Welcome to Bay Books’ ‘Books and Wine’ book club. Our book club invites new members to join. The more the merrier. Once a month we meet up together to discuss the book of the month. During this time we welcome you to indulge in conversation as well as bring a beverage of your choice. We meet each month on the second Tuesday at 6 pm here at Bay Books.
November’s Book Club
This month we’re diving into By Way of Sorrow by Robyn Gigl—a gripping legal thriller that delivers heart, grit, and thought-provoking conversations about justice, identity, and truth. Follow Erin McCabe, a transgender defense attorney, as she risks everything to defend a young woman accused of murder—and uncovers a web of secrets powerful enough to destroy lives.
We’ll be unpacking this powerful story together, so grab a drink of your choice and join us on the second Tuesday of each month at 6 PM right here at Bay Books. Come for the discussion, stay for the community—everyone’s welcome, whether you’ve finished the book or just want to listen in!
By the Way of Sorrow by Robyn Gigl
Crackling with authenticity and featuring a protagonist who, like the author, is a transgender attorney, BY WAY OF SORROW is both a gritty, riveting legal thriller and an “Own Voices” story bringing much-needed diversity to the genre.
In a fresh and riveting thriller debut, Robyn Gigl introduces Erin McCabe, a New Jersey criminal defense attorney doing her best to live a quiet life in the wake of profound personal change–until a newsworthy case puts both her career and safety in jeopardy…
Erin McCabe has been referred the biggest case of her career. Four months ago, William E. Townsend, Jr., son of a New Jersey State Senator, was found fatally stabbed in a rundown motel near Atlantic City. Sharise Barnes, a nineteen-year-old transgender prostitute, is in custody, and given the evidence against her, there seems little doubt of a guilty verdict.
Erin knows that defending Sharise will blow her own private life wide open, and doubtless deepen her estrangement from her family. Yet as a trans woman, she feels uniquely qualified to help Sharise, and duty-bound to protect her from the possibility of a death sentence.
Sharise claims she killed the senator’s son in self-defense. As Erin assembles the case with her partner, former FBI agent Duane Swisher, the circumstances hint at a more complex and chilling story with ties to other brutal murders. Senator Townsend is using the full force of his prestige and connections to publicly discredit everyone involved in defending Sharise. Behind the scenes, his tactics are even more dangerous. His son had secrets that could destroy the senator’s political aspirations–secrets worth killing for. And as leads begin mysteriously disappearing, it’s not just the life of Erin’s client at stake, but her own . . .
‘Books and Wine’ Book Picks 2025
The following is our book club line up. Get your copy today to and read ahead
November 11– By Way of Sorrow by Robyn Gigl
December is usually our Champagne Holiday event—-a time to celebrate what we have read this year and to share with others! Start practicing your elevator speeches now!
