In his first novel written as Elliot Wake, the former Leah Raeder returns to the Chicago in Raeder’s Black Iris(2015). There Renard “Ren” Grant shares his gender transition with millions of subscribers through his YouTube vlog, which readers experience through flashbacks. Five years have passed since then, and though Ren is mostly comfortable with his outward transformation, he is still experiencing a lot of internal struggle. His family disowned him, and his only link to the past is his roommate, Ingrid, who doesn’t approve of his sex change. Ren is a member of Black Iris, a group dedicated to seeking out and punishing sexual predators. When an assignment goes wrong, a woman accuses him of rape, and he learns that the man who raped him before his transition has returned to the area and seems to be targeting him and his friends; Ren is no longer sure who he can trust or even if he can trust himself. His hormone levels are out of whack, and it is making him increasingly volatile. Wake presents an intense, suspenseful, and unusual tale of romantic suspense that will make readers question their perceptions of gender and relationships.