By Way of Sorrow
Books | Fiction / Thrillers / Legal
3.9
Robyn Gigl
“Emotionally resonant…Gigl is too astute and compassionate a writer to create cartoon villainy out of anti-trans attitudes…quietly groundbreaking.” —The New York Times Book ReviewIn a fresh and riveting thriller debut, Robyn Gigl introduces Erin McCabe, a New Jersey criminal defense attorney doing her best to live a quiet life in the wake of profound personal change—until a newsworthy case puts both her career and safety in jeopardy . . .Erin McCabe has been referred the biggest case of her career. Four months ago, William E. Townsend, Jr., son of a New Jersey State Senator, was found fatally stabbed in a rundown motel near Atlantic City. Sharise Barnes, a nineteen-year-old transgender prostitute, is in custody, and given the evidence against her, there seems little doubt of a guilty verdict.Erin knows that defending Sharise will blow her own private life wide open, and doubtless deepen her estrangement from her family. Yet as a trans woman, she feels uniquely qualified to help Sharise, and duty-bound to protect her from the possibility of a death sentence. Sharise claims she killed the senator’s son in self-defense. As Erin assembles the case with her partner, former FBI agent Duane Swisher, the circumstances hint at a more complex and chilling story with ties to other brutal murders. Senator Townsend is using the full force of his prestige and connections to publicly discredit everyone involved in defending Sharise. Behind the scenes, his tactics are even more dangerous. His son had secrets that could destroy the senator’s political aspirations—secrets worth killing for. And as leads begin mysteriously disappearing, it’s not just the life of Erin’s client at stake, but her own . . .
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More Details:
Author
Robyn Gigl
Pages
304
Publisher
Kensington
Published Date
2021-03-30
ISBN
1496728254 9781496728258
Community ReviewsSee all
"I don’t think I liked the messaging about a successful White Trans Woman using a black trans woman’s trauma of killing somebody in self defense as “motivation” for her to continue working. Like the book is very much a story of a woman who is basically stealth and is outed by her involvement in a case involving a trans prostitute who I mentioned above. I liked the idea behind it but the way Erin is very “your resilience inspired me to continue working” is super white savior-y. But the other thing I will say is that Erin doesn’t seem to have a close group of trans girlfriends and so she doesn’t have the connection to the community besides in Sharise. It was disappointing because I was looking forward to reading it. The story was very good but it seemed like because of the year it takes place, (2006) the culture was not up on the community and so it feels trapped in that moment where trans women are either already established in their career or they’re prostitutes. It’s very disheartening. "
Finn Hughes