My Review:
“You can have everything, and still not have enough.”
This absolutely explosive courtroom drama, narrated by the fabulous Marin Ireland, explores issues of consent, rage, power imbalance, wealth and the criminal justice system. It’s also a fast-paced family drama that is not what it seems at first. There is a whopper of a twist to this novel that, while I suspected earlier on, was nonetheless very shocking.
Is the main protagonist and narrator Cassie entirely likable? No. But by the end of the book, all of her issues made perfect sense.
This is one of the books that I couldn’t wait to get back to! Every time I had to take a break from listening to the audiobook I counted the hours until I could listen again. The story felt very modern and relevant: Billy, the son of a wealthy New York City family, is arrested and charged with rape. His entire family including his brother Nate, his mother Eleanor and Cassie his sister rally around him.
We learn that Cassie was raised by the family but never formally adopted by them. Even so, she considers them her family. It seems as though her decision to attend grad school at Yale has caused some issues within the family, the why of that is is revealed later in the book. Cassie is coming out of a troubled relationship with an older married man.
As the family and Billy’s defense attorney prepares his defense, Cassie’s past and the family’s secrets are slowly revealed. The eagle-eyed reader will uncover the twist fairly early on, but it is still shocking. The author does an amazing job with the character of Cassie and with the courtroom aspects of this book. I was riveted!
This is one of those stories where nothing is at it seems. Of course I had a few minor comments on the legal side of things, but overall, I really loved the audiobook and recommend it especially for Marin Ireland’s terrific narration.
About the Book:
The acclaimed, best-selling author of This Could Hurt returns with her biggest, boldest novel yet—an electrifying, twisty, and deeply emotional family drama, set on Manhattan’s glittering Upper East Side, that explores the dark side of love, the limits of loyalty, and the high cost of truth.
You can have everything, and still not have enough.
Cassie Quinn may only be twenty-three, but she knows a few things. One: money can’t buy happiness, but it’s certainly better to have it. Two: family matters most. Three: her younger brother Billy is not a rapist.
When Billy, a junior at Princeton, is arrested for assaulting his ex-girlfriend, Cassie races home to Manhattan to join forces with her big brother Nate and their parents, Lawrence and Eleanor. The Quinns scramble to hire the best legal minds money can buy, but Billy fits the all-too-familiar sex-offender profile–white, athletic, and privileged–that makes headlines and sways juries.
Meanwhile, Cassie struggles to understand why Billy’s ex Diana would go this far, even if the breakup was painful. And she knows how the end of first love can destroy someone: Her own years-long affair with a powerful, charismatic man left her shattered, and she’s only recently regained her footing.
As reporters converge outside their Upper East Side landmark building, the Quinns gird themselves for a media-saturated trial, and Cassie vows she’ll do whatever it takes to save Billy. But what if that means exposing her own darkest secrets to the world?