This was a book high on my to-read list for September, and though I wouldn’t say it was the best book I have read this year, I really enjoyed Cai Emmons writing style and will be on the lookout for more books by them in the future.

I can’t say that I have ever read a book about someone being chosen for jury duty and the trial that ensues, so the synopsis of Livid piqued my curiosity from the get-go. Our protagonist, Sybil White Brown, has recently suffered a difficult loss and made the decision to move back to the small town she lived in years ago, the place she once fled after divorcing her husband. Maybe not the best decision for someone grieving another kind of loss, especially when she realizes her ex is serving jury duty with her. 

What are the chances, right? I’m not up to date on what is and is not allowed when selections for a jury are being made, but I assume it’s a bit of a conflict of interest for two members of the jury to have been married previously. For the sake of enjoying the story I let that question slide, especially because I knew that it would just add to the intrigue of the rest of the book. 

It took a little bit for the book to pick up speed and capture my whole attention, but once the details of Sybil’s past and what the trial is about were revealed, I found myself really enjoying the way all of the characters stories connected to each other and how Sybil’s life and perspective became influenced by the trial as it went on. 

If you’re interested in crimes of passion, or even if you’re not, Livid is a fairly quick read that will make you think about what you would do if you found yourself in the situations Sybil or the woman on trial for killing her husband were. 

Review of a Digital Advance Reader’s Copy from Red Hen Press

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: 15 religious exclamations; 8 mild obscenities; 9 derogatory names; 8 scatological words; 10 anatomical terms; 19 F-Word derivatives

Violence/Gore: A woman is mentioned to be on trial for murder; a question is raised about the possibility of a man raping his wife; a reference is made to physical abuse; a woman is reported to have threatened to kill her husband; a woman is reported to have hit her husband over the head with a bottle of wine, causing him to fall and hit his head on the edge of a coffee table and die, the woman is then reported to have cut his penis with a shard of glass, she pleads self-defense, this crime is mentioned several times throughout the book; a man is mentioned to be suspended from work after getting in a physical altercation with a co-worker; a woman reports that her husband used force to knock her down, causing an injury to her wrist, then forcing her to have unprotected sex with him, afterwards she runs away and locks a door between them but her breaks it open, grabbing her injured wrist, a brief physical altercation ensues; a woman is mentioned to cut herself with a shard of glass when she is under the influence of alcohol; a mention is made of a woman in the wilderness with her dogs being charged by a moose; a report is made of dogs on the Iditarod dying; a woman is reported to foster a young girl who comes from a difficult background involving drugs and violence, it is mentioned that she witnessed a knife fight; the foster daughter is recalled to have thrown her new cat out a window because she claims it wanted to fly, the cat sustains multiple injuries which causes the vet to put her to sleep; a character is accused of putting a box of human excrement on the porch of someone they don’t like; a woman is described to drive her car after a few drinks and get into a car accident with another drunk driver.

Sex/Nudity: A woman and her ex-husband are mentioned to embrace in a brief scene; a woman recalls a sexual encounter from her past with brief mentions of touching and caressing; a woman is referred to as controlling because she refuses to have sex with her husband or take birth control; a man is reported to have an extramarital affair; a mention is made of a husband and wife having consensual sex; a woman reports that she was sexually abused by her father as a teen, mentions that her father would pull her by her hair to get her to obey; a brief scene mentions a couple talking about having sex and using sex toys, exploring each other’s bodies; a man is mentioned to be shown nude in crime scene photos, his penis is mentioned as it pertains to an ongoing trial; teen pregnancy is referred to as well as sex being strictly for procreation; several times throughout the book a woman mentions and recalls the sexual abuse she experienced as a teen from her father; a brief scene occurs where a man and woman are mentioned to undress each other and have sex; women wearing revealing clothing is referred to; a brief scene occurs where a woman is mentioned to have sex with her ex-husband.

Mature Subjects Matter:

PTSD; death; loss of a loved one; extramarital affairs; racist comments; addiction; embezzlement.

Alcohol/Drug Use:

Adults drink wine; a man is described to clearly have been drinking; flasks of alcohol and joints are mentioned; a man is described to be a mean drunk; neighbor boys are mentioned to smoke weed and the neighbor can smell it wafting into her yard; fentanyl use and drug overdose is mentioned.