This Side of the Law
Tamar Anolic
Independently Published (2025)
ISBN: 979-8313703046
Reviewed by Demetria Head for Reader Views (06/2025)
Tamar Anolic’s This Side of the Law is a legal drama that centers on Jamie Jefferson. She’s an Assistant District Attorney in New York City’s Special Victims Unit. Known for her fierce commitment to justice and her remarkable conviction rate, Jamie finds herself fueled by her own unresolved past trauma as a survivor of sexual assault. She often thrives on control and structure- that is until she’s assigned to prosecute a rape case tied to one of Russian mob boss Peter Federov’s notorious nightclubs.
Federov is well-connected and looms large in New York’s underworld. But it’s his sixteen-year-old grandson, Alexander, a witness to the assault, who begins to unravel Jamie’s personal and professional life. She grows increasingly affectionate toward Alexander, and what begins as a professional obligation spirals into a forbidden connection that could cost her everything.
To further complicate things, Rostislav Gutin, an Assistant U.S. Attorney with a vendetta against both Jaime and the Federov family, begins a relentless pursuit. Gutin is ambitious, calculating, and unapologetically vindictive—especially when he uncovers Jamie’s misconduct. His pursuit is not just about justice; it’s personal. Jamie finds herself fighting not only for her career and reputation but for her freedom and survival, just as Gutin begins to tighten his net.
Tamar Anolic seems to write with deliberate intensity. The tone is confessional, sometimes self-critical, and it captures Jamie’s inner torment with such raw vulnerability. The narrative brings readers inside Jamie’s psyche as she goes through a minefield of emotional triggers, courtroom dynamics, and dangerous liaisons. The pacing is balanced and allows for an unflinching look at both the legal system and the people entangled in it. It paints a picture that feels authentic in its messiness and moral ambiguity.
Anolic has skillfully rendered the supporting characters as well: Alexander, though young, is perceptive and emotionally complex, desperate to escape his grandfather’s shadow. Gutin is an ideal antagonist—not just a prosecutor, but a man obsessed with dismantling Jamie’s life. Even Jamie’s colleagues, judges, and victims feel real, each adding texture to a world where justice and self-interest are constantly clashing.
The themes that come to the surface cover issues of power, gender, trauma, and consent. These themes are threaded tightly throughout the plot. Anolic does not offer easy answers, but instead explores the uncomfortable gray areas of human behavior and legal ethics. Jamie’s story is one of downward spiral, yes—but it’s also a portrait of a woman whose strength and sense of justice are constantly undermined by the very systems she serves or has been loyal to.
Tamar Anolic’s This Side of the Law will appeal to readers who appreciate flawed protagonists and gritty legal realism. It belongs on the shelf beside Defending Jacob by William Landay and Anatomy of a Scandal by Sarah Vaughan—novels that explore how quickly the line between justice and personal ruin can blur.