Mr. Winterbourne

Need a new author to put on your radar?  I can enthusiastically recommend Clara van Houten.

Recently I read her debut Everything He Never Told Me and was so impressed with the quality of her writing and beautiful prose, which drew me in immediately. I’m happy to say her second book Mr. Winterbourne is every bit as good, and I think even better!

Debra Cowdrey is an aspiring author whose work, despite its quality, has been continually passed over by publishers. At a dinner one evening, she overhears a male author astonished at his luck to have something he wrote in only four months get an offer from a publisher. Seeing what she’s up against, Debra’s best friend Sheila suggests this:

“I see a possibility here. A clear one, but you have to listen with an open mind. You’ve spent years trying in a skirt. I’m only saying, try once in trousers.”

And thus ‘Alec Winterbourne’ is born. It’s just a pen name, but it does the trick and soon Debra’s work is published. If the story ended here, you could just be happy for her, but when fate brings a REAL Alec Winterbourne into Debra’s life things get VERY complicated. Where does she end and Alec Winterbourne begin … is her success now “his” success?

This is an excellent psychological drama with a clever twist or two.  Debra is very likeable and you want to root for her success, especially when things begin to go wrong for her. It was so hard to see the corner she painted herself into, but she had good people around her looking out for her. Seeing her navigate her way out of the dark spot she finds herself in, with the help of a very kind someone (with a cute dog) was so heartwarming!

This is a quick read at just over 200 pages, the chapters are nice and short, and it’s such a clever premise. I’m excited to see what Clara van Houten has coming next!

★★★★ ½ 

Thanks to Victory Editing NetGalley Co-op and author Clara van Houten for this digital ARC to honestly review. It’s out on October 6, 2026.