Tony had always looked out for his younger brother, Nick. So when he's called to a hospital bed where Nick is lying battered and bruised after a violent sexual assault, his protective instincts flare, and a white hot rage begins to build. As a small-town New England lawyer, Tony's wife, Julia has cases involving children all the time.
when Detective Rice get assigned to this one, Julia feels they're in good hands. Especially as she senses Rice, too, understands how can quickly get complicated. Very complicated.

This book is a bit of a slow burner and it's told from multiple points of view, But it's worth sticking with as it gets more gripping as the tension builds. This is a well written story that covers quite a sensitive topic. I never saw the twist at the end coming. The characters were well developed. This is a really good debut novel.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #PenguinMichaelJosephUK and the author #CaitlinWahrer for my ARC of #Damage in exchange for an honest review

This is quite a gritty psychological thriller. A young man wakes up in a hotel room, discovering that he has been assaulted by the man he willingly went to the room with the night before. An interesting spin on the standard rape story. However, the story isn't so much about the rape and the victim, but the repercussions of the case as his protective step-brother and his wife try to cope with what has happened, and is happening, to the victim.

The story is told well, although it does jump back and forth in time as we follow the case in the past, but then the detective is talking to the sister in law in the present, with hints of what has happened. And who do we believe? Is Nick telling all the truth, is Tony on a course of self-destruction in his determination to protect and avenge his brother? It explores the lengths we will go to help those we love, as well as how much self-preservation will kick in, regardless of who else it may hurt.

The story develops quite slowly, but that gives the reader time to absorb all the nuances and understand what is happening, and how people are damaged by one shocking night out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for allowing me access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a strong, well written drama about a terrible sexual assault on a young male and the ripple effect on his closest family. The characters are so well written and it's a real page turner.

It's not an easy read at times, but, I struggled to put it down and was gripped by the twists and turns.
Nick is the young man who is assaulted and the story revolves around him, his brother Tony and his sister-in-law, Julia as well as the police detective, Rice.
Nick and Tony are very close, particularly as their abusive, alcoholic father was pretty absent as they grew up, so, they've learned to depend upon each other. This makes Nick's reaction to the situation all the more explosive.

A really good strong 3* Good Read from me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Michael Joseph UK for the opportunity to preview.

A traumatic male rape tests a family’s bonds and their individual values on law, justice and retribution.
It’s a powerful page-turner that starts with a cop in 2019 who was on the investigation and wants to know the real truth and confess, before he dies of cancer, and the unfolding case in 2015/16.
The characters are very believable and the topic of male rape is handled with sensitivity and awareness of the issues. It also maintains a fine balance between family drama and thriller that feels worthy of John Grisham at times.

I’d like to thank Ella from Penguin Michael Joseph for inviting me to take part in the blog tour. After being part of the cover reveal earlier this year I was very excited and intrigued to read this one.

The entire story was centred around Nick, a young man who had just been raped and the effects that had on his whole family. It was refreshing to read a rape story where the victim was male as quite often we only associate this crime with female victims. The story is told from several POV; Nick, Tony, Julia and John Rice. It was very interesting to see how events after the rape unfolded and how each character felt at different points. The short snappy chapters kept the pace going and had me wanting to know more and more.

My heart broke for Nick and what he went through, his story was told with sensitivity and a care that matched his beautiful personality. I was in awe of his relationship with Tony and there were tender moments between the two of them that made feel so comforted by the strength of their sibling bond.

Tony at times seemed to have a harder time than Nick at coping. This was largely due to his need to protect Nick as that was what he had done his whole life. The role Tony had taken on his own life carried its own burdens and Caitlin Wahrer deals with these issues effortlessly. She showed the impact a rape case has not just on the victim, but the family as well.

Julia was desperate to be there for everyone and keep everyone happy. She truly was the rock, the go between and everything else that the two brothers needed. The conversations between herself and John Rice had me running a million different theories through my head and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Whilst we had a few twists and turns along the way the final revelation was well thought out and left me speechless. Caitlin Wahrer has created a brilliantly disturbing debut, full of emotion, that I found impossible to put down. It will stay with readers long after they’ve turned the final page.

Please don’t forget to check out the other stops on the blog tour and get yourself a copy of Damage!

Fantastic story.
It kind of takes you on a journey that you expect but it takes a few unexpected twists along the way. You kind of sense what is going to happen, especially as its centred around a family, but when you think you have it sussed - BANG! another twist,

I loved it from the beginning, the middle and to the end ...

This book is a gritty thriller which covers some hard hitting topics including child abuse/neglect, rape and self harm. The story follows Nick after he is brutally raped and assaulted and his family members, Tony and Julia, who are doing their best to support him through this difficult time. The book follows the investigation into finding and prosecuting Nick's assailant and the realities that come following such a personal and horrific crime.

It flicks between the time of the crime and the current time which was slightly confusing at first, but once I got in to the book, it became the perfect way to build suspense and drop clues about the way the story was going to turn out. There were many twists and turns along the way and I regularly found myself putting myself in the character's situation and wondering what I would do. The book ends up making you think about the justice system and just how far you would go to protect your family.

It took a few chapters to get in to, but after that, I was hooked and ended up having few late nights to get it finished!!

It's hard to believe this superb family drama of a psychological thriller is a debut, Caitlin Wahrer sensitively examines an issue that rarely gets any coverage and which society is deeply uncomfortable with. 20 year old gay Maine student, Nick Hall meets the much older good looking 'Josh' at a bar, leaving with him for a one night stand at a motel. The hellish nightmare of this terrifying encounter results in Nick being brutally sexually assaulted, he reports it to the police. The case is taken on by the caring and compassionate Detective John Rice, determined to do the best he can to get justice. The repercussions of what has happened to Nick devastates his family, his older brother by 17 years, Tony, is happily married to former lawyer, Julia, and has two young children, Chloe and Sebastian.

Tony has been a protective and loving father figure for Nick throughout his growing up years, he is left reeling, feeling helpless and guilty that he wasn't there for Nick when he needed him most. Against all the odds, the perpetrator is identified and charged, and upon attaining bail, persuasively articulates in the media that Nick's version of what happened is lies, and that it was Nick who had wanted the 'rough sex'. The public weigh in with their uninformed opinions, judgements, and comments on social media, intensifying the stress and pressures on Nick and his family. Nick's life further unravels, affecting his fragmenting mental health, questioning his concept of masculinity and his identity, struggling with the concept of being a victim and the loss of power associated with it, unsurprising particularly given society's discomfort with male rape victims. Julia becomes increasingly worried as Tony's rage and need for vengeance threatens her marriage and the family. Where will it all end?

There is a dual narrative, with most of the storyline set in 2015, going into 2016, and a meeting in 2019 at the home of Detective Rice, dying of cancer, discussing with Julia the personal cost to him of Nick's case. One of the strongest parts of the novel is the documentation of the fallout of the sexual assault on Nick, the trial preparations and process, his self hatred, his conflicting feelings, and just how low things got for him, and how long it can take before therapy can have any meaningful impact. This is a wonderfully thought provoking read, hard hitting, dark, intense, suspenseful, and with an array of twists that made this an utterly riveting and emotional rollercoaster of an experience. Highly recommended. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.

Wow- I needed to take a moment to process this book which I loved!
The characters leapt off the page, each with their own human traits, frailties and flaws, each pulling me into their world of family, emotions, fear and confusion. Julia, Tony & Nick Hall.
Detective John Rice made for an excellent and astute detective, with his devotion to the job and his church, showing a real warmth and understanding of people.
The story runs at a pace throughout, told from a variety of characters POV and also different timelines. There was never a moment when I wasn’t compelled to just read a bit more, wanting to follow the unfolding well-plotted story.
The difficult subject matter (male rape) I felt was handled effectively but with sensitivity throughout. The honesty with which the author captured the characters thoughts and secrets was perfectly crafted. I highly recommend this book - a cracker of a debut novel!

I've spent about ten days with Nick, Tony, and Julia. Julia and Tony are married, and Nick is Tony's younger brother. They both suffered at the hands of an abusive father, Tony has always been Nick's protector. When Nick is violently assaulted, Tony finds it hard to cope with the fact that he wasn't there, and things start to spiral out of control..
An interesting read with emotionally charged characters

The premise of this book was interesting, there are not many books talling about male sexual assault. Unfortunately I didn't finish it as I found it it wasn't gripping enough, I was getting bored and the writing is not my cup of tea.

Wow, this novel really hits hard. It blew me away, and that kind of came out of nowhere because I stumbled upon it only through another review on goodreads. I'm really lucky I did, because this is such an amazing book.

Part police procedural/thriller, part literary drama, "Damage" deals with the aftermath of a rape. A crime so brutal and horrible, it impacts not only the life of the victim, Nick, but of his entire family too. The sibling relationship between Nick and his older brother Tony, who is more like a father to him, really, is both touching and heartbreaking. All the characters are complex and well-written, and quite frankly, this book is a series of gut wrenching moments that I will definitely take with me. Noth the storytelling and the writing are outstanding and I quite liked the commentary regarding male rape victims - it's an important topic that is still rarely being talked about in more mainstream media. "Damage" manages to raise awareness while at the same time keeping up a high level of suspense. I read this in one sitting because I simply could not put it down.

Also the author really got me good at a later point at a story. I was about to actually be disappointed with certain plot developments until Wahrer just turned it all around and played me like a fool. I loved it. So while this novel centers around very heavy topics and truly takes its time to show the emotional and psychological toll a crime like this can take on all the people involved, it doesn't lave you feeling exhausted and depressed. While the ending might be controversial to some, for me it just feels like a victory. It's as dark as the rest of the novel - and fits it perfectly thus.

Easily a 4,5 stars read with the very minor complaint that I never really connected with the detective character, rounded up to 5 because of the sheer importance of the novel's subject matter.

I quite enjoyed this book but found it a bit slow in places . On the whole though it was well worth reading . I enjoyed the family dynamics and the love between the brothers. Quite hard to read with the assault but it’s what happens in real life . I didn’t predict the end which is unusual and I will recommend this book . Only four star as it was a bit slow at times

Damage by Caitlin Wahrer Pub Date: 8 July 2021
Sometimes, the true story is the hardest to believe.
TONY has always looked out for his younger brother, Nick. So when Nick is badly hurt, and it seems like he was the victim of sexual assault, Tony's anger flares.
JULIA is alarmed by her husband Tony's obsession with Nick's case. But, of course, she's always known Tony has a temper. But does she know what he's capable of?
NICK went out for a drink. After that, everything's a blank. When he woke up, he found himself in a world of confusion and pain, and the man who hurt him doesn't deny doing it. But he says the whole thing was consensual.
Three ordinary people, one life-shattering event. When the police get involved with this family in crisis, all the cracks will start to show.
Wow-what an outstanding debut; Caitlin Whahrer should be mighty proud of herself.
The storyline is descriptive, unsettling and original; it covers Male Rape, a complex subject, but it is refreshing to be reminded that men can also be victims of sexual assault. The author covers the topic with perception and sensitivity, especially the feelings of shame and confusion.
The inventive twists propel the story forwards, and I didn't predict how the novel would end.
I am thrilled to recommend it.
I want to thank NetGalley, Penguin Michale Joseph UK and author Caitlin Wahrer for a pre-publication copy to review.

Tony and Nick had pretty grim childhoods with different mothers and an aggressive alcoholic father. Tony looked out for Nick all through his young life.

An evening out for Nick turned into an appalling crime which set the scene for this story.

Tony and his wife Julia continue to support Nick and try to be of help wherever it is possible but this situation has made huge complications in their lives and the different ways in which they deal with what has happened.

It is a difficult subject to read but was well written. However, for me it was not a fast pace book and dragged too much in quite a few areas.

Tony has always looked out for his little brother Nick. He is married to Julia with two small children.
Nick goes out to meet a friend one night and wakes up the next morning in a hotel room, badly bruised and battered, a victim of a sexual assault.
The man who did it says it was consensual which Nick denies.
Tony has a temper and now he is angry. Angry about what has happened to Nick and angry at the person who did it.
The police are now involved but can the family hold up under the pressure.
Watch out for the twist at the end!

“Your body, your mind, they are protecting you. It is your way of easing into the knowledge of what happened. There is nothing wrong with you.”

You probably already have heard something about this book. Or at least you caught a glimpse of its beautiful cover. You haven’t? Your miss! Lucky for you, here is more about this book that probably will make you want to read it as soon as possible.

I thought a lot after finishing it. It is a book that some people (including me) can finish in two sittings, but I read it for almost a week. There are moments that I couldn’t handle, and I couldn’t keep reading after them. So much pain is infused into the story. It’s unbearable at the times. It brings me joy as well as tears. But mostly tears. This is a matter that needs more publicity, and I’m happy I came across a book that is caring and put the lights on this. And it comes at the perfect moment – Happy Pride! Be proud of who you are and don’t let people label you!

The story follows a family tragedy. Two actually.

Tony has a father he doesn’t wish his greatest enemy to have. His mom runs away with him and gives him the life he deserves. She frees him from the scare of whether his dad will be that drunk to beat them all. Tony is hoping his dad won’t have any more kids, but yet – here is Nick. Nick is his youngest half brother, way youngest. In all ways, Tony is more father to him than a brother. Can you imagine how heartbroken Tony ends up after he receives a call that his brother is a victim of a sexual assault? He is a wreck. His skin becomes too tight for him. He could have prevented this. Couldn’t he?

It’s a Friday night, and Nick has a date with a guy called Chris. The thing about Chris is that he is not really interested and always late. Like in the aforementioned night. Nick goes to the bar with his roommate Elle, and after a handsome man starts a chat with him a the bar, he takes the opportunity to have it in for Chris. He doesn’t have the faintest idea what he is signing up to.

Saturday morning. Nick wakes up. He is in an unfamiliar bed, in a hotel room. What is more disturbing is that the bedsheets are covered in blood. His blood. Although he makes it to his house, he scared the hell out of his roommates so they take him to the hospital. And this is how everything began.


There are two other main points of views that enrich the story – Julia’s, Tony’s wife and Detective Rice, the leading detective on Nick’s case. At first, I was a bit confused why the narrative is going back and forth between the years, it’s probably me, but it took me a bit of time to ‘solve’ it. However, the actual storyline is at the ‘nowadays’. It is told from Julia point of view, and it is a conversation with Detective Rice. He is terminally ill and wants to speak with her to let go of all the things that are bugging him and rest in peace. The events of Nick rape and the following events are intended as flash-backs, although this does require a little bit of polishing.

Why this story followed me during the day? What bothers me is that there is not much publicity when we are talking about people that define themselves as a part of the LGBTQ society. If a woman is a victim of domestic abuse, here, in the UK, she can go to the train station and get a free ticket to a safe place. What if the victim is a male? What if his abuser took all his money and he has nowhere to go? Nobody cares because he is a man, everybody presumes that he can hit back and deal with the situation like a man. But that’s not always the case.

That’s what people on the Internet talk about Nick. That he is a lier. He is a man, he could have fought back. He probably wanted it, that’s why he didn’t fight hard enough to break free, and now he is ashamed so he is trying to put the fault on an innocent man with a good reputation. I was infuriated. I couldn’t read further. I needed a break from human cruelty.


These bitter comments lead to Nick starting to harm himself. In the beginning, he is picking the crust on his head wound. Then he starts to pick his body hair, starting with his legs and continuing with his arms. People are simply not aware of what the impact of their words will be and how much they affect the mental health, especially when Nick mental health is already starting to go down the loop.

There is Tony on the other side. This situation is driving him insane. He wants to kill the bastard who hurts his little brother. The situation becomes even tougher when the riper gets released on bail. He can’t believe that this is possible, and he is on the edge to do something stupid. Is he brave enough to kill?

I would like to emphasize the fact that this is a debut! It is an intense book that unveils the truth behind the emotional condition of the victims of sexual assault. The impact that aftermath events and strangers’ chitchat may have over the victim. How the victim’s family handle the situation. It is a story written with care. Deeply emotional and it is obvious that the author has a vivid interest in this type of injustices and she cares about the victims.

The story can be categorised as a slow-burner. It unfolds dark secrets with every page. And don’t think you know how the book is going to end. You will be far from the truth. The conclusion stokes me so hard, I closed the book with my mouth agape, unable to believe what just happened. It is that mind-blowing!

The last time I read that good debut was 2 years ago, Samantha Downing’s debut My Lovely Wife. When I wasn’t reading it haunted my thoughts the way Mindy McGinnis’s Heroine did.

Michael Joseph Publishing has another great find and I’m delighted that they gave me the chance to read this in advance. I can’t wait for the next Wahrer book!

A well written story about a taboo subject which was very refreshing to see. It wasnt really for me and I found it a bit slow and I prefer fast paced books.

Tony and Nick’s Dad is an alcoholic and didn’t look after either of his sons as they grew up. Tony practically brought up his half brother, Nick.

Now at college, Nick goes out drinking with a friend at a bar and ends up going off with a man. This results in a horrific sexual assault on Nick.

Tony and his wife, Julia, want to look after Nick and they do all they can to keep him safe and help him during his recovery.

The story takes place in two different time periods - 2015, when the assault takes place and also in 2019.

This is a difficult read due to the nature of the story. The characters are well written and it is a story of family, protection and also lies. A great debut novel by the author.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

Every so often, I get a craving for a gritty mystery with a lot of heart at the centre of it and I think that’s what I was expecting from this one. I hadn’t heard anyone talk about it but when I saw it available to request on NetGalley, I was intrigued and I’m now delighted that I gave it a shot.

Tony has always felt responsible for his much younger half brother Nick. So when Nick is brutally assaulted, Tony’s rage and desire for revenge starts to build. As Nick descends further into despair, his attacker disputes Nick’s version of events. Tony’s wife Julia, a former lawyer, is determined to help her brother-in-law and keep her family together but she can’t help but realise the toll that it’s taking on her husband. So she is forced to ask the question -what are any of us really capable of under the right circumstances?

The novel touches on the different ways that male sexual assault victims are treated compared to their female counterparts. As a young, fit man, very few outsiders really believe that Nick could have been beaten and attacked in the way that he claims and that is obviously a huge detriment to his case. Of course, the act of not having your story believed and accepted by society can be extremely damaging to the already traumatised victim and I think it’s this that causes Nick to reach his rock bottom. I really feel that the author was trying to send a stark warning here -believe the victim, always.

Of course, the attacker has a team of family and friends who refuse to believe that their loved one could be capable of such a horrific attack. They know him as a good upstanding citizen and do all they can to prove and promote this image of him. But we never really know what people do when they’re alone or the thoughts and urges that circle their heads. Absolutely everyone has the potential for very dark hidden depths and at no point in the book did I believe that Mr Raymond Walker was innocent.

Tony takes on so much responsibility for how Nick has turned out as a young adult. Tony knows firsthand that their shared father did very little for either of his sons and it seems that Nick’s mother wasn’t a great parent either. Therefore, Tony has always taken it upon himself to parent Nick and steer him on to the right path and he has always thought of him as his first-born. Naturally, this is what leads him to become determined to get justice for Nick, even if it means destroying his own life. The idea of this assault causing irreparable, lifelong damage to Nick and the perpetrator getting away with it or not getting just punishment is something that Tony simply can’t risk happening.

Tony’s wife Julia is a smart, caring woman who really feels like she has no other choice by the end of the book. She takes an enormous risk to save her family and her husband’s reputation and I had nothing but admiration for her. After such a bleak read, I couldn’t help but smile when I realised Julia’s role in what had happened. The extent of this actually didn’t come out until the very last chapter and I loved that the author was clearly eking that out for as long as possible. What a deliciously satisfying ending!

Damage is a suspenseful drama that puts justice and the incredible bonds of family at its heart. It is a very visceral and frank betrayal of the damage that trauma can do not just for the victim but for their entire family and support network. I was thoroughly absorbed from beginning to end and I finished it with a tremendous sense of hope, which I really wasn’t expecting considering the subject matter.