Reviews

4.5 rating

I really enjoyed reading this first book in the series. I’m very much looking forward to getting a chance to read the next books in the series. I was gripped from the first page and it kept me engaged throughout. I usually go for the detective side of a crime so it was a good change of pace to read the legal side of a case. I liked the transgender aspect of the book and learnt about some of the terms and an experience of that through the book. Overall, a very well-written book that is well worth the read.

finnthehuman217's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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.

Content Warnings

janemarple's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

This is an interesting, fast-paced legal thriller that reads quickly. While some of the plot elements strain reality and some of the dialogue and exposition is a bit clunky at times, I absolutely love the beautiful and authentic representation of transwomen in this book. It’s such an overdue and badly needed addition to the fiction space. That far outweighs any quibbles I have with the story and writing itself.