A review by soobooksalot
The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Amidst the trauma of a horrible sexual assault lies a mystery in The Damage.
 Twenty-year-old Nick Hall is the younger brother of Tony, with 17 years difference between them. Coming from unstable households, Tony has always been Nick's protector. 
 Nick was violently raped after meeting "Josh" in a pub. Tony and former prosecutor wife Julia can't erase the trauma. Knowing the realities of rape cases going unsolved or unconvicted, Nick's family struggles with how best to support him, and enable justice. 
 This carefully-crafted story takes on much of the spectrum experienced after an assault - the range of emotions, the physical injuries, the system in place to ideally identify, charge and convict. And the flaws of the system, often damaging in itself to the already-injured.
 The Damage is told in differing timelines through the characters of Nick, Tony, Julia and investigator John Rice.
 This reads as so much more than a debut novel and I look forward to reading more from author Caitlin Wahrer.
 Recommended!
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