{"id":5398,"date":"2026-01-15T11:17:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T11:17:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5398"},"modified":"2026-01-15T11:17:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T11:17:40","slug":"payback-by-molly-d-shepard-and-peter-j-dean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/?p=5398","title":{"rendered":"Payback by Molly D. Shepard and Peter J. Dean"},"content":{"rendered":"

A deeply human story about courage, solidarity, and what it takes to thrive in a world that isn\u2019t fair<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Samantha dares to dream of a meaningful career despite the absence of encouragement in her childhood. Her two friends, Inga and Josephine, confront their own personal and societal struggles and claim the lives they believe they deserve. Together, these three women navigate the storms of corporate life\u2014sexual assault, bullying, invisibility at work, sexism, and racism\u2014while wrestling with inner battles like overthinking, guilt, and impostor syndrome in Payback<\/em> by Molly D. Shepard and Peter J. Dean.<\/p>\n

This trio of confident women believes the world belongs to them, lifting each other through adversity and ambition alike. The book lays bare the state of corporate America, exposing how deeply ingrained inequities remain despite progress in education and awareness. As a Nigerian reader, many of the patterns felt familiar. The text captures how a hostile work environment can be sustained by a steady flame of entitled evil.<\/p>\n

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Payback<\/em> is both a story and a mirror to global workplace inequality. It\u2019s clear one of the author\u2019s primary goals is to equip women with practical ways to understand their terrain and rise above it with their dignity intact. One of its most remarkable qualities is how Payback<\/em> balances fiction with real-world wisdom\u2014delivering career strategy and survival insight through the lives of its characters.<\/p>\n

The story begins with Samantha, a young banker barely three years into her career, already learning that in corporate life, the rule is simple: participate or perish. She quickly sees the uneven playing field, how the system openly favors men. Calamity strikes early when she is sexually assaulted by the bank\u2019s Executive Vice President, a man so vile, so self-justified in his misogyny, that his existence feels like a study in corrupted power. He is the product of childhood trauma and a warped upbringing, yet his actions are not softened by sympathy.<\/p>\n

This vile man, Archer Dunne, becomes the spearhead of a culture designed to humiliate and suppress women. How he maintains a marriage is beyond comprehension. His cruelty sparks a pattern of abuse carried out by his cronies, all of it tolerated by an institution that should have known better. Among these men is Alex, whose quiet indifference is as dangerous as the perpetrators themselves. He sees the rot but chooses convenience over conscience, proving that complicity often sustains evil longer than open malice.<\/p>\n

Still, Samantha perseveres. With Inga and Josephine by her side and their recurring hangouts at the Barrister Bar serving as an emotional refuge, she learns to survive and rebuild. Through their intertwined journeys, the book captures the realities women face in corporate spaces: bullying that erodes confidence, the pressure to hide achievements to avoid envy or harassment, and the constant calculation between self-preservation and progress.<\/p>\n

The narrative also explores the mental health toll of these environments: the dismissive therapists, the normalization of burnout, and the quiet endurance required to stay sane. These are not merely problems of fiction; they remain embedded in many workplaces today.<\/p>\n

While retaining the emotional pull of a novel, the book offers the wisdom of a nonfiction guide. It explores how women must navigate oppressive systems through resilience, community, and self-awareness, and how silence can often be the greatest danger of all.<\/p>\n

The author skillfully weaves together story, strategy, and introspection, offering financial, psychological, and career insight without losing the flow of narrative. I particularly appreciated the subtle growth of self-awareness among both men and women, showing that even those complicit in injustice can learn to change.<\/p>\n

Several characters stand out for their intelligence and strength. Samantha\u2019s self-confidence anchors the novel; she never lets assault or insult stop her from advancing. She understands her own limitations and makes calculated choices to protect her future, a realism that many women will find validating.<\/p>\n

Inga\u2019s battle with impostor syndrome and Josephine\u2019s courageous confrontation after years of being overlooked demonstrate that transformation begins the moment one decides to speak up. Josephine\u2019s boss, whose eyes are opened to his own bias, represents a hopeful example of allyship and reform. The recurring message is powerful: women often get what they want when they ask for it strategically, clearly, and without apology. Thematically, Payback<\/em> excels at showing how women can find balance between self-protection and purpose, between ambition and mental well-being.<\/p>\n

At times, Samantha\u2019s voice feels overly formal, as though she\u2019s reasoning straight from a textbook, but perhaps that\u2019s part of her logic-driven mind at work. There are hints of Samantha\u2019s darker thoughts and ideas for what vengeance could look like, but the book never quite commits to that kind of moral tension.<\/p>\n

Archer Dunne\u2019s evil is clear, but we miss out on some of his psychology. I also expected a slightly more dramatic sense of \u201cpayback\u201d out of a story with this title, but perhaps that restraint mirrors real corporate life, where justice comes not with spectacle but through exposure, accountability, and quiet ruin. Still, its realism is undeniable. Evil doesn\u2019t always collapse under a thunderstorm; sometimes it fades through time, accountability and exposure.<\/p>\n

Payback<\/em> is a globally relevant story, one that any woman, regardless of geography or culture, will find herself reflected in. It\u2019s not just about women in corporate America; it\u2019s about every woman who has ever been told to shrink to survive.<\/p>\n

This book would make great fodder for discussion in workplaces, universities, and policy circles. It can spark real dialogue about what healthy, equitable work cultures should look like, and it is for all those willing to examine their role in sustaining or dismantling bias. Payback<\/em> is a novel that empowers while it educates, a story that proves every woman deserves not just to survive her career but to thrive in it boldly and without fear.<\/p>\n

The post Payback by Molly D. Shepard and Peter J. Dean<\/a> appeared first on Independent Book Review<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A deeply human story about courage, solidarity, and what it takes to thrive in a world that isn\u2019t fair Samantha dares to dream of a meaningful career despite the absence of encouragement in her childhood. Her two friends, Inga and Josephine, confront their own personal and societal struggles and claim the lives they believe they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5398","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bookreviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5398"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5398"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5398\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5398"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5398"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}