First Street

by Catherine McKenzie, Jasmine Guillory, Elyssa Friedland

As four young clerks dive headfirst into the world of the Supreme Court, they’re forced to face the high-pressure decisions and shocking secrets that could make or break their careers. (8 episodes total.)

Over their year as clerks, four recent law school graduates—Charlotte, Odessa, Gabriel and Jack—will influence the way our biggest issues of today—from the death penalty to voting rights—are settled, all while navigating love, life, and what justice means to them.

Genres: Fiction, Romance, Audiobook, Contemporary

Audiobook

First published January 8, 2020

About the author

Catherine McKenzie was born and raised in Montreal, Canada. A graduate of McGill in History and Law, Catherine practiced law in Montreal for twenty years before retiring to write full time. An avid runner and skier, she's the author of numerous bestsellers including HIDDEN, FRACTURED, THE and the GOOD LIAR. I'LL NEVER TELL was a #1 Amazon Bestseller, a Globe & Mail and Toronto Star Bestseller, shortlisted for the Hugh McLennan Prize for Fiction.

On April 30, 2024 Catherine will publish the first in a new funny mystery series named EVERY TIME I GO ON VACATION, SOMEONE DIES as Catherine Mack.

Reviews

[Norma ~ The Sisters · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping, dramatic, and absolutely unputdownable! Suits anyone?

FIRST STREET was such a fun, excellent, fast-paced, and intriguing story that revolves around four recent law school graduates--Charlotte, Odessa, Gabriel and Jack. They are all clerks for Justices at the Supreme Court and they also happen to all reside together. It is packed full of humour, personal drama, political intrigue with a touch of romance and suspense to it. I thought the legal side of the storyline was extremely easy to follow along with and didn’t lose me at all. Sometimes these types of stories I find go way over my head when legal jargon is thrown at us but I definitely didn’t find that to be the case with this one.

I absolutely loved all the characters and their personal stories and thought that they all brought something unique to the storyline. Episode 1 starts off with the writing by the extremely talented Catherine McKenzie and then each episode thereafter is written by a different author. Catherine McKenzie is seen again though in a later episode. I thought each episode flowed extremely well into the next and wasn’t choppy at all.

I love the format and thought this was such an ingenious collaboration of fantastic authors created by Catherine McKenzie. Written by Catherine McKenzie, Jasmine Guillory, Elyssa Friedland, Shawn Klomparens, Randy Susan Meyers, Kermit Roosevelt III. Audiobook is narrated by Janina Edwards.

As I was reading this I couldn’t help but think of the TV series, Suits. I definitely think that this legal drama would also make for an extremely entertaining show that would be well perceived by many and liked as well.

What is a Serial Box you might ask? (I actually had no clue!) How do you go about reading this book? So what I gather is that you download the Serial Box app and then you can listen to it or read it like I did. There are 8 episodes in total with Episode 5 releasing on Feb. 5/20 and then each episode thereafter releases weekly on Wednesdays.

Below is the description from their website.

What's Serial Box?
Addictive, well-produced sci-fi and fantasy that you can listen to or read. Delivered to your device in bite-sized chunks.

Thank you so much to Serial Box for inviting me to read a complimentary e-copy of this book! I thoroughly enjoyed the reading experience. I am so looking forward to Season 2 because well Season 1 ended on a major cliffhanger that I definitely need to know what happens next. Would highly recommend!!

[Catherine McKenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So excited for this new joint project with some awesome writers! So much fun to write and read! Please add it to your to-read list and look for it in January!

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually don't read books set in a legal environment, they tend to be too complicated and I don't like that. But when I was approached to read an advanced copy of a new book by Catherine McKenzie, who I love, I decided to give the book a chance, and I'm glad I did.

The characters are well defined, and it's a really fast-paced read. I really like Suits, the TV series, and it felt like it, but with Supreme Court clerks.

I can't wait to read the sequel, because the book ends with a major cliffhanger, and a lot of unanswered questions.

Many thanks to Serial Box for the complimentary e-copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

[Amy! · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! I was not sure about a serial about lawyers (though I do love a good lawyer TV show), but Jasmine Guillory wrote one of the episodes (the most romance centric one, natch) and convinced me to give it a go. I really liked all the main characters except the one who is such a tool you're supposed to hate him, and I'm very outraged at the way this season ended! I am hopeful that there will be more!

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guess what? This is the first season. Which means that there are cliff hangers at the end. I realized that in part 7 and now wonder when the second season is coming out. So many things I need to find out! I love listening to the four supreme court clerks, learning their backgrounds and temperaments. I can't wait to listen to the next season!

[Cmoore · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF'd... I suppose that there was nothing wrong with the book... it's just that nothing about it interested me, not the story or the characters although I only got a few chapters into the book, I figured I had given the author plenty of time to set the hook and draw me in... So the book was definitely not for me!
As a side note Janina Edwards narration was fine!

[Rochelle Weinstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far I'm three episodes in and LOVING the writing and characters. Stay tuned.....

[Grace]

Oh shit it’s a rom com book about law clerks!!!!!

[Devin Milford · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first serial book and I loved it! It was a challenge to wait for a new chapter each week, but I appreciated that it kept me from binging the whole book!

[Rafa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great read/audio book! It’s very reminiscent of Suits, which I like. The sad part is that there are only 8 episodes/chapters for the first season. Many others have 15-16.

I’m hoping for a second season soon! I can’t get enough!!

[Darlene Golbitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting and compelling judicial drama, well presented as a serial podcast. I enjoyed listening and am anxiously awaiting more episodes!

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have really mixed feelings about this book.

The "serial" format, of releasing a chapter a week just isn't for me. It was driving me nuts to have the story spread out like that and I started several weeks in to the release so it was less than 8 weeks of one chapter at a time I faced.

But the final chapter, filled with more cliffhangers than I can count assures that I'll return for "season 2" without a doubt.

Each chapter was written by a different author and for the most part that was seamless, though there were a few times I was really reminded of that fact, though now, many weeks later, I can't put my finger on the specifics.

Finally, such a minor detail but... Bethany Beach is NOT "run down and tacky"! I love when I read books with local references but not when they are insulting to places I love.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love behind the scenes looks of any industry or community — it’s why I like shows like the West Wing Grey’s Anatomy and the Newsroom along with books like Daisy Jones & The Six and the movie Almost Famous. So the premise of First Street immediately intrigued me and it definitely delivered in terms of the minutiae and drama that could possibly occur behind the scenes of the Supreme Court. And while the ending did seem to tie up a few loose ends there were still several that I had expected the book to address — such as the identity of the leaker — that went unanswered. I understand the authors might have left that open for the possibility of a sequel and that the tv show based on this book might have gone a bit further so I might have to watch it for any sense of closure which, if that pans out, would be excellent market manipulation on Serial Box’s part.

[Maddie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best way I can describe this book is Grey’s Anatomy in a legal setting. The story follows four law clerks of the Supreme Court as they navigate their clerk interviews, Supreme Court cases, and interpersonal relationships. Each chapter is written by a different author and the chapters flowed very nicely together. I loved how inclusive the characters were and that they had diverse identities. The ending felt too abrupt to me, which may have in part been because I read on my kindle and didn’t realize I was toward the end of the book. The book left a lot of things unanswered, which leaves me feeling like I’m waiting for the second season to come out.

[Gio · Rating 2 out of 5]

o livro é escrito por várias autoras o que fez ele parecer um grande trabalho de escola em que cada uma fez o seu e juntaram tudo no final

1-4: quase me fizeram desistir desse livro, o Gabriel é o personagem mais chato, zero carisma e o enredo mais desinteressante do livro todo

5-8: o ritmo melhorou absurdamente. Os dramas e conflitos começaram a fazer mais sentido, mas no 8 parece que entraram em desespero pra tentar deixar ganchos pra uma sequência e simplesmente escolheram todas as opções disponíveis

o livro não é ruim, o maior problema dele é a falta de consistência entre seus capítulos 🤷‍♀️

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

We meet this group when the come to First Street to interview to become clerks for the Supreme Court. Some of these characters become housemates and others we only see through the lens of work but we learn more about them and their challenges as we navigate their first six months working in the highest court in the land. While I feel like I do not know any of the characters intimately, I do know them better than when I started and I like them all.

[Rachel Gasseling · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the environment more than I anticipated. I usually don’t care for legal stuff but thought this was entertaining. I enjoyed the plot but overall it was just okay. Not my cup of tea, but doesn’t mean it isn’t someone else’s.

[Michael Mercer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don't like the cliffhanger ending. Otherwise the book and narration were pretty good.

[Karen Townsend · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick enjoyable read. was NOT prepared for it to be a cliffhanger.

[Emma · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[Marti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was truly enjoying this little piece of informative fiction until I got to the end. Either there is more that I don't have or it ended way too abruptly for me.

[Victoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

This gets two stars because the law is pretty on point here. The rest is bad.

[Mel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. hopefully second season because I need to know what happens with Russo and Odessa and Harry!

[Akua Addo · Rating 2 out of 5]

okay this was kinda incredibly boring 😭 maybe i had too much high hopes bc the topic interested me but i feel like almost nothing happend? like the ending was kinda flat to me but idk