She’s told to “give it to Buckley straight.” And she does but immediately regrets it. For example, when meeting Buckley-Jack’s teenage daughter-for the first time, Charlotte (an old friend of Jack’s who is unafraid of dropping a f-bomb or two) tells Olivia to treat Buckley like an adult. But once it’s explained to her, she tries to be sensitive. Sure, she doesn’t always understand social cues or the other person’s point of view off the bat. She had her path to follow, and he had his. In her relationship with Jack, Olivia knew that they weren’t right for each other. Starting with Olivia-the tough attorney who years ago chose her own way. Burke has hammered another nail in the coffin of “wimpy women characters” with every female character in this novel. That quote kept flitting through my head as I read The Ex. In his now-famous 2006 Equality Now speech, writer and director Joss Whedon posed this question to himself, pretending to be a reporter: “So why do you write these strong women characters?” To which he answered himself, “Because you’re still asking that question.” In Olivia Randall, Burke has created a main character with flaws aplenty-Olivia could easily be accused of sleeping around, using unfair tactics, and being rather abrasive-but she has enough heart and verve to inspire readers to keep the pages turning. Is the man she once loved capable of murder after all?Īlafair Burke’s Edgar-nominated novel The Ex is a layered and engaging read. But as the circumstances surrounding the shooting become clearer, Olivia’s faith in Jack becomes murkier. She decides to represent him-partly because her gut tells her he’s innocent and partly to assuage the guilt that has gnawed at her for years after their break-up. Despite all the evidence to the contrary, she knows Jack couldn’t have done such a horrible, violent act. So he has motive, opportunity, and a growing pile of evidence against him. Gunshot residue is found on his shirt, video surveillance has him in the area at the time of the shooting, and one of the victims was involved in the death of Jack’s wife. Then, Jack is accused of a multiple-victim shooting.

The fallout from that break-up has haunted each one of them for years, but they have kept their distance. Olivia Randall, a top New York defense attorney, and Jack Harris, bestselling fiction author, broke it off years ago-before either of them were at the top of their game. It is nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Novel.

The Ex by Alafair Burke follows a woman who agrees to help an old boyfriend who has been framed for murder-but she begins to suspect that she is the one being manipulated.

The ex by alafair burke