The Boys' Club: A Novel

Written by Erica Katz

Narrated by Julia Whelan

Sweetbitter meets The Firm in this buzzy, page-turning debut novel—already optioned to Netflix—about sex and power in the halls of corporate America.

One of Buzzfeed's Most Anticipated Books of 2020, Cosmopolitan's Best Summer Reads of 2020, and the New York Post's 30 Best Summer Books

Alex Vogel has always been a high achiever who lived her life by the book—star student and athlete in high school, prelaw whiz in college, Harvard Law School degree. Accepting a dream offer at the prestigious Manhattan law firm of Klasko & Fitch, she promises her sweet and supportive longtime boyfriend that the job won’t change her. 

Yet Alex is seduced by the firm’s money and energy . . . and by her cocksure male colleagues, who quickly take notice of the new girl. She’s never felt so confident and powerful—even the innuendo-laced banter with clients feels fun. In the firm’s most profitable and competitive division, Mergers and Acquisitions, Alex works around the clock, racking up billable hours and entertaining clients late into the evening. While the job is punishing, it has its perks, like a weekend trip to Miami, a ride in a client’s private jet, and more expense-account meals than she can count. 

But as her clients’ expectations and demands on her increase, and Alex finds herself magnetically drawn to a handsome coworker despite her loving relationship at home, she begins to question everything—including herself. She knows the corporate world isn’t black and white, and that to reach the top means playing by different rules. But who made those rules? And what if the system rigged so that women can’t win, anyway? 

When something happens that reveals the dark reality of the firm, Alex comes to understand the ways women like her are told—explicitly and implicitly—how they need to behave to succeed in the workplace. Now, she can no longer stand by silently—even if doing what’s right means putting everything on the line to expose the shocking truth.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Aug 4, 2020
• ISBN: 9780062961518

Erica Katz

Erica Katz is the pseudonym for a graduate of Columbia Law School who began her career at a major Manhattan law firm. A native of New Jersey, she now lives in New York City, where she’s employed at another large law firm. The Boys’ Club is her first novel.

Reviews for The Boys' Club

[Wendy Snead · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

story was interesting enough for me to finish but i never really loved any of the characters. the narration was spot on.

[Victoria Edelsbrunner · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Fascinating insight into life of a female high powered lawyer and what it's like at the top of big law. Couldn't personally relate to the character's motivations but it didn't make it any less gripping.

[Nathalie Barreto · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I freaking LOVED this book. I cannot wait to see Netflix pick it. I think I’ll be reading this again.

[Tameka Dixon · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The narrator did a Great Job!!! I can relate to this story. This is something All women may go through in their careers. Alex reminds me of myself- wide eyed and naive about the world and men; getting caught up in something that is immoral and wrong- not knowing how they got themselves in the situation. Good book!!!!

[Jean DiGiacomo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It kept me guessing as to how it would end until the very last word. Quite the commentary on women in the work force.

[Hayley Stanbro · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It’s astounding how close of an experience I had at my first “real job”. Can’t wait to hear more from this author!

[Pedro Garcia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great entertainment, specially for big law professionals! Creative but real!

[Adelya Moreno · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great book!! I wish there was a second book to it!!

[louise smith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is pretty a accurate depiction of a working life I experienced at a large company in my late teens and 20s. It made me a little sad reflecting on how I could have handled myself differently. It’s a well written book and I really enjoyed it. I hope to read more by this author soon.

[Kristina Munson Hawkins · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Interesting book. While I side w Alex’s smart and strong character, I do wish something further could have been done to truly bring penance to Gary’s self-indulgent and abusive character.

[Brenner Jamie · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I enjoyed this and listened in two days. I liked the narrator, and the story was well written, and ultimately empowering for women. It painfully demonstrated how powerful men with teams of lawyers are able to get away with sexual assault. In the era of “me too”, this story is a champion.

[Surbhi KitKat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Captivating writing that takes you into the story without extraneous fluff that some less competent writers use as filler.

[Bianka Rubio · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Really enjoyed this one! The narrator was fantastic. The story arc was great and really drew me in. I binged it in two days.

[flourgirl49 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alex Vogel, first-year associate at a very large law firm, decides she wants to work in the prestigious Mergers & Acquisitions department and does a lot of foolish things in order to make that happen. It's a cutthroat world in BigLaw, and Alex finds that out the hard way. The resolution to all of the sordid things that take place seems a little unrealistic to me. I did enjoy this book, though, and anybody who is familiar with the legal world probably would, too.

[charliwriter · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fiction is not my main genre, I read. When I picked this book up, it took me a while to get through. I thought it was slow paced. Now, it could be because I wanted a break and shift in what I was reading prior to this, which was mainly young adult and adult scifi and fantasy, and I was coming off the adrenaline high.

Alex Vogel, the main character, was likeable. I enjoyed her and felt she was a solid character. I can see the change in her throughout the book, much like her family and boyfriend. She was slowly falling into the trap of the blue collar world. These changes were slow, and I liked how well written these were. As a reader, the changes in Alex started when she was getting praised from her M&A male colleagues. Then grew wild during her Miami trip. As a first-year associate, she was trying to prove herself and while doing that; she was blind about what was happening to her.

The other characters in this book are likeable or solid. They feel human and not an exaggerated superhuman. Each of these characters has a or many flaws. This falls mostly with the characters in Alex’s lawyer world. The world behind the lawyer feels real. I sadly can see a lot of this happening. Doing anything to make a client happy, a high paying client to boot, taking some advantage on new associates and their naivete of the company. Some of these characters do not feel what they are doing is wrong, they are blind, or choose not to see anything.

I feel this world to be real and can be still be happening. I can feel the genuine idea and message this book is trying to say. It is sad something terrible had to happen to Alex to get her blinders off and see what was happening within the company, people around her, and herself. I almost think maybe something about the “integration”, which they were not really, questions could have been mentioned in the beginning. I was confused over what they were for and after realizing myself what was going on in the book, I understood what the questions and answers were about.

I would recommend this book. It was a pleasant story. It gave me a Devil Wears Prada vibe.
*I received an ARC, and this is my honest opinion.

[breic-1 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Hard to read. Horrible people doing horrible things to each other. In the end, the horrible narrator's life and career are "saved"—because someone tries to rape her. This is a sick kind of moral.

[oddandbookish · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received an ARC of this book for free from the publisher (Harper Books) in exchange for an honest review.As a female law student who just took Mergers and Acquisitions this past semester, I was so excited to read this. First off, you can totally tell that an attorney wrote this book. There were so many little things that harkened back to things I have been told in law school. There is a lot of talk (especially in the beginning) about what female attorneys should wear. That is so true. At another point, Alex disagrees with something the partner says and internally struggles with whether or not she should say something. That sounds like something straight out of my Professional Responsibility class. Another thing that gets mentioned is that everyone wins a deal if they do their jobs correctly. I’ve heard that many times in law school. One last thing that gets mentioned is knowing what you don’t know. That’s another topic in Professional Responsibility. I loved all the legal touches to the book such as the deposition transcripts. The book is also divided up into the 6 parts of a failed merger. I thought that was a clever way to do that. This book is also very timely because of the #MeToo aspects. I found the book to be incredibly engaging. Once I started reading it, I just wanted to keep going and I didn’t want it to end. I was so fascinated by Alex’s world. This book is already optioned to be a Netflix film and I think this book would make a great movie. The only thing I didn’t love was that the ending was a bit anti-climactic. Since there was a lot of buildup, I was expecting something huge to happen at the end. However, I did appreciate that the ending was realistic. Overall, I really enjoyed this book, especially all the legal aspects.