It’s no secret that sequels are tough to pull off. Even harder is pivoting a sequel to focus on a minor character from a previous story and creating a conflict and storyline that both honors the new protagonist and lives up to the original.
Author Gail Ward Olmsted has done just that with her novel, Class Action: What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You, taking a minor character and bringing her to life and making you root for her as much as the protagonist of her previous books in her Miranda Quinn series. Below is my review of Class Action followed by an interview with Olmsted about her book.
Class Action plot summary
Lennon Gallagher is in her third year of law school and is busy studying for the bar, interning at a law firm, making ends meet, keeping tabs on her mother, and trying to keep her long-distance relationship with her boyfriend, Seth, afloat. In the meantime, she suspects that the main claimant in an identity theft case that she is working with could be her birth father.
This potential family reunion is put on the backburner, however, when the head of Lennon’s study group, Roger, propositions her with the answers to the test. Torn between her urge to report him and her eagerness to keep out of the scandal, Lennon finds herself being hounded by Roger who grows more and more desperate to bring her onboard and keep her under his control.
Throughout this ordeal, Lennon turns to her friend and mentor, Miranda Quinn, to help her navigate Roger’s threats and setups. She also meets a new guy who feels like a better match for her. And she comes to realize that her found family is really all she needs in her life.
The story
Class Action feels very much like the Miranda Quinn novels that came before it. It’s a legal drama with some tense situations but nothing that could be categorized as a traditional thriller. What keeps it interesting is the fast pace, the rich details, and the loveable protagonists.
Olmsted knows how to balance the work, relationships, and conflicts of her characters to create a well-balanced women’s fiction story that checks all of the boxes but also brings with it a sophistication and authenticity that heightens it from the normal tropes of the genre. The legal elements are spelled out without talking down to the reader. The dialogue is also well constructed, which is always a big plus for me. And the story juggles multiple subplots without shortchanging any one of them.
I especially love Olmsted’s ability to wrap up a story’s conflict early but then continue on to show what happens next without dragging it along longer than it needs to. It shows how much she cares about her characters and how much she has thought about what comes next for them and that their lives are more than the conflicts that the story challenges them with, making them feel real and relatable.
The characters
Lennon Gallagher was first introduced in Olmsted’s previous Miranda Quinn novel, Miranda Fights, as the bitter, neglected child of Randi’s high school friend, Charlene, who turned to a life of crime and drugs. The teen who Quinn once had to save from a shoplifting charge is now a lawyer in training, which, based on her arc in the previous novel, is not only not surprising but fitting.
Lennon still has that sharp sarcasm that readers of the series will remember from her introductory book, but she better internalizes it in order to maintain a sense of professionalism. It’s clear that her upbringing gives her a little imposter syndrome, and she does her best to camouflage her past in order to be taken seriously, but her claws come out when needed and shows her enemies that she’s not to be messed with.
Surrounding Lennon is a collection of friends, foes, and foils who both pull her into and out of trouble. They’re all very distinctly written with strong personalities, voices, and motivations. Lennon is the eye of the storm around which these characters rotate, and it’s fun to watch them bounce into and out of frame, particularly Randi who we know is always going to be an anchor for her, and it’s a lifeline that she deserves after such a chaotic childhood that easily could have led her behind bars with her mother.
The message
The story has a very strong morality message behind it. There’s no doubt that Lennon is a moral person. She was not only able to stay out of the kind of trouble that her mother got herself into but also thrive. But when you’re essentially being blackmailed, that poses tougher questions as to how to go about it while keeping yourself safe from your blackmailer and from being lumped in with them.
The found family trope also runs strong throughout the story. Lennon is hesitant to address her suspicions that the claimant she has been working with is her father. She’s also reluctant to break up with her boyfriend despite knowing that the relationship has fizzled out because, despite having gotten used to change, she dreads it. She craves stability, and by the end, she gets there. It’s just a teeter totter walk to balance that scale. But going into the legal profession, it’s clear that a lot more conflict will be coming her way.
My recommendation
I recommend Class Action to any women’s fiction readers who are looking for a mixed bag of elements in their next read. You don’t necessarily have to have read a Miranda Quinn novel in order to understand and appreciate this story, as the author does recap prior events, but I think it helps to show how far Lennon has come and what a rock Quinn is to her. But if you do start with Class Action, it’s a perfectly respectable first entry into this world.
My rating
An interview with Gail Ward Olmsted
What was it like writing an installment of your series from the point of view of a character other than Miranda Quinn? Did you self-impose any rules for how often Quinn would show up in the story?
It was important to me that Lennon grow and develop as her own woman and not become Miranda’s mini-me. Miranda clearly was a positive influence, but life is complicated and messy and there were certain challenges I wanted Lennon to attempt on her own. I did not have a hard and fast rule about how often we would hear from ‘Quinn for the Win,’ but I wanted other, less positive forces to play a significant role in the story as well.
Did you have a favorite subplot to write?
I enjoyed exploring Lennon’s attempts to identify her birth father. When I began, I wasn’t entirely sure of the results of her search, but I wanted to see how she dealt with not knowing and admitting to herself that she needed to find out the truth.
If you were magically transported into the story, what would you want to say to Lennon or any of the characters in the book?
To Lennon, I would say “Keep going and hold your head high. It gets better and your life is going to be amazing.”
To Charlene – “Be grateful your daughter has a mentor and friend like Randi Quinn.”
To Seth – “Get over yourself.”
To Erin – “Lose Lennon’s number. She deserves a real friend, not a fake one.”
To Nick – “Hold onto Lennon, and don’t let her go.”
What memories or moments come up when you think back on writing the book?
My cousin Kathy and I used to take the bus to downtown Hartford to go shopping and out to lunch. We had so much fun and thought we were so grown up at age 13!
What do you want readers to take away from the story?
Without getting too preachy, I would love readers to believe that doing the right thing, while not always easy or expedient, is always the right thing!
What is a favorite piece of feedback that you’ve received from a reader?
My dear friend and early-reader Barbara W said: “Thank you for making Lennon ethical. You realize that’s not a common trait. Of course you do.” I wanted Lennon to possess a moral core that couldn’t be broken, so I was grateful for Barb’s comment.
Will we see Lennon turn up in a future book?
Great question! Yes, the sequel, CLASS REUNION: Keep Your Friends CLOSER will be available on October 1, 2026.
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