OPEN BAR

Schorr’s novel explores issues of power, complicity, and the pursuit of justice in the wake of a campus sexual abuse scandal.

At Mountain Hill University, Serena Stanfield, the director of human resources, uncovers years of buried sexual abuse allegations against a beloved softball coach. When she decides to act, she tells a stunned colleague: “I’m not letting him spend another minute with these girls.” Her moral clarity cuts through the bureaucratic fog of plausible deniability that surrounds her—“Tim won’t save you this time,” she warns the abuser, refusing to be complicit. In New York, junior corporate investigator Troy Abernathy is trying to stay afloat at a firm where layoffs loom and ethics are optional. When the firm’s celebrity client, bestselling author Caleb Lugo, is accused of sexual assault, Troy is ordered to quietly dig into the accuser’s past. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., city councilwoman Megan Black navigates both public outrage over the campus scandal and a private mission to secure clemency for Evina Jansen, her childhood friend who is serving a life sentence for killing her abusive husband. (“I can’t live like this any longer,” Evina confides.) Megan’s journey underscores the uneven terrain of justice—the ways in which outcomes depend not just on facts, but on who’s watching, who’s connected, and who cares. Schorr’s prose is clean, fast-moving, and often laced with dark humor. The dialogue feels authentic, especially in tense institutional exchanges and moments of personal crisis. Serena’s confrontation on the softball field is a highlight, cinematic in its timing and righteous energy. While the story is sprawling, the pacing is taut, and the characters’ voices are distinct. The author avoids easy moral binaries; even well-intentioned characters must face the limits of their choices. The title of the book takes on layered meaning, suggesting not just a high-society gala but also the dangers of unchecked access and what comes through when no one’s watching the door.

A timely and absorbing novel that asks what it costs to tell the truth.