Published in 2026, In Her Defense is a psychological legal thriller by British author Philippa Malicka. Malicka, an alumna of the creative writing program at the University of East Anglia, drew from her background in journalism to inform the novel’s focus on a highly publicized trial involving celebrity figures. As of this writing, the novel was longlisted for a Bridport First Novel Award and was selected as a Reese’s Book Club Pick.

The novel centers around a libel trial between celebrity Anna Finbow and Jean Guest, the therapist of Anna’s daughter, Mary, whom Anna claims has been ensnared in a cult by Jean. Anna’s former aide, Augusta “Gus” Bird, whose personal secrets reveal the truth about Jean’s unconventional practice, relates the events of the trial. Malicka uses this story to explore Navigating the Boundaries Between Friendship and Therapy, Weaponizing Social Class as a Tool for Exploitation, and The Limits of the Law in Addressing Injustice.

This guide is based on the Kindle edition of the novel, published by Scribner in 2026.

Content Warning: The source material and this guide feature depictions of mental illness, emotional abuse, physical abuse, substance use, addiction, antigay bias, pregnancy loss, suicidal ideation, death by suicide, animal death, child abuse, sexual content, rape, sexual harassment and violence, cursing, and disordered eating.

Plot Summary

The novel utilizes a braided narrative structure, alternating between the events of the Guest v. Finbow trial and Augusta “Gus” Bird’s recollections, which include her time in Rome, two years before the trial, and her time in Stoke-on-Trent, six months before the trial. For clarity, this summary will recount the narrative in chronological order.

Gus, an aspiring ceramicist, is selected for a residency at Creta in Rome, where she struggles to maintain her meager finances. She makes the acquaintance of Mary Finbow, a student artist at the prestigious Melrose Academy. Gus is instantly smitten when Mary chooses her as her portraiture model for the term. This develops into a crush, which Gus desperately hopes Mary will return as they grow closer. Around the same time, Gus meets a therapist named Jean Guest, and they strike up a friendship. Jean informally conducts therapeutic exercises with Gus, prompting Gus to confide to Jean her crush on Mary and the traumatic details of her childhood, in which her conservative parents forced an end to an early relationship with her schoolmate, Polly.

Gus discovers that Mary’s mentor, artist Lawrence Melrose, is physically and verbally abusing Mary. When Gus reports the incident to Jean, Jean encourages Gus to bring Mary to her for counseling, suggesting that Mary will verbalize her feelings for Gus after she undergoes therapy. As Gus’s residency winds to a close, she becomes increasingly reliant on Jean, believing she must act on her crush on Mary to extend her stay in Rome. After Jean complains that Gus is taking advantage of her expertise as a therapist to indulge her fantasies, Gus enters formal therapy with Jean, knowing it will leave her indebted, since she cannot afford Jean’s services.

At an end-of-year party, Gus discovers that Mary and Lawrence are romantically involved. Gus confronts Mary, who reveals that Lawrence sexually abused her as a child. Mary’s parents perpetuated the abuse by forcing Mary to attend the school where Lawrence taught. This galvanizes Gus to bring Mary to Jean, believing Jean can offer Mary a safe space to hide from Lawrence before they plan their life together. When Gus returns from a brief trip to Venice, she is shocked to discover that Jean and Mary have disappeared from Rome.

Mary sends out an email to her family and friends, including Gus, explaining that she needs to perform a healing separation from them in order to recover from the trauma she experienced as a child. A confused Gus visits Jean, who claims that Gus’s obsession with Mary is scaring her away. This convinces Gus to distance herself from Mary. Jean influences her to settle in Stoke-on-Trent, where Mary’s mother, Anna, owns a ceramics factory. Outraged over Mary’s email, Anna writes a scathing newsletter in which she accuses Jean of leading a cult and planting false memories in her clients’ minds to gain their loyalty. Jean responds with a lawsuit, kicking off a months-long litigation that eventually goes to trial.

Jean convinces Gus to infiltrate Anna’s household and collect evidence that will help her case. Gus initially complies out of loyalty, but as she gets to know Anna, she grows more sympathetic to her and considers confessing the truth about her relationship with Mary. Gus is eventually exposed at a party when Lawrence recognizes her as Mary’s model. Gus realizes that Anna’s claim is true: Jean inserted the false memory that Anna perpetuated Lawrence’s abuse of Mary; in truth, Anna knows nothing about Mary’s abuse. Gus offers to testify on Anna’s behalf.

The trial leans in Jean’s favor, especially after it becomes clear that Anna was a neglectful parent. Anna’s legal team relies on Gus to provide clear evidence that Jean inserts false memories into her clients’ minds. However, Gus becomes reluctant to testify, feeling loyalty to Jean. The legal team offers to share Mary’s whereabouts with her to help her make her decision. When she sees a now-pregnant Mary, Gus realizes how much Jean had led her on with the promise of reuniting with Mary.

Jean threatens Gus about taking the witness stand, but Gus reveals that she has been recording their interaction, giving evidence of Jean tampering with witnesses. Gus blackmails Jean into distancing herself from Mary in exchange for her cooperation. After Jean agrees, Gus sabotages Anna’s case by painting herself as an unreliable witness. She reasons that this will give Mary freedom from both Lawrence and Jean, even though the court rules in Jean’s favor.

Several months later, Gus’s prediction proves true. Mary moves into new accommodations with her newborn child and begins to repair her relationship with Anna. Lawrence is implicated in the abuse of several more students and is removed from his position at the academy. Gus realizes that, because of her crush, she had idealized Mary. When she connects with Lucy Ayres, the mother of an ex-client of Jean’s who died by suicide, Gus offers to give her the incriminating recording of Jean, securing justice for Lucy’s daughter.