was in the way of the story.

Overall, I think this is a somewhat heartfelt novel about a woman with a flawed past trying to make up for the regrets and mistakes of her life and her attempts to right those wrongs, in part, through the daughter of an ex-friend. If you like sad Hallmark movies or Nicholas Sparks plots with a bit of history mixed in, you'd enjoy this.

I received a digital copy of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for review. All opinions are my own.

[nicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

thank you to atria for sending me an advanced copy!
publishes 11/3/26

i really enjoyed this author’s writing. it was humorous and very easy for me to get into. with the analytics in madeline’s chapters and the way the pov’s were differentiated by quotation marks in bri’s chapters and none in madeline’s, i was never confused whose pov i was reading from, which can happen to me sometimes in fiction books. i think the writing was my favorite part of the whole reading experience!

a very close second favorite thing about this book were the characters. you cannot help but fall in love with madeline, bri, lee, and hopie. their reluctance to fully open themselves to each other and trust each other, to how they become literally each other’s everything was so beautiful. i sobbed a few times in this book, because my love for the characters combined with the writing literally ripped my heart out but also put it back together.

watching the decline of madeline’s condition was so brutal. i have never witnessed something like this happen in my life, but i can imagine it is a pretty accurate depiction. there are some raw moments that really showed madeline’s trust in bri and lee to take care of her with no judgement. it was heartwarming to know that she didn’t have to worry about a stranger taking care of her and maybe not feeling as comfortable in her final months. their found family was so good i could cry just thinking about it. do not even get me started on when hopie started sleeping outside her bedroom door and then eventually in her bed with her ✋🏻

i think i could have done without the whole hetty green of it all, respectfully. it was interesting at first to learn about this woman that rattled everyone up so long ago, but i got uninterested pretty quickly. i understand that madeline related to her a lot and found her to be an interesting and influential woman in her life, and she does deserve to be known and memorialized in a museum. but there were times when the hetty info dump dragged onnnn and i don’t know if EVERYTHING is historically accurate, for example the journals entries etc.

i liked this book a lot, i recommend!

[Bri]

Madeline McKnight, a former Wall Street tycoon, has been diagnosed with cancer. Stopping her treatment and living out the rest of her days in her Poconos cabin writing her last final report. Bri Davis is a broke nursing student still nurturing her broken heart and trying to find a way to pay off her mothers debts and her own. So when Madeline McKnight, her mothers ex-bestfriend reaches out to her offering her a job to care for her and a crazy amount of money to do it, Bri feels like she has no other option but to say yes. Alternating between two points of views we follow Bri and Madeline as their unlikely friendship forms.

Maybe opposites do attract. I do really enjoy when two people with opposite characteristics collide and form a bond. Bri, young, broke and still learning how to navigate life is so different from Madeline who is stubborn, practical and spent the majority of her life fighting in the business world. It made for interesting conversation and conflict between characters. You could also clearly see the generational differences between Bri and Madeline as well and it added a lot of dimension to the story and writing. I also enjoyed the formatting of the book. It was fun to see the financial reports of Madeline’s experiences sprinkled in and again, it added to the dimension of the story and elevated the writing.

However, I had a hard time connecting to the characters and found it hard to care about where they were going throughout the book. The only character I could mildly relate to was Bri. I felt seen in the way she was experiencing conflicting feelings while trying to navigate life amidst all the new stuff that was thrown her way. I also wished there had been more of a resolution between Madeline and Bri’s mom (who is Madeline’s ex-bestfriend). I wanted more of their story and conflict as I felt it was a big part of the plot.

Overall, It was an enjoyable read but I had a hard time connecting to the story in general. I enjoyed the character tension but wanted something more from the characters themselves. Thank you so much to Atria Books for sending me an arc so I could read and review!

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madeline McKnight has spent her life living in a man’s world, building wealth at all costs, even at the expense of destroying some of her closest and most important relationships. When she receives a cancer diagnosis, that is soon to be fatal, her world view shifts, as she realizes that the decisions she made to be successful in business, left her with few connections to lean on at the end of her life.
Hoping to right some wrongs, she reaches out to her estranged goddaughter, Bri, and offers her a large sum of money, in exchange for taking care of her in her last days. What follows is a story of forgiveness, hope, and learning to let go of one’s past to make way for the future.
This book starts off very slowly. Madeline worked in finance all her life, so there is a lot of financial talk, as well as a ton of history about Hetty Green, known as the “Witch of Wall Street”, a character from history that Madeline is obsessed with. She is so obsessed with her in fact, that she devotes her dying days to opening a museum to honor Hetty, a woman you can tell she can see herself in. At times, all the historical facts seem unimportant and a bit too much, but if you stick to the story, you will see how much Madeline needs to make sense of Hetty’s life in order to feel closure in her own. Also, there is a lot of information about fly fishing, which honestly I could have done without.
The story alternates chapters between Madeline’s and Bri’s perspectives, and though they start out butting heads and the two couldn’t be more different, slowly over time, they develop a deep connection.
My favorite part of the story was of course, Hopie- the sweetest, most loyal dog companion, who literally saves lives, and is with Madeline until the very end.
This book isn’t an easy read, it’s sad, and heavy, but beautiful and full of meaningful life lessons.
If you are looking for a fast paced story, this definitely isn’t it, but if you enjoy stories that reflect on what it means to live a life well lived, then you should check this book out immediately.
Thank you to the author, Evan Brooke, and the publisher, Atria Books, for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

[Ellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Madeline McKnight was a Wall Street tycoon, but now she is retired, alone, extremely wealthy…and dying of cancer. In typical fashion, she has decided to stop treatment and die on her own terms. She hires an assistant, who happens to be the daughter of a woman with whom she had a mysterious falling out years ago and with whom she hasn’t spoken since. Madeline McKnight also has a couple of obsessions. One is fly fishing, which she teaches assistant Bri as soon as she arrives. The other is a fascination with Hetty Green, an early 20th Century Wall Street financier who was called the “Witch of Wall Street” and died the richest woman in America in 1916. Madeline is determined to build a museum to honor Hetty, and in the process discover what really caused her death.

If this all sounds a bit depressing, well, you’re not wrong, but it is also by turns charming, witty, and ultimately moving. Narrated in alternating chapters by Madeline and Bri, the relationship between the two of them can be prickly, but it is also one that develops into a quirky kind of familial love. By the end, Madeline is almost likable. I say “almost,” because the ruthlessness that helped her earn millions on Wall Street never really goes away. Just as she keeps most people in her life at arm’s length, she doesn’t reveal much of a tender side to us either. And she keeps hurting people, including Bri, right up until the end. It takes something to crack the shell of a person like this, and I really didn’t get there.

Another part of the story that confused me was Madeline's obsession with Hetty Green (a real person, BTW). At least a quarter of the book is devoted to Madeline’s quest to build the museum, but the author didn’t take the opportunity to explore Green herself more fully or even adequately explain why Madeline was so devoted to her.

It seems strange to call a book about dying a light read, but that’s what it was for me; easy to read but ultimately not very memorable. Thanks to Atria and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC. All opinions are my own.

[LindaPf · Rating 3.5 out of 5]

A sharp-witted and heartwarming debut from author Evan Brooke about an intergenerational friendship between a stubborn dying woman and the daughter of her estranged best friend.

Madeline McKnight has been given the worst diagnosis from her oncologist, and she has decided to leave this world on her terms. She’s very wealthy (once nicknamed “The B*tch of Wall Street”) and decides she’ll need a caregiver, specifically Bri/Brigid, the daughter of her estranged best friend, Cara. Madeline promises Bri triple her usual RN salary, tuition, and fully paid rent. Bri had a recent breakup, is drowning in debt (as is her mother) and not quite sure of her future. So, she agrees.

The book has some unique features: Madeline, a statistical wizard, is journaling her “Annual Report”, complete with balance sheets regarding friends and enemies, slide presentations on her failed marriage, graphs about cancer survival, pie charts, and health assessments as she goes about the business of departing this world.

Madeline also has a bucket list (strategic goals):

1. Complete final project: open the Hetty Green Museum before I close down. 2. Leverage new relationship with Bri Davis to repair insolvent relationship with her mother. 3. Settle outstanding debts.

Madeline’s obsession with Hetty Green, a turn of the century American businesswoman, the richest woman of the Gilded Age, who was known as “The Witch of Wall Street,” is an interesting distraction for the reader as well.

Bittersweet, funny, and sad — Bri assists Madeline with her bucket list and this forms an emotional story, primarily about female friendship

Bonus: Marie Benedict did do Madeline’s research, too, and “The Witch of Wall Street” is due out in March 2027.

Other bonus: Hopie, Madeline’s loyal ginormous Newfoundland dog.

An honorable well-written debut. 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy.