This month, Marilee Albert is on the podcast; she’s a native Angeleno! I have to admit Marilee’s title pulled me in. Her new book is He’s Gotta Go. It’s a domestic thriller about marriage, money, and the fantasies we nurture just to survive another school pickup line. We chat about what it’s like to write collaboratively, solo, and whether none of that matters as AI comes for us all.

Let’s chat. I have *so* many questions. You can find Marilee Albert: Website: marileealbertbooks.com Instagram: @marileealbert Goodreads: Marilee_Albert

Authors & Books in the podcast: Marilee Albert’s books He’s Gotta Go (Rare Bird Books, November 17, 2026) Bookshop | Amazon

The Tutor (Rare Bird Books, 2019) Bookshop | Amazon

Books and writers Marilee cites as influences: Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn Bookshop | Amazon

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins Bookshop | Amazon

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides Bookshop | Amazon

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White Bookshop | Amazon

Other authors mentioned: Patricia Highsmith, Michael Connelly, Harlan Coben, and Iris Murdoch.

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She was fifteen. She thought she had a boyfriend. What she had was a trafficker. And by the time she understood the difference, her life had changed forever. In this episode of Politics of Justice, we’re diving into Chapters 3–6 of Caged, my Casey Cort legal thriller, and examining how a teenage girl becomes a victim of sex trafficking. Grooming doesn’t always begin with threats or violence. Sometimes it begins with attention. Affection. Someone making a vulnerable girl feel wanted. That’s what makes it so insidious. We’re talking about the manipulation, the exploitation, and the adults who see a child as an opportunity to make money.

And we’re confronting a question that runs throughout Caged: Why are we so quick to judge exploited girls and so slow to hold the people exploiting them accountable?

Caged by Aime Austin | Chapters 3–6

️ Politics of Justice — Where crime fiction meets the realities of the American justice system.

Content warning: This episode discusses the grooming and sex trafficking of a minor.

Caged is available on major ebook platforms, including Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. http://ebooks.buzz/caged New to the series? Begin with Book 1: Judged http://ebooks.buzz/judged

About Politics of Justice: Politics of Justice is a long-form video series where I revisit my novels and unpack the personal history, legal realities, and systemic issues woven into the fiction. These conversations explore justice, race, family, power, and the cost of survival—on the page and in real life.

About Aime Austin: I’m Aime Austin, a legal thriller author and former trial lawyer. I write the Casey Cort and Nicole Long series, stories centered on women navigating broken systems and the moral complexity of justice. My work blends fiction, lived experience, and legal insight.

Find Me Online: Website: https://aimeaustin.com Substack: https://legalthrillerauthor.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legalthrillerauthor/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@legalthrillerauthor TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@legalthrillerauthor Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/aime-austin Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/legalthrillerauthor

Listen & Subscribe: This series is also available in audio at A Time to Thrill – wherever you get your podcasts.

Music by John Bartmann https://youtube.com/johnbartmannmusic CC0

Caged: When Telling the Truth Changes Everything | Chapters 1 & 2 We’re moving on to the third book in my Politics of Justice series: Caged. This time, the story begins in Cleveland in January 1999, with a funeral and a secret. Stephanie Wells has been waiting for the right moment to tell her mother what happened to her. With her stepfather finally dead, she thinks she might have a chance to be heard. But telling the truth and being believed are two very different things. One of the questions running through Caged is what happens when the people and institutions responsible for protecting the vulnerable fail them. What happens when family loyalty matters more than the truth? When the people who should intervene look the other way? And what does justice look like when the damage has already been done? Those questions sit at the heart of this book and, in many ways, the entire Politics of Justice series. In today’s video, I’m reading the first two chapters of Caged. We’re just getting started, but these opening scenes establish some of the conflicts that will shape the story.

A question for you:

Why do you think people sometimes find it easier to reject an uncomfortable truth than to confront someone they love?

Caged is available on major ebook platforms, including Apple Books, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble. http://ebooks.buzz/caged New to the series? Begin with Book 1: Judged http://ebooks.buzz/judged

About Politics of Justice: Politics of Justice is a long-form video series where I revisit my novels and unpack the personal history, legal realities, and systemic issues woven into the fiction. These conversations explore justice, race, family, power, and the cost of survival—on the page and in real life.

About Aime Austin: I’m Aime Austin, a legal thriller author and former trial lawyer. I write the Casey Cort and Nicole Long series, stories centered on women navigating broken systems and the moral complexity of justice. My work blends fiction, lived experience, and legal insight.

Find Me Online: Website: https://aimeaustin.com Substack: https://legalthrillerauthor.substack.com Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/legalthrillerauthor/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@legalthrillerauthor TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@legalthrillerauthor Bookbub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/aime-austin Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/legalthrillerauthor

Listen & Subscribe: This series is also available in audio at A Time to Thrill – wherever you get your podcasts.

Music by John Bartmann https://youtube.com/johnbartmannmusic CC0