Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Šteta

This was good. I think the ending was satisfying enough, though I clocked the outcome early on. I liked Nick and his brother, though his brother's white knighting got old fast. The rest of the characters - including the other two main POVs Julia and Detective Rice - were middling as their motives and actions were sometimes not really supported by their character. The assailant was abhorrent and arrogant, making it easy to hate him. But it still raises the question: is the ending justified?

My biggest problem with this was not the plot, but the questions it raises. The plot was satisfactorily concluded, as I said before, despite it not being enthralling. No, the issue I have is with the topics this novel covers and the questions it raises. In sum, I feel as though the questions raised weren't fully explored or expanded on. They were mentioned and moved on from more than questioned and analyzed. Yes, the ending was satisfying to an extent, but it breaks down with a few threads pulled.

The following is set as a spoiler because it gets into a few plot points which are kind of in the summary description but I'm going to go just a bit deeper.

The first question I want to discuss is the focus on a male victim/survivor of rape and sexual assault. I absolutely believe that this story isn't explored enough and discussed enough in literature and society at large. Indeed, the hospital employee first met when Nick enters to report his rape and seek medical help begins the interaction by thinking the female friend with Nick is the victim. The fact that we largely assume that when we discuss rape the victim is a female is, statistically, correct, though should we be basing assumptions on statistics alone? Shouldn't we take a statement on its face and not try to fit it a preconceived notion we have? In the employee's position, I think it is outright disrespectful to automatically think that it was the female before them and not the victim who stated it. By trying to fit the preconceived notion that rape is a female victimization ignores and pre-judges the male victim, as though they doesn't believe him about what he said. They said as much in the text. Again, the reporting of rape or sexual assault by male victims may be less frequent than by female victims, though that shouldn't matter. I feel as though this general question about society's focus rape being a female-victim crime ignores all genders and sexualities that are not female. And let's not forget that this is further discriminatory of trans persons as the assumptions of both trans people and rape defy the simple logic of many. The novel raises this male victim question a few times but never explores it or answer it. It leaves a bit of a thought lodged in the mind, but never establishes arguments or nuances to patterns of thinking. This would have been wonderful.

Then we have the question of gay men. It is still an unbelievably harmful stereotype that gay men are overly concerned with finding and engaging in rough and dangerous sex. Not true. The assumptions about gay men interacting with the rape plot line are again mentioned but not explored. At best it's an aside a few times. This deserved more discussion and exploration. Especially as I felt there was some stuff that could have been cut unless it went somewhere else, like Julia's use of a private eye to find other victims; this could have opened up the discussions I wanted from this thriller - discussions I only wanted after they were raised, not when I entered the book. As it stands, the private eye and some of the side quests of this felt very much like a waste when it was over. Those sections could have been halved at least and allowed for more interesting discussions.

A final issue I had is with the dynamics of the effects of rape on the family. Nick, our victim, has some of his psychological reactions explored but the story doesn't really focus on him much. No, the story is focused almost exclusively on Julia and Detective Rice. And with Julia and her husband Tony - of whom we do get narrated chapters - we see the strain on their marriage and themselves, but again it was half-hearted. There was so much to explore and dive into there which could have supported the thriller aspects of this novel by, for example, playing on the inner psychological ramifications of Nick's ordeal on Tony and Julia separately and how that was really impacting the marriage and the kids. These aspects were there, but I felt they were again just forgotten about. When the back description calls out the small-town family effect of this crime - "When a small-town family is pushed to the brink, how far will they go to protect one of their own?" - I wanted more about the family dynamics. Nick's formerly abusive father who seems to have a character shift I don't fully accept - I felt he would hold onto some of his more aggressive traits - and the more extended family beyond Nick, Tony and Julia are brought together but never given much attention to. The background stories about why Tony is so protective of Nick were amazing at explaining his current motivations, but either work with the characters it introduces when they appear again or forget bringing them in again.

REAL SPOILER FOR THE ENDING!!!!!!!!! As for the ending, I don't understand why the arrogant and confident Ray - the rapist - would follow Julia's plan at all. It felt completely far from his character unless he had done this before and wanted the chance to do this again. There are hints he raped and sexually assaulted before, but nothing is confirmed. So why follow the plan of your victim's sister-in-law at all? And I understand Julia's connections to have Ray disappear, but again there is a level of unbelievability of the situation.

Overall, it was good though it was a bit of a let down that I don't think I'll remember much of n a few months beyond the questions it raises.

Content Warnings

onemorepagecrew's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book had a grip on my attention for two days and I was sneaking my ear buds in any chance I could to hear it unfold. In this dark and suspenseful novel, we meet brothers Tony and Nick who are 17 years apart and resemble more of a parent / child dynamic than a sibling dynamic. Nick, the younger brother, is violently assaulted by a man he meets at a bar and the plot line centers on the months leading up to the trial. The detective and Tony’s wife, Julia, are also key roles in the book and all four characters are notably well-developed by the author.

The author did a fantastic job of weaving each person’s perspective together at just the right moments in the storyline to slowly show the reader the truth. The truth was never so far out of reach that I was lost, and it was truly a subtle mystery that felt like a puzzle. Just when I felt the bow had been tied on this novel, it had an unexpected ending that was believable and yet not one I predicted at all.

The final piece that really placed this in the top tier book for me was the depth of which the author explored the impacts of assault and how each person had to process the trauma. It’s not glossed over or moved to a backstory. It stayed right there, showing its far-reaching impact on everyone.

If you can read heavier topics and are looking for a suspenseful novel, I highly recommend this as an audio book.

Content warnings: Sexual assault, Rape, Self-harm, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism

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kmmk21's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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gibson_emily's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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stephs_cozycorner's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒇𝒂𝒓 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒐 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒕𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆?

This was a beautifully written story that dealt with traumatic events. I felt that Wahrer does an excellent job of taking this story and writing it in a very sensitive manner and you can tell that she took the time to properly research this topic. Male sexual assault is definitely not a topic discussed often and is a very taboo subject.

This book is written with multiple perspectives between 2015 (when the attack took place) and 2019 of the main characters and the detective researching the case. With the majority of the story taking place in 2015. I love that Wahrer not only explores the aftermath on the victim, but also on his family and even the detective.

This is a powerful, gripping, suspenseful debut novel that deals with very hard topics, but ones that we shouldn’t shy away from.

I definitely recommend picking this one up, but be warned of the trigger warnings in the comments.

⚠️ Graphic rape, alcoholism, family abuse

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zoejoanne's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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sfbookgirl's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Recommended by several book friends, I knew I had to get my hands on The Damage. Caitlin Wahrer’s debut novel is a solid small-town mystery with a twisty plot. Tony’s life is turned upside down when his younger brother Nick ends up in the hospital after being sexually assaulted. When Tony’s wife Julia, also Nick’s sister-in-law, finds out about what happened to Nick, she uses her professional connections as a lawyer to help Nick and Tony uncover the culprit.

The number of character’s initially thrown at me may explain why it took me until the halfway point to really get into the story. That said, The Damage takes on the often passed-by topic of male sexual assault and brings forward the emotional impact experienced by the main character and his family. The incredibly flawed characters allowed for a captivating story that is filled with tension, suspense, and uncertainty. Overall, a fantastic debut novel and perfect for fans of thrillers.

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bostonbooksandbubbles's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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