Erin McCabe #02: Survivor's Guilt

- Blurb -

Attorney and LGBTQ+ activist Robyn Gigl tackles the complexities of gender, power, public perception, and human trafficking with a ripped-from-the-headlines plot in her second legal thriller featuring Erin McCabe, a protagonist who, like the author, is a transgender attorney. Now she and her law partner are drawn into a dark world of offshore bank accounts, computer hacking, murder, and the devastating impact of sexual abuse. . . At first, the death of millionaire businessman Charles Parsons seems like a straightforward suicide. There' s no sign of forced entry or struggle in his lavish New Jersey mansion-just a single gunshot wound from his own weapon. But days later, a different story emerges. Computer techs pick up a voice recording that incriminates Parsons' adoptive daughter, Ann, who duly confesses and pleads guilty. Erin McCabe has little interest in reviewing such a slam-dunk case-even after she has a mysterious meeting with one of the investigating detectives, who reveals that Ann, like Erin, is a trans woman. Yet despite their misgivings, Erin and her law partner, Duane Swisher, ultimately can' t ignore the pieces that don' t fit. As their investigation deepens, Erin and Swish convince Ann to withdraw her guilty plea. But Ann clearly knows more than she' s willing to share, even if it means a life sentence. Who is she protecting, and why? Fighting against time and a prosecutor hell-bent on notching another conviction, the two work tirelessly-Erin inside the courtroom, Swish in the field-to clear Ann' s name. But despite Parsons' former associates' determination to keep his-and their own-illegal activities buried, a horrifying truth emerges-a web of human exploitation, unchecked greed, and murder. Soon, a quest to see justice served becomes a desperate struggle to survive. . . "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 Review (Sarah Weinman) on By Way of Sorrow