Cleveland’s top prosecutor is playing 4-D chess. Nicole Long is just a pawn in the game. Nicole Long’s promotion to head of the Major Crimes prosecution unit comes with only one caveat, she has to give up drinking once and for all. Nicole knows she can hide her bourbon habit as long as she wins every case assigned to her. The first case her boss Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Lori Pope assigns her—a cold case murder—isn’t the slam dunk she needs to score a quick conviction for her win column. Even worse than an unsolved decades-old murder? The victim was her boss’ sister. Lori Pope doesn’t just want Nicole to get a conviction, the top prosecutor wants revenge against her sister’s killer. When Nicole discovers the case isn’t as clear-cut as it seems, she must decide between justice for the accused or loyalty to the only job that will turn a blind eye to her addiction.

🥃 A prosecutor fighting for sobriety, an abuse victim in denial, and the reporter who wants to expose it all. ⚖️ On the brink of solidifying her place as the head of Major Crimes, prosecutor Nicole Long is struggling to stay sober. At the same time, she’s tasked with prosecuting a Catholic priest for decades-old sex abuse. His conviction would vindicate dozens of victims and could heal the wounds of her past. But when possible witnesses to the priest’s crimes start to die off, Nicole must decide if making a deal with the devil is a worthwhile trade-off to save the case. Without Consent is the next smart crime fiction novel in the Nicole Long legal thriller series.