COUNSEL OF DECEIT

In first-time novelist Grey’s legal thriller, a tax accountant who’s endured sexual harassment and assault faces off against her tormentors in court.

Nicole Brannig is a CPA in Dallas raising her teenage son, Alec. She hasn’t been intimate with anyone since divorcing her abusive husband a decade ago. So she’s unsure of how to respond to advances from her boss, Tom Sellers. After the two have sex, in spite of Nicole’s perceptible reluctance, she is uncomfortable and subsequently ends the relationship. Tom responds by adjusting her workload so that most of it entails worthless, nonchargeable time. Later, co-worker Steve Cox, who’d previously touched Nicole inappropriately, blatantly assaults her in a parking lot. It’s a clear case of sexual harassment and, as her duties at the firm wane, retaliation. But her ensuing legal fight is far from easy, as the firm’s attorneys use her gloomy past (including an abusive father) against her and female co-workers, whom Steve similarly harassed, are surprisingly unsupportive. Worst of all, Nicole’s lawyer, Sheldon Holmes, may not have her best interests at heart. Though Nicole refuses to give up, she ultimately makes a drastic decision that changes everything for all the people involved. Grey’s engaging, realistic narrative is an uphill battle for sympathetic Nicole, a successful single mom who’s survived years of abuse. While her antagonists are unmitigated villains, what makes this story unsettling is how hard it is for Nicole to prove anything. Tom, for example, coerces her into sex with an unsubtle reference to her recent raise—an implication that in the story has no merit in court. Depositions and examinations beget ample crisp dialogue, highlighted by Nicole’s literal responses to a brash lawyer’s questions: “ ‘Can you tell me the first time you were treated by a mental health professional?’ ‘Yes.’ ” Despite myriad unsavory characters, some are likable, such as helpful criminal attorney Mark Patrick. Minor but notable flubs mar the otherwise stellar tale, from an inconsistency regarding the ages of Nicole and Alec to Nicole’s inexplicably knowing Mark’s surname prior to learning it.

Topical, no-nonsense portrayal of a wronged woman seeking justice.