The search for a notorious vigilante exposes the secrets between three generations of women in this propulsive novel of female resistance and rage, sweeping from contemporary L.A. to gritty, 1970s New York.

Los Angeles, 2024. After learning that her A-List actor husband sent explicit photos to multiple girls on social media, Margot Cooper runs away from the world—and the paparazzi—by fleeing to her childhood home with her teenage daughter in tow.

But home isn’t the sanctuary Margot was hoping for. In a cardboard box in the corner of the attic, she finds damning evidence of an infamous urban legend, the mysterious vigilante “Lady X”—including a blurry newspaper photo of a woman who looks an awful lot like Margot’s mother.

New York City, 1977. In the midst of an infamous summer, Ginger Daughtry and her two beloved roommates are able to shield each other from the chaos—until one of them is assaulted. Astounded by the lack of response from police, the young women decide to engage in some light payback, signing their handiwork as “Lady X.”

Soon copycats appear, and a movement inspired by acts of vandalism against terrible men spirals out of control, with criminals running amok under the guise of the enigmatic “Lady X.” When a body is found fallen—or pushed—from five stories high, the hunt reaches a boiling point.

But Lady X has vanished into thin air.

I received an advance copy of this book courtesy of the publisher. All thoughts are my own.

What a fun, angry, satisfying read this was. I am always here for a story about women taking their power back from men who tried to silence them, and this book delivers that in spades.

In 2024, Margot Cooper’s life implodes when her A-list actor husband gets caught sending explicit photos to multiple women. To escape the fallout and the paparazzi camped outside her house, she takes her teenage daughter and retreats to her childhood home. She’s hoping for peace and quiet. Instead she finds a box in the attic full of old newspaper clippings about a vigilante called Lady X, and one blurry photo that looks a whole lot like her own mother. From there the book splits into two timelines. In 1977 New York, Ginger Daughtry and her two roommates are working and trying to survive in the city that never sleeps, until one of them is assaulted and the police do basically nothing about it. So the women decide to handle it themselves, and they sign their work as Lady X. Word spreads, copycats show up, and soon the whole thing turns into a feminist movement that’s bigger and messier than anything Ginger and her group of friends intended. When someone ends up dead, falling or pushed from five stories up, the search for Lady X becomes a lot more urgent. But she’s nowhere to be found.

The structure of the story (flashing back and forth in time) really works. Each timeline informs the other, and watching the mystery of Lady X’s identity unfold across generations kept me turning pages. I’ll be honest though, the 1970s storyline is where this book really shines. Ginger and her roommates feel so specific and alive, and the author nails the grit and danger of New York in that era. There’s a real sense of place, and the danger and frustration of the women bleeds off the page. The revenge sequences in this timeline are juicy and satisfying and a little unhinged and I was here for it.

Margot’s 2024 storyline is solid too, even if it doesn’t hit quite as hard. Watching her deal with the public humiliation of her husband’s betrayal while also unraveling her mother’s secret past gives her arc real emotional weight. She’s not just a passive observer of Ginger’s story. She’s actively grappling with what it means to inherit this legacy of rage and resistance, and figuring out what she plans to do with it now that it’s landed in her lap.

Pacing wise, this book moves well. The chapters are tight, the tension builds steadily in both timelines, and I never felt like I was waiting around for something to happen. The mystery of who Lady X really is, and what happened to her, kept me engaged until the end.

If you love stories about women reclaiming their power, especially ones with a little vigilante justice and a strong sense of time and place, this is the one for you. It’s angry and satisfying in a way that made me want to stand up and cheer them on. It’s a very timely read.