An Erin McCabe Legal Thriller Series

Fans of J.A. Jance, Scott Turow, Lisa Unger, and Renee James will devour this propulsive and timely thriller about murder, prejudice, and police corruption, as Erin McCabe, transgender attorney of the Garden State, discovers that getting to the truth can be deadly . . .

New Jersey State Trooper Jon Mazer has been charged with killing Black investigative reporter Russell Marshall in a racially charged, headline-making murder. The evidence against criminal defense attorney Erin McCabe’s new client is overwhelming. The gun used is Mazer’s off-duty weapon. Fingerprints and carpet fibers link Mazer to the crime. And Mazer was patrolling Marshall’s neighborhood shortly before the victim took three bullets to the chest. Mazer’s argument? He’s a gay officer being set up to take the fall in an even bigger story.

Mazer swears he was a secret source for Marshall’s exposé about the Lords of Discipline. The covert gang operating within the New Jersey State Police is notorious for enforcing their own code of harassing women, framing minorities, and out-powering any troopers who don’t play their rogue and racist games. With everyone from the governor to the county prosecutor on the wrong side of justice, Erin and her partner, Duane Swisher, are prepared to do anything to make sure Mazer doesn’t become another victim.

As Erin deals with an intensely personal issue at home, and faces an uphill battle to prove her client’s innocence, both she and Duane find themselves mired in a conspiracy of corruption deeper than they imagined—and far more dangerous than they feared.

Attorney and LGBTQ+ activist Robyn Gigl breaks the mold with her “thrillingly complex [and] groundbreaking” (The New York Times) legal thrillers featuring ripped-from-the-headlines plots and a singular protagonist who, like the author herself, is a transgender lawyer.

Fans of J.A. Jance, Scott Turow, Lisa Unger, and Renee James will devour this edgy page-turner, as a Jersey Shore murder puts Erin McCabe’s own freedom in the crosshairs…

– Finalist for the Joseph Hansen Award for LGBTQ Crimewriting –

Erin McCabe’s years as a criminal defense attorney have prepared her for almost anything, except being on the opposite side of the interrogation table. A new client—a successful financial adviser—was found stabbed to death on the beach near his palatial Jersey Shore home. The time of death is estimated to be during Erin’s one and only consultation with him, during which he revealed that he was secretly transgender. As the last person to see him alive, Erin’s now the prime suspect.

If the evidence were simply circumstantial, Erin is sure she and her law partner, Duane Swisher, could prevail. But there are entanglements that can’t be easily explained, and connections to powerful unscrupulous politicians who hold a lot of grudges. While the investigation unfolds, Erin and Duane are called on to represent a mother charged with abducting her child—a hot-button case that has both private and public implications for Erin.

As she battles one prosecutor who wants to see her charged with murder, and another determined to send her to jail for refusing to divulge her client’s location, Erin also faces a devastating family tragedy. With her career and her relationship on the line, and her life being targeted by a desperate nemesis, there has never been more at stake—or fewer places to turn . . .

“A groundbreaking series…razor-sharp, compulsively readable courtroom scenes.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Another barrier-breaking thriller from a voice missing too long from the mystery chorus.” —The Los Angeles Times Book Review

TIME Magazine 100 Best Mysteries & Thrillers of All Time * The New York Times Best Mysteries of the Year * The Los Angeles Times Best Crime Novels * LAMBDA Literary Most Anticipated * CrimeReads Most Anticipated and Best Crime Fiction of the Year * SheReads Best Mystery Books

Perfect for fans of Laura Griffin and Lisa Unger, 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 this powerful legal thriller featuring a transgender attorney at its center.

WINNER of the PUBLISHING TRIANGLE’S JOSEPH HANSEN AWARD FOR LGBTQ CRIME WRITING

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 learns that Ann, like herself, 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, they 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, Erin and Swish work tirelessly 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, greed, and murder. Soon, a quest to see justice served becomes a desperate struggle to survive . . .

“Topically relevant, edgy, and riveting, this series is one to watch.” – Library Journal

“Stunning…Gigl delightfully flips the usual terms of the genre with a murder victim readers are quickly drawn to hate and a murderer whom they will be rooting for. Her takes on big questions of justice, revenge, and the nature of victimhood will resonate with many.” – Publishers Weekly, STARRED REVIEW

“Another great merger of legal mystery and psychological thriller.” – CrimeReads

“A groundbreaking series…razor-sharp, compulsively readable courtroom scenes.” —The New York Times Book Review

“Another barrier-breaking thriller from a voice missing too long from the mystery chorus.” —The Los Angeles Times Book Review

The New York Times Best Mysteries of the Year * The Los Angeles Times Best Crime Novels * LAMBDA Literary Most Anticipated * CrimeReads Most Anticipated and Best Crime Fiction of the Year * SheReads Best Mystery Books

Perfect for fans of Laura Griffin and Lisa Unger, 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 this powerful legal thriller featuring a transgender attorney at its center.

TIME MAGAZINE’S BEST 100 MYSTERIES & THRILLERS OF ALL TIME

WINNER of the PUBLISHING TRIANGLE’S JOSEPH HANSEN AWARD FOR LGBTQ CRIME WRITING

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 learns that Ann, like herself, 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, they 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, Erin and Swish work tirelessly 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, greed, and murder. Soon, a quest to see justice served becomes a desperate struggle to survive . . .

Crackling with authenticity and featuring a protagonist who, like the author, is a transgender attorney, BY WAY OF SORROW is both a gritty, riveting legal thriller and an “Own Voices” story bringing much-needed diversity to the genre.

In 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 . . .