Remain Silent

Gigl’s gripping third thriller featuring 37-year-old Cranford, N.J., lawyer Erin McCabe (after 2022’s Survivor’s Guilt) finds Erin caught between two cases that threaten to put her behind bars. Shortly after Erin’s first meeting with a new client, the man is found murdered at his beachside home. Within hours, Erin is being interrogated by the police, who accuse her of killing the man after attempting to blackmail him with pictures of him dressed in women’s clothing. Before long, several of the man’s associates turn up dead as well. With circumstantial evidence piling up against her, Erin and fellow attorney Duane Swisher, a former FBI agent, begin their own investigation. Meanwhile, Erin takes on the case of a woman accused of abducting her child during a scorched-earth custody battle. To protect her client and the child, she refuses to reveal their whereabouts, thus risking imprisonment. Gigl—who, like her protagonist, is a lawyer and transgender woman—brings authenticity and depth to her characters, gracefully presenting LGBTQ issues to a mainstream audience via a satisfying mystery plot. This series deserves a long life. Agent: Carrie Pestritto, Laura Dail Literary. (June)