As the story leaps forward, Holmes expertly details the inner workings of a powerful Texas corporate law firm, revealing how women had to fight to secure equal pay and promotions compared to their male counterparts. Nine years later, Laura has reinvented and is investigating complaints about the financial impropriety of JBH Energy, a company represented by Edwards and Harrison, giving her the upper hand against the men who assaulted her. Carolyn, finally promoted to partner, is caught in the middle when she finds out JBH has been drilling on her family’s land and polluting a nearby creek. Holmes’ descriptions of the work and milieu are chillingly realistic, drawing readers into the high stakes world of corporate law.

Holmes develops her characters with the same quick confidence with which she captures readers’ attention in the opening scenes. Carolyn’s backstory is intriguing—complicated by growing up under the shadow of her mother’s suicide and her own drive to achieve professional success—and Holmes deftly reveals her inner turmoil at wanting to help Laura but fearing it will derail her career. She faces tough choices as the novel progresses and intensifies, and Holmes ties it all up with a gripping conclusion.

Takeaway: A gripping thriller of women corporate attorneys in Texas, facing a chance for revenge.

Great for fans of: John Grisham’s The Judge’s List, Allen Eskens’s The Stolen hours.

Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A