All We Hide

by Robyn Gigl

A trans detective working for the District Attorney’s Office takes on the twisty, poignant cold case murder of a local trans woman, and her investigation unravels the threads of a mystery that’s haunted her since she was a child: her mother’s disappearance.

When Lieutenant Lauren Kelly is exiled to the newly created Homicide Cold Case Unit at the DA’s office, she knows they’re sticking her there as punishment, hoping she does nothing for the next two years until she hits twenty-five years on the force and can quietly retire. That way, no one can claim they discriminated against the only trans detective in Donn County.

With her ex-detective father declining with Alzheimer’s, Lauren has a lot on her plate already—but with regards to the cold cases, she has other plans. She reopens the investigation into the death of Sherry Darling, a trans sex worker she went to high school with. As Lauren looks deeper into the events surrounding Sherry’s murder, she uncovers evidence of a cover up with implications beyond anything she could have ever imagined . . . and she becomes more and more convinced that what happened to Sherry is somehow tied to why her own mother disappeared when she was a child.

This brand new investigation from the acclaimed author of the Erin McCabe series is a nesting doll of pulse-pounding mysteries that dig deep into bias, corruption, and local scandal.

Genres: Adult

456 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication August 4, 2026

About the author

Robyn Gigl is an author, attorney and advocate. TIME Magazine selected her novel, SURVIVOR’S GUILT, as one of the 100 best Mystery and Thriller books of All Time. Her first novel, BY WAY OF SORROW, was called “quietly groundbreaking” by the NY Times and named one of the best crime novels of 2021 by CrimeReads. SURVIVOR’S GUILT was also named one of the best crime novels of 2022 by the NY Times, and won the Joseph Hansen Award for LGBTQ+ Crime Writing. Robyn’s third novel, REMAIN SILENT, was published in May 2023 and was also nominated for the Joseph Hansen Award. Her fourth novel, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH, was published in June 2024 and the NY Times called Erin McCabe "one of the best series characters around."

Robyn can be found on X @robyngigl on Instagram @robyngigl and at robyngigl.com.

Reviews

[Gabe · Rating 5 out of 5]

All We Hide by Robyn Gigl is a mystery/police procedural novel that follows transgender detective Lauren Kelly in her new role investigating cold cases for the county DA's office. The county she lives in is very conservative so she is shunned once she comes out. For a while she is relegated to serving subpoenas and then is moved to the the non-existent cold case unit in her office's attempt to freeze her out. This gives her the opportunity though to investigate a cold case murder involving her former high school classmate and trans sex worker Sherry Darling. As Kelly's investigation continues, she uncovers a conspiracy within the county government that has been ongoing for decades and involved her father, a retired detective in the same department who is suffering from dementia. While Kelly unravels the conspiracy, she begins to find answers to questions from her past and learns that many things she grew up believing to be true aren't.

I loved reading this mystery and was captivated throughout the book by Kelly's process and determination to find answers for Sherry Darling, herself, and her community of fellow law enforcement officers and their families. There were moments where I felt certain I solved the mystery but then the book would throw another twist at the reader. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy less gruesome mysteries and more police procedurals as well as to fans of Blue Bloods. This book was a great read and I look forward to reading future books by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not normally a reader of police procedurals but the idea of a trans detective protagonist is so cool that I decided to give this book a go. I'm glad to report that the main character Lauren is the highlight of the book for me, and a wonderful character to follow around. Lauren just feels very *real*. She is tough, courageous, definitely a badass but is at the same time very reflective and vulnerable. I love how unflinchingly honest Gigl is about the realities of being a trans woman - the discrimination that Lauren experiences in the book is genuinely enraging to read, while the real and undeniable impacts of her transition on her ex-wife and daughter were depicted with a raw honesty. At the same time, despite all these challenges, Lauren also shows us the very necessity of transitioning and to carve out a way forward to live authentically. In particular I appreciated Lauren's insights about gender - her comment (to paraphrase) that gender is what's between our ears, not what's between our legs, is something that I will remember from this novel.

I must admit that some of the plot details in this police procedural went over my head but this is probably the fault of this reader rather than the author. I can see that the twin murder mysteries are intricately woven and this book will probably scratch the brains of readers who like complex and detailed crime-solving - Gigl really gets into the nitty gritty of the cases, and her career as a lawyer really came through here. Personally I found the Sherry Darling case more interesting than the case involving Lauren's mum's murder and I docked a star because the storyline of Lauren's mum didn't really grip me, although of course it was important to Lauren's character.

I found the ending to be emotionally satisfying, and I love the central message of this story: even when we can't fully heal from the past, even when we don't believe in a just world, justice - however imperfect - is still worth pursuing.

Overall, this is a well-written, heartfelt, meticulously plotted murder mystery novel with a great main character.

[MichiruEll · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many thanks to Netgalley and Soho Press for providing me with an e-ARC for review.
4.25 stars

In this story, we follow Lauren Kelly, a lieutenant for the DA’s office of a fictional large city in the US. Lauren is a trans woman working in a very transphobic environment, where basically no one supports her.

As part of her new position as a lieutenant, she picks up the cold case murder of a trans woman that happened 20 years ago, where it seems the cops – including Lauren’s own father – botched the job and may have tried to frame someone for the crime. As the story progresses, an additional, much more personal case becomes mixed in with the first. Lauren has to try to untangle the corruption and lies in the cases, and try to find allies to help her solve this case.

Beyond the standard crime-investigation novel, this story also features a more personal look at the life of a trans woman who came out later in life. She navigates complicated relationships with her father, who has advanced Alzheimer, her brother, who is a Hollywood star, her ex-wife and her daughter, who struggles with her parent’s transition.

This novel was very engaging and well written. I never wanted to put it down, even though it’s quite a long book. I really enjoyed the main character’s voice (the book is written in first person). One thing that felt a bit weaker in the writing was in more genuinely emotional moments, where I didn’t always feel the feelings Lauren said she had. From time to time I also struggled with keeping track of some of the characters/suspects as a number of them had similar names.

But in general, I recommend this story. It was a good time and an original perspective for a detective novel.

[Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually a bit fan of detective stories (with the exception of horror), but Lauren has gotten a place in my heart. To be yourself, unapologetically, in a place where you are not allowed to exist is a beautiful thing.
This book gave me such a strong feeling of community. Queer people, sticking together, to make the world a better place.
It's also a story of family and how prejudices can tear them apart, but also of how one is rarely completely a bad person. It's a beautiful story filled with self-discovery and forgiveness. These kinds of books make the world a better place.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

[Katie Gisondi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gorgeous story. Huge fan of Gigl.