Madeline McKnight Signs Off: A Novel

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

352 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication 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

[Lori L (She Treads Softly)]

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/...

[Dogsandbooksanddogsandbooks]

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.

[Beth Gordon]

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.

[Donna]

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.

[Nrrdgurl]

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]

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]

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.

[NAT]

** 4.5 stars, rounding up to 5 **

First and foremost, this book is giving serious Hacks vibes. I've been sad ever since my favorite television show ended a few weeks ago, and I've been chasing books that somewhat mirror the Deborah Vance-Ava Daniels dynamic that I've come to love. The relationship between Madeline McKnight and Bri Davis gave me just that, and I couldn't be more pleased!

Oooof. This book absolutely gutted me. While I like emotional books, I am not an emotionally demonstrative reader. In fact, I can count on one hand the amount of times a book has moved me to tears. It's a super rare occurrence, and yet, Evan Brooke has managed to do it with this book. Early on, I realized where the story was headed, but even then, I was not ready for the emotional toll the last quarter of the book exacted. I loved these characters so, so much, and I was just incredibly sad to see their story end. Tears upon tears for the complicated and beautiful relationship between Madeline and Bri. I loved every minute of it.

I struggled a bit with the Wall Street and Hetty Green material (it kind of dragged in places and took away from the Madeline & Bri show), but once I got to the last twenty or so pages, I could appreciate what Brooke was doing, and it ended up making Madeline's redemption story that much stronger and bittersweet. There's a lot you can hate Madeline McKnight for, but the author does an excellent job of taking a demonized figure and humanizing her. Towards the end, I found myself forgiving her many of her missteps and loving her for her latent ability to change for the better. Just beautiful, really. Definitely my favorite read of 2026 so far, and one that will stay with me for a long time. I'll definitely be recommending this one to all my reader friends.

Many, many, many thanks to Atria Books for my free copy of Madeline McKnight Signs Off!!

[Throwaway21345]

Madeline McKnight Signs Off is a tale of love and loss, of feminism and its various accoutrements, of fishing. There is rather more fishing than I expected. We take turns reading from the perspectives of the two protagonists, Madeline and Bri. Madeline-not-Maddie is prone to introspection and her thoughts run together; she eschews quotation marks in dialogue. Bri-not-Brigid is not, and does not. One snipes at the other, and the other snipes back. Undercutting the tension is a collage of stylistically innovative and effective epistolary elements interwoven through the text: forms, tables, infographics, and even equations, though I did purse my lips at an inaccurate explanation of confidence intervals in statistics.

I went into the novel expecting to make comparisons to The Correspondent, Where'd You Go, Bernadette, and Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine. Madeline McKnight feels more plot-heavy and less character-centric, yet the buildup to the presumptive climax does not pay off: the climax is a sad whoosh rather than a bang, the resolution is muddled, and the conflict as a whole ends up being somewhat disappointing, as if a specific plot thread was shoehorned to fit the usual mold of a novel when the strength of such novels lies in the weave entire. The rest of the novel remains strong and fresh, and I look forward to the author's sophomore work.

[Anne Wolfe]

Madeline McKnight Signs Off is not for everybody. If you are interested in Wall Street History, particularly in Hetty Green known, as the Witch of Wall Street during the Gilded Age, or in fly fishing, you may love this novel. It is told in alternating narratives, by Madeline and Bri, the daughter of Madeline's old friend Cara. Madeline's narratives also include chapters called Annual Reports in tiny and difficult to read print (on a Kindle). Madeline, a successful trader and investor is dying of cancer. She makes an offer to Bri, Cara's oldest friend's daughter and a nursing student, to come to Hawley, Pennsylvania to care for her at the end of her life. She offers enough money so that Bri can pay for her alienated mother's rehab from drug use. Madeline once betrayed Cara and they have not spoken since.

Madeline, also a successful investor and economic predictor, is fascinated by Hetty Green, who oddly never supported votes for women.

Bri accepts the well=paid job, as well as a bonus that will help her finish school. In moving in with Madeline, she also meets Lee, Madeline's boyfriend. Sue. her driver, and a lovely Newfoundland name Hopie who may be the most interesting character in the novel.

Some of the research about Hetty Green and how tough it still is for women trying to succeed in a man's world was worth reading. Ultimately, this book did not touch my heart. but it
s well-written and full of facts about tying fishing flies.

Thanks to Atria Books for the chance to read this early copy . These are my own opinions and my honest ones. Thanks also to Net Galley.

[Samantha Marsh]

This book follows a former Wall Street witch in her current day as she is at the end of her life. Madeline reflects on the past, including (regrets on) business moves and broken friendships. Despite knowing she doesn’t have a very long future ahead of her, it doesn’t stop her from having ambitious plans. Her biggest being to open a museum in homage to Hetty Green, a real Gilded Age businesswoman tycoon, and maybe solving a mystery of her death. She’s not on the journey alone, as she has her beau (Lee), pup (Hopie), and ex-best friend’s daughter (Bri) by her side. We get to read all about Madeline McKnight all the way to her last breath and then some.


Personally I have never read a book like this before;following a strong business woman. I enjoyed the time line and perspective changes throughout the chapters. There are relationships I wish would have been better wrapped up, and more about the lives of Bri, Lee, and Hopie post-Madeline’s passing. While I did enjoy the characters I did feel there was a bit too much focus on Hetty Green. While I appreciate learning about such strong women of our history, at some points it felt like the book was more a fictional homage to Hetty than the story of Madeline McKnight. The fly fishing moments also felt like a bit of a left curve to me. Overall this is a 3 out of 5 star book for me.

Thank you to goodreads for the advanced reader’s copy. Congratulations to the author on their publication.

[Bo]

What a hauntingly beautiful book about life and death- it will stay with me for a long time, I think.

Madeline McKnight is dying- there's no sugarcoating it. She has months left, not years, and she has one final project to finish. It's a museum telling the story of a Hetty Green, the "Witch of Wall Street" or the "Queen", depending on who you ask. Madeline's life was somewhat like Hetty's- a woman in the "man's world" of investing and markets, and it was not easy.

Madeline needs help if she's going to complete her mission. She did not get to be as rich as she is without making mostly enemies, however. So she reaches out to her estranged goddaughter, Bri. Madeline offers Bri a lot of money if she will help out with errands and eventually medical issues until Madeline passes.

Bri hesitantly agrees and the story takes off as they learn about each other and work to get Madeline's dream realized. They are not quick to a heart-warming bond and several old resentments boil to the surface. But life is short and sometimes you need to let go of your pride.

This book was lighthearted in many ways, but sturdy in the truth that villains are not completely irredeemable, and those who are lauded have dark sides, too. I loved the formatting as we see charts and journals from Madeline and Bri's POV.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

[Kerrin]

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.

[Firetruckmama]

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher, for which I thank them.

“Madeline McKnight Signs Off” is by Evan Brooke. I had hopes for this book that didn’t quite meet the mark. Interestingly, this is the third book I’ve read mentioning Hetty Green in the past two weeks, which is both pretty awesome and pretty interesting - is Ms. Green finally getting recognition? Anyway, onto the book review - I never felt like I really liked or grew to knew either of the main characters. Madeline is layered secrets and Bri just never grew into a character I wanted to know more about. Hopie had my heart from the beginning - but I’m partial to dogs used well in books. The inclusion of annual reports and interviews I found both interesting and also a pain - on my Kindle the font was small for a number of the graphics (thank goodness for enlarging fonts) but I seemed to do it a lot through this book. I think that if this book had focused more on the relationship building between the two main characters, I probably would have liked it more - along with less jumping back in time because after a while parts felt like they were detracting from the story instead of adding to the backstory/history.

[Diane Nagatomo]

I was immediately hooked when I started "Madeline McKnight Signs Off" by Evan Brooke and thought this was going to be the best book! Financial Whiz Madeleine McKnight is dying, so she decides to reach out to her estranged best friend Cara's daughter, Bri, to help her in her last days. Madeleine and Cara hadn't spoken since the company they formed together went bankrupt, with Cara blaming Madeline for its demise.

Unfortunately, my feelings changed as I read more and more and the book started to drag in places for me, especially when it jumped back and forth in time (and I'm not entirely sure why) or rambled on far more about fly fishing than I've ever wanted to read. I liked the thread of story and thought it had so much potential., but in the end, the only chapters I really enjoyed were those from Bri's point of view. And I have no idea why the author decided to eliminate quotation marks in the chapters from Madeline's point of view. To be experimental? I have no idea, but that really irked me. I wish I could read a different version of this story.

Many thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for an arc of this book. My opinion is my own.

[Kim McGee]

Madeline is dying and spending her last days making amends the only way she knows how. She reaches out to her ex-best friend's daughter and offers her a fantastic opportunity - take a year off nursing school and make a ton of money as my private nurse. Bri needs the impossible salary but it will kill her mom if she finds out. Curious why they had a falling out and what turned them from friends and business partners to absolute enemies and because she isn't in a position to turn down the money, Bri accepts. As Madeline presents her life as a final annual report we get a glimpse of her frailty as well as the killer business persona. Bri learns something about people, Madeline and herself along the way. I can't lie and say there is a happy ending because it is not that kind of story but if you enjoy the "human frailty" of Ann Patchett's novels or books that feature tough misunderstood women of Wall Street, then you are sure to enjoy this debut. Have tissues handy!
My thanks to the publisher for the advance copy.

[Lauren S.]

i enjoyed the complex relationships in this book - madeline and cara, madeline and lee, cara and bri, madeline and bri, bri and beck, and hopie’s relationships with…everyone. we’re all humans just doing our best to love, teach, forgive, support and respect those we love. this book explored the dying and death of a powerful, mostly indestructible woman who was a force to be reckoned with during her time on wall street. she learns how to let others in to help her and she also learns about the consequences of always needing to be on top or in charge.
i didn’t really understand the need to weave in the story of hetty green and the museum. it gave madeline’s life some purpose at the end (trying to accomplish her mission) but i thought that subplot took away from madeline’s actual story too much.

thank you to atria books for providing this book for review consideration via netgalley. all opinions are my own.

[Sarah McAnally]

I really struggled with the first half of the book- caring about the plot, and especially connecting with the characters (who were consistent but unlikeable, at least at first). However, at about the halfway point, we started to see more human moments between the two main characters, and I started to feel more connection with them. In the last third, I even teared up at times!

Once I got to know the characters a little better, I appreciated their fair portrayal as flawed human beings. I just wish I could have had more of the relational aspects of the story (like in the second half).

I absolutely LOVE when I book gives me a lot to think about, and the end did just that: friendship, forgiveness, betrayal, dying with dignity, love
.
I might have given up in the first half, but I am not sorry that I kept going.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC!

[Kimberly]

★★★★☆

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Madeleine McKnight Signs Off is one of those quietly emotional books that sneaks up on you in the best way. Definitely have tissues nearby, because this one brings all the feelings.

I really liked the characters and found myself getting attached to them pretty quickly. Their journeys felt genuine, and the author does a lovely job weaving together themes of love, loss, hope, and the connections that shape our lives. There were a few spots where the pacing slowed down a bit for me, but overall the emotional impact made it worth it.

If you’re in the mood for a heartfelt story that will make you smile, tear up, and think about the characters long after you finish, this is a great pick. A solid 4-star read for me, and a reminder of why I love emotional fiction so much.

This is set to publish Nov 2026.

[Christine Hamner]

You know when a book stays with you long after you are finished? This one did in the best way possible. I want an update on Bri. I wonder about Lee and Hopie. But mostly I think about Madeline. I loved her and sort of hated her. I could relate and I couldn't, but I felt this familiarity with her character like she was someone I used to know. I found the annual report format to be really clever and it lent itself perfectly to Madeline's cut and dry personality while still allowing her humanity to come through somehow. I loved knowing what was going to happen but still wondering throughout the book. And how did I not know Hetty Green before this book?! This is a must read for anyone but I will most definitely be recommending it to my finance girls - it's, relatable, enjoyable and takes you on a journey that you can picture so perfectly in your mind. I love when a book does that.

[Donna]

DRC from Edelweiss and Atria Books / Simon & Schuster
Madeline McKnight was a force to be reckoned with on Wall Street. She knew who to invest in and who to drop. Her fellow colleagues - mostly male - did not appreciate her talents and tried to humiliate her at every turn. Now Madeline is retired, older, and dying. She wants her final report to reflect who did what to her as well as noting who she loved and why. One of her deals was a business partnership with her best friend. When that failed, the friendship broke. But Madeline needs help during her final months, so she hires her former best friend's daughter Bri, a nursing student, to take care of her. Bri, floundering and in debt, takes the job. What follows is a strange but heartwarming relationship between two women , separated in age and demographics, but working towards the same goal.At times funny, sad, and true, this story shows that redemption and goodwill can be done before it is too late.

[Jill Dobbe]

An interesting look at what successful women must do and give up so they can get ahead in their jobs. As a powerful Wall Street broker, Madeline McKnight chose money and reputation over her friendships. She tries to make amends by hiring her friend's daughter to act as a caregiver as she succumbs to cancer, giving her a large payday.

Madeline's love for fly fishing, her beloved dog, and companion, Lee, fill her final days. Her friendship with Bri, her caregiver, is rocky, but they learn to understand each other. At times, this book is touching and sad, but also has humor. Madeline is an interesting person, and readers are given a factual account of what it's like to live and die with cancer.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher.

[Rebekah Patton]

The characters in this book are authentically complex, and I loved it. Every conflict is not tied up in a nice bow at the end, just like real life. This book is raw and emotional, a difficult read. I found myself thinking about the characters even when I wasn't reading. Relationships are difficult because of human nature which is revealed in a genuine way. The author took a real person and used them to impact one of the main characters life and death. The story is told from two perspectives, switching between chapters which is very telling. The way the book is written reflects one of the main character's career which was such a creative touch. This book was wonderful!

[Cory Beyer]

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for this ARC. Madeline has met her match with cancer. Realizing she needs help, she contacts her goddaughter who is also a nursing student to tend to her needs in the last few months. Madeline, who is considered the Witch of Wallstreet has enough money to hire anyone but knows that Bri may help her right the wrongs she made to her best friend and Bri's mother. One final wish though? She wants Bri to help her stay alive until her life's work, a museum to Hetty Green is open. I enjoyed this sweet story that was real and not all cute bows. #MadelineMcKnightSignsOff #EvanBrooke #AtriaBooks #Nov2026

[Jaclyn Wingfield]

I’m really torn how to rate this. I loved the last 35% of the book and felt very connected to the characters and the story. Heck, I even shed a few tears. Where it lost me was the middle with the manic obsession (which I didn’t care to know more about) - I was wanting more relationship building. I feel like we could’ve had more bonding time with the characters, where instead it felt distant and then all of a sudden it just clicked.

I received this via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Brittany]

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria Books for the digital ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

I was drawn in quite quickly to find out who Madeline McKnight was and why she was so hated and I enjoyed the first half a lot. The second half got to be a little harder for me to get through, with all the jumping back and forth in time it felt repetitive to me. We kept hearing about the St. Brigid company, Hetty, and Madeline's feud with Steven. Not much else. What did Madeline do from her fall from grace in 1999 to 2018 or whenever this book takes place. We never hear that part of the story.

It was a good read, but it could have had a lot less descriptions of Hetty's life. It was too similar to Madeline, and I get that's what they were trying to show, but it just was confusing when I was piecing together the stories in the time jumps.

[Cindi]

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for providing the ARC.

This wasn't the book I expected. Still, it wasn't bad, I just needed to re-focus. The first part of the book was tough for me, learning the characters and connecting them to each other - and all who seemed unlikeable - But around the halfway mark it picked up and the main characters felt more human. The end of the book was much more emotional. I almost gave up after the first half, and I'm glad I didn't. Still, it was a tough start.

[Andy Krahling]

For the first 80% or so of this, I was halfway involved. I really didn't like most of the characters (with the exception of Lee) and I was biding my time until it ended. Then, all of a sudden -- wham! The emotions kicked in and I felt, just felt, and I cried. I went and gave my wife of 42 years a hug, and I held her for a long time.

That doesn't happen very often, and it means something to me.

I received a complimentary copy of the novel from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

[Munevver]

Not the kind of book that I care for. I can't really say anything bad, the book was fine.

Madeline McKnight has limited time and she needs to get some thing accomplished before that time is up. She hires her goddaughter with a ridiculous amount of money so she can't refuse, to care for her. There is laughter and tears and all the things in between. And yet nothing happens. I kept waiting for something to happen but it never did.

Thank you to NetGalley and SS Atria Marketing for an ARC of this book. Publication date is November 3, 2026.

[Laurie]

This is a story of love, friendship, adventure and life's ending.
Madeline is an intense, fierce, retired woman who worked in a man's world at one time.
When she learns that her life is ending, she hires a student nurse to help care for her. She happens to be the daughter of an ex-best friend.

The journey through the chapters is fun, sad, and definitely interesting. Give it a try!

Thank you to @NetGalley and @Atria for this ARC and allowing me to read and review.