Book of the Week February 26, 2026
Brilliant. Groundbreaking. Emotionally intense. These adjectives, and more, just begin to touch on Gigl’s latest novel, which can be read as a cold-case murder, a domestic tragedy, or the disappearance of a young trans woman. Lieutenant Lauren Kelly, herself trans, has been relegated to working in the Homicide Unit at the Cold Case Unit in the District Attorney’s office. She knows she’s expected to wait out her time till retirement, while ignoring the harassment she regularly undergoes. But Lauren isn’t one to remain silent, and working in the DA’s office opens her to several ongoing narratives that take her deeper into her family history, from her Mom, who disappeared when she was a young child, to her father, now struggling with Alzheimer’s. A stand-alone, this book is an excellent choice for a reading group that would appreciate its rapid pace and treatment of many of the characters.—Brian Kenney
