Thank you too netgalley and publisher for opportunity to read and provide my honest feedback.

This book is well done! It captured my interest from the very beginning and held on all the way through. The characters developed were great and I felt connected to them and wanting to know what happens to each of them. Normally I have some annoyance at characters and their behavior or repetitiveness but this book had neither. Very compelling book, and about hard subject matter. Would highly recommend!

This book was riveting and keep you guessing right till the end.The characters were very likeable and you could so easily reflate to them. Great book all way round and I would highly recommend it.

How far will you go to protect someone you love?
After a violent attack, Nicks family will do anything to protect him.


Okay, wow. This book started off quickly and hit heavy topics very fast.
This slow burn tells the story while weaving between 2015 and 2019. This book covers “taboo” topics and explores the emotional impact and damage to a victim and their family after a traumatic experience.

This book took me a little longer to read because of the tough subject matter, however it is very relevant in todays society.

With the ending you didn’t see coming, I highly recommend this book.

Wow! This was a powerful book and interesting from page one. For me, it’s a five star book because the ending was a total surprise! Usually, I can see the ending coming but not this time. Just wow. Beyond that, it was an emotional read for the difficult topics it covered and the way the family was impacted. Great character development and an amazing plot. So very well done.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

“𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒏𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆.”

WOW. Caitlin Wahrer’s The Damage is an impactful, tragic, and yet hopeful read. I hope it gets a lot of attention, as it is a story that needs to be read.

The Hall family has always been close, especially Tony and his brother, Nick. When Nick experiences a violent sexual assault, the family, including Tony’s wife Julia, rallies around him and braces themselves for the damage after his attacker gets out on bail. As Julia and Tony try to help Nick, things spiral out of control - can they fix things?

Wahrer’s writing captures the pain of each family member as they grapple with Nick’s attack, which touches on a subject not talked about much: male rape; Wahrer approaches it with much care. I appreciated the different viewpoints as you get to see how Nick, Julia and Tony feel and process the aftermath. The plot has a few twists (including the very satisfying ending), which added to the overall police procedural element that exists within the story. I always enjoy a book that has many layers, and was propelled by the question: how far would you go to help those you love? The character development is excellent; these characters feel fully human, fleshed-out, and intensely emotional. The Damage is difficult to read in places, but also shows how tight-knit this family (especially the love that Tony and Nick share) is and how much they love each other.

Ultimately, The Damage explores themes of family, love, justice, doubt, and redemption. I HIGHLY recommend picking it up. Thank you to Doubleday Canada and NetGalley for the ARC, and a BIG thank you to Dennis for putting it on my radar.

This book is astounding. I am not exaggerating when I say that there are some sections in this book where I stopped reading for a while because I wanted to breathe out, calm down, collect my thoughts on what just happened and what will happen next.

This thrilling debut by Caitlin Wahrer is the story of a vulnerable younger brother (Nick), protective older brother (Tony) and supportive, smart and empathetic sister-in-law (Julia). I got hooked to the story from the first chapter. This powerful story was narrated in two different timelines covering real but unfathomable topic of sexual assault narrated with poise, empathy and sensibility, from the perspective of all the family members and few other characters in the story. This would be a great read for pride month and I would recommend this book to all fiction lovers who have special fondness for suspense filled family stories.

Five shiny debut stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nick has had a difficult upbringing. He was raised by parents who were let’s just say less than stellar. His support and love comes from his much older brother (17 years) Tony and Tony’s wife Julia.

Now in University, Nick is finally settling into life. He has a great group of friends he lives with and is comfortable in his sexuality.

A night of drinking and a hookup with a very sexy man leaves Nick in the hospital…battered physically and emotionally.

Tony and Julia step up.

They will do whatever is necessary to get Nick back on his feet and able to move forward in life. But the damage has been done. Can this family move forward? Or will this event define them for life?

This was a very powerful book and the subject matter was handled so delicately and with such finesse. This read will stay with me for a very long time.

The story unfolds from multiple perspectives and timelines. The characters were all real and flawed. You could feel the pain as they each tried to heal in their own way.

I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to Carolyn for her amazing review that put this book on my must-read list!

A buddy read with Susanne that when we finished we both just sat there and said “WOW”.

Posted to: https://books-are-a-girls-best-friend...

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada

The Damage is an entertaining, at times painful read about a very real, yet often ignored occurence in our world. The author wrote a beautiful story that was engaging and eye opening. The character were well written and engaging. I really enjoyed the dynamics between Julia and Detective Rice.

The Damage by Caitlin Wahrer was such a thrilling debut. I absolutely loved this book. And honestly can't wait to get my hands on a physical copy.
The story was so intriguing and interesting.
The plot is what ultimately hooked me.
The character development was outta this world good.
My only criticism is which isn't a bad thing at all.... would be it felt to be on the slow burn side.... bit ultimately it picked up.
Overall this book had everything I just love in a good thriller book.

And I can't thank NetGalley. Publisher and Author for this amazing debut ebook copy.

THE DAMAGE by Caitlin Wahrer is the tense story of the Hall family dealing with a major trauma. When twenty-year-old Nick is the victim of a sexual assault, he turns to his protective older brother, Tony, and Tony's wife, Julia, for help. Told in a dual timeline in which Julia meets with the detective from Nick's case years later, the story is about how the characters' actions affect their relationships and the damage that reverberates from that one awful night.

This book is a fantastic blend of suspense and character study. With the juxtaposition of the dual timelines, some well-placed cliffhangers, and a touch of dramatic irony, Wahrer keeps the pages turning in this small story. We do see glimpses of the wider world of the court system, police department, and local press, but most of the drama is contained to a handful of characters. Each one is well-developed and comes alive on the page with just enough backstory to inform their present choices and with dialogue that feels true to life and the individuals. Much of the tension in the story comes from their relationships, and the light touch of suspense allows space to address difficult topics (see content warnings below) with the care they deserve while keeping the story compelling.

THE DAMAGE is a stunning debut, and I look forward to seeing what Wahrer does next!

CW: sexual assault, physical violence, self-harm, overdose, suicide attempt, alcoholism, child abuse

OH MY GOD!!! This book was so good!!! I could not and would not put it down. It is fast paced and draws you immediately. I loved the family dynamics and it felt like real raw reactions. It definitely has some trigger warnings (ie sexual assault and abuse), but it reads like how I feel this situation might play out without within family. I cannot say enough and I was surprised by the ending did not see it coming at all. Definitely will be recommending this one to all!!!

I am always looking for something a little different from those tried plots we have come to expect and looking for authors who are bolding moving forward with our changing world. Caitlin Wahrer nails that by exploring something we don't talk about through her characters after Nick is violently sexually assaulted after meeting a man at a bar. She focuses on the family's emotional damage and fallout while exploring tragedy, doubt, and justice. She plays on that trope, "How far would you go to protect someone you love?" by giving the story a fresh look into the dynamics of the family.

The Damage is a well-done psychological thriller and family drama that builds up slowly while increasing tension and doubt until that unexpected final twist. The story shifts from alternating POV as we see the emotional fallout and psychological impact the attack has on Nick, his older brother Tony
and his sister-in-law Julia. Caitlin Wahrer weaves in thriller elements that blur the lines between fiction and real-life to create an intense emotional story. The attack on Nick is unsettling and affecting but handled humanely, keeping the details to a minimum. We learn what we need to know to understand the emotional impact on the characters.
I found the story a bit convoluted at times throwing off the pace for me, however it is a readable story. The story delves into the everyday life of the characters that did add a more realistic feel to the lives of the characters however it slowed down the story for me.

The heart of the story is the relationship between Nick and his older brother Tony. It warmed my heart to see how Tony looked out for Nick, protected him, and even babied him. I could feel their love and the tension between them that made them convincing characters.

The strength in the story is the increasing doubt and tension in the story that didn't let up until that final, satisfying ending that you might see or might not see coming. I highly recommend it.

I received a copy from the publisher on NetGalley.

I’ve heard so much about this one but I was weary... I ended up really enjoying it! If you aren’t sure about this one I would say to pick it up and give it a shot... it really may surprise you

Mysteries set in Maine always catch my eye - and when I saw that this was also selected as one of the June add-ons for the Book of the Month Club, I got even more excited to dive in! Framed around a 2019 encounter between Julia Hall and the detective who investigated the brutal assault and rape of her brother-in-law, the bulk of the book actually is set in the fall/winter of 2015/6. Not only Julia's and Detective Rice's perspectives are offered, but also Tony, Julia's husband, and Nick, the much younger half-brother of Tony, also have their points-of-view included. It's a bit of a slow-burn of a mystery/thriller - more of a literary mystery, really, since the book is so focused on the characters. Some of their character traits are expressed a bit redundantly (Tony is a fixer - this really, really comes up a lot!), but I found Nick's character to be the most insightful of the four. The reveal of the plot probably won't surprise most readers, but it's easy tp feel invested in these characters and to understand their reactions. I definitely can see this one being a great discussion starter amongst its readers as it raises a lot of big questions - like how far would you go for family? Plus, the gender issues that come up also help put this in a fresh way - it's an impressive debut and I can't wait to see what Wahrer writes next!

This book was a fascinating mystery. Fans of Mare of Eastown or the Normal Heart will love it. Some of the content was unbelievable, but still an intriguing mystery,

The Damage was a powerful read about the lengths people will go for family and love. It tells the story of a sexual assault and the ripples that occur.
Themes of rape, justice, and revenge. High recommended.

*I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada in exchange for my honest review.

Police procedural books are like my absolute favorite thriller trope. This is such a unique take on the age old novel. I was hooked from the beginning and couldn't turn the pages fast enough!

Caitlin Wahrer's novel The Damage is an extremely strong debut. This book centres around the Hall family- brothers Nick and Tony and Tony's wife Julia. Without providing spoilers, Nick is raped and beat up after meeting a man at a bar. Nick is gay and this attack becomes a hot topic for their small community.

One one hand, Wahrer has created a police procedural as we follow the Hall family as they search for justice and Detective Rice as he works on the case. But it's so much more. It focuses on Nick and his family as they navigate the aftermath of the crime. It focuses on stigmas and breaking them down. And it shows how far people will go to protect their loved ones.

I can't think of a book I've read that addresses male rape in this way. In our "enlightened" times, this is still taboo and is not often given the respect and support from authority and the legal system. Wahrer has done her research as she shows this unfold.

Nothing here is gratuitous-the facts alone are enough. It's a powerful story and has stayed with me. It's heavy but so is real life. I appreciate that the synopsis lets the reader know that the book addresses sexual assault so there are no surprises when it comes to heart of the content. There are, however, there are many narrative and plot surprises throughout.

Thank you to Penguin Random House Canada, Doubleday Canada and Netgalley for the book to read and review.

A violent crime, a family bound by secrets, and a dying cop who only wants the truth. THE DAMAGE by Caitlin Wahrer is an intricate page turner, boosted by the genuine struggles of the characters, told within the backdrop of a tight mystery that holds up to the very end.

36 hours. I finished this book in 36 hours. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Parts of it will stay with me forever. I will recommend this book, always.

A violent rape of a male victim. It’s the first book I’ve read from this perspective. It’s a difficult subject matter and certainly not for everyone. But the actual act is not the focus of this story. It’s what comes after. How this affects different people. How they respond. The victim, the assailant, the family members, the detective.

The messages are subtle but impactful. Friendship. Sibling love. Heroism. Humility. Frailty. Manliness. Mental Health. Family. Abuse. Neglect. Self-image. So many topics are touched upon in this family drama/mystery. I found myself overcome with emotions several times. At times I was pulled in to the mystery being uncovered and at times I was focused on the family drama, my focus often shifting back and forth.

The mystery of what takes place after the event, unfolds at the perfect pace. Every character is looked at through a different lens as the story progresses. And just when you think you have figured out what happens next, I promise you, you won’t have.

The Damage is a glorious mystery surrounding a horrible event and what comes after. And the I love you/I love you too moment towards the end broke my heart… in the best way!

This one gets ALL THE STARS!!!

Thank you to #DoubleDayCanada and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.