Erin McCabe is one of my favorite protagonists in any mystery/thriller series. Gigi has a talent for writing her with bravery and nuance, capturing the complexities of being a trans woman in a field that can be discriminating.

Having never read the first novel with the main character, Erin McCabe, I did not get the feeling that I missed something having not read the first book. Maybe the background into her backstory was repetitious to a reader who had read the first in this series but for me, the roll out of her past history moved along smoothly.
   That is until you get to meet all the characters that cross her path…..and they are an interesting lot. Starting with a group of high power individuals who have abused and trafficked children for years, murder, money and mayhem. This is a smart, edge of your seat, multilayered legal story with twists that keep your interest till the very end.
   Interwoven in the story is the fact that Erin is transgender and thus exposes the reader to the discriminations that she faces in her daily life: a learning experience that raises the consciousness of all readers.  That part of her is not the focus of the book but just part of the many facets of this smart and appealing character that will be interesting to follow in future books.

An enjoyable though totally implausible mystery. Erin McCabe is asked to take on a case of a transgender woman that has plead guilty to murder. Some powerful people don’t want the truth out there and Erin’s life again becomes endangered to the point of not being real. I love her relationship with her mother and while I think it’s super important people understand the discrimination transgender people face the writing about it feels like it takes it a step further than necessary to make that point. I do enjoy Erin’s character and hope she is allowed to continue to develop.

I was given a copy by Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

A cross between a high-octane thriller and a courtroom drama, "Survivor’s Guilt" sees transgender attorney Erin McCabe struggling to solve, without ending up as a victim, the murder of a millionaire. When the millionaire's daughter pleads guilty, McCabe smells the proverbial rat, and with the aid of her practice partner, dives into a horrific world of trafficking and exploitation and evil. The author is a straightforward stylist and the thriller plot itself proceeds a little clumsily, but the underlying storyline and the interaction of Gigl with the victim, herself transgender, keep the reader interested. The action scenes are gripping. Survivor's Guilt offers an engrossing, slightly-off-the-beaten-track read.

It is pretty rare these days to find myself starting a new series. Simply put, I have more books to read than I have time to. Committing to a series usually means I'm neglecting too many other books. Every so often, though, I find a series that I can't help but read. Robyn Gigl's debut novel By Way of Sorrow is the kind of thriller that perfectly combined a riveting plot with even more captivating characters. When I read the book last year, I didn't know that it would mark the start of a series featuring lawyer and transgender woman, Erin McCabe. When Gigl's publisher offered me a copy of the second novel to feature the character, I couldn't help but accept it.

On the heels of a high-profile case, Erin McCabe's professional life couldn't be better. Business at her small practice is booming, and she has been able to accept the kinds of cases that really appeal to her. On the personal front, Erin is making progress too. Her father and brother had a tough time accepting her coming out, but thanks to her ever-supportive mother and a pair of rambunctious and accepting nephews, the men in her family are beginning to come around. When we last saw Erin, she had just begun a new relationship with Mark, a man who seemed to love her for exactly who she is. Mark's family has been less accepting. Unwilling to be a wedge between him and his loved ones, Erin has decided to break things off with Mark. With this relationship in limbo, she fears she may never find happiness again. Instead, Erin resolves to bury herself in her work. Erin is in luck because her next big case is about to present itself.

The death of businessman Charles Parsons seems like a pretty open and shut case. At first glance, the death looked like a suicide, but new evidence revealed it to be a murder. There's a recording of the death in which Parson's seems to reveal his killer as his child. His adoptive daughter Ann is picked up and shortly thereafter confesses to the crime. Erin is brought into the mix when one of the detectives on the case begins to have second thoughts about the conviction. It is revealed that Ann is also a trans woman, and the detective hopes that she'll be willing to open up to Erin about what happened. Erin is hesitant at first but soon begins to find too many pieces of the puzzle that simply don't add up. She convinces Ann to rescind her guilty plea and takes on the task of defending her in a trial.

I was enamored by the way Robyn Gigl empathetically presented the struggles of her characters in By Way of Sorrow. I'm happy to report that the same care is applied to her heroes in Survivor's Guilt. While the case on the surface level may seem extremely similar to the one presented in the first book, there's enough to differentiate the two to make it feel fresh. The personal turmoil of Erin McCabe combines with that of her professional life in a way that makes the story extremely well-rounded. I couldn't put this one down! If I have any complaint, it would be that the villains in the book are almost comically evil. There's no doubt who the bad guys are, and they fall into just about every stereotype you'd expect a villain to have. This can be a bit jarring, especially when contrasted with the deep care that Gigl takes to ground her main character in reality. Still, I more than enjoyed reading this book and wouldn't be upset if McCabe makes another appearance soon.

Survivor’s Guilt by Robyn Gigl
Erin McCabe Legal Thriller #2

Great addition to the series – Enjoyed it from beginning to end!

What I liked:
* Erin: attorney, transgender woman, athletic, intelligent, takes on tough cases, in law partnership with Swish, loves her family, conflicted on a few things but becoming more secure in each book
* Swish: Erin’s law partner, ex-FBI, basketball skills, intelligent, family man, supportive, professional, gets sucked into some crazy cases with Erin
* Mark: Erin’s boyfriend, supportive, loving, there for Erin, finally managing to get through some of Erin’s walls
* Peg: Erin’s mother, loving, wise, gives good advice, there for Erin through her transition and afterward
* The family aspects of the story and how people in families react to LGBTQIA issues
* Ann: both of them in the story were compelling, strong, capable
* The Rojas siblings: close even after they separated young
* Detective Kluska and what he did to assist a potentially innocent person
* The sleuthing and how it was done
* The storyline and how it played out
* That it paralleled what is happening in the news – at last in some ways
* That the evil characters who got away for too long with unspeakable evil were eventually thwarted
* The way all the threads were tied up in the end with more than one having a happy ending

What I didn’t like:
* Everyone and everything that I was meant to dislike
* Knowing that the abuses mentioned in this book are all too real in everyday life

Did I enjoy this book? Yes
Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington books for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

With an antagonist who bears more than a passing resemblance to Jeffrey Epstein and his criminal associates including Ghislaine Maxwell, Survivor’s Guilt is a compelling sequel to Robyn Gigl’s debut By Way of Sorrow. I found the writing a little rough and clunky at times and there’s a key aspect of the plot that didn’t quite work for me as it seems like a plot hole that could change the trajectory of the central court case, but overall I was engrossed in the story from start to finish.

A great legal thriller that tackles big issues, but is a page turner, with plenty of twists and turns. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Erin and her law partner Swish have an odd case on their hands. Ann has confessed to killing her father but did she? That's the mystery at the heart of this novel which is as much about transpeople finding themselves and happiness as It is about the law. Don't get me wrong- there's a strong legal novel here but the more compelling parts are about Erin, her family, and her relationships. And that's true for Ann as well. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is the second in a series but it will be fine as a standalone. A good read.

I have mixed feelings about this one. I liked the main character and the causes they were fighting for. The writing could have been more effective if it was tightened up. There were too many characters so for awhile it got confusing with all the bad people. Her struggles with being transgender, while they made sense what she was dealing with, as a reader, it felt a little repetitive, less would have been more

I love finding an "under the radar" series that is a good one! I had not even heard of this series until the opportunity to read it came my way. I thought it was a standalone novel when I first started and quickly realized it was the 2nd book in the series. I am happy to report you can seemingly read these out of order and follow along just fine and I am also happy to report that you may want to get invested in this series by the time you are done. This was the case for me.

One thing I kept thinking while I was reading this book was how it would make a fantastic serialized legal thriller for television. Um, tv networks, turn your eye here. There is tension, some mystery, and relationships to get invested in here. Also, possibly helpful side note, I believe the first book in this series is available on Kindle Unlimited so if you have that subscription here is another read to add to your tbr. My only complaint would be is that we spent too much time 'behind the scenes' with the villains in this book. It took away from some of the mystery since we knew each step the bad players in this one were going to take next.

Because of this, the twists were not as surprising as they could have been but... the characters and action make up for this. Because of the characters, I wanted to keep reading even when I had a feeling about where everything was going to go plot wise. Also, Robyn Gigl's experience as an attorney herself I think really gives insight into the criminal defense process that made it even more interesting for me. This book has compelling characters, touches on some intense topics, and has a action-packed plot so needless to say I feel invested now. I needed another series to get invested in like I needed more dessert, but I am not complaining really.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author, for an ARC of this book, in exhange for an honest review.
I was lucky enough to have read the 1st book in the Erin McCabe legal thriller series, "By Way Of Sorrow" by Robyn Gigl earlier this year & I loved it.
I was so excited when I was gifted the next book in the series, "Survivor's Guilt" to review.
This was a great follow up to the 1st book, it was addictive, unique, interesting & well written.
Everything about this book was great, the characters, the location & the subject matter.
This series has opened my eyes on the transgender community & I want to read more books in this series.

Huge thanks to Kensington Books Publishing, as well as to @NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an early copy of Survivor's Guilt!

I loved the first book in this series and I loved this one just as much! (No sophomore slump here!) Although Survivor's Guilt touched on some difficult-to-read subjects such as human exploitation, unchecked greed, child porn, and murder, the fact that there weren't any graphic or horrifying details to read kept it from being utterly dark.

Erin agrees to meet with a young woman who has been arrested for murder. Even though the woman states "I did it", and she has already accepted a plea deal, something doesn't feel right. The pieces aren't fitting together. Only a few days remain where Ann can change her plea to not guilty. And ... from there it's quite a roller coaster ride!!!

Erin and her law partner Swish (think basketball), make such a fantastic team! Fortunately, Erin is surrounded by people who adore her, because the abuse she gets for being transgender is infuriating!. (I'm guessing the author has had her fair share, hence she is able to write of it in such a believable manner.)

I can't wait to read the next book in the series!!