Cole goes to the assistance of a woman being gang raped and winds up in a cargo container for his troubles. At the same time, young reporter Rochelle joins the crew of a cargo ship as she tries to find trafficked children and on the other side of the world, Abou loses his father when a local warlord decides to make an example. Weaving together these seemingly disconnected story-lines into a seamless whole, is one of the highlights of the this well written thriller set in the seamy worlds of child trafficking and the horrors of war.
Ken Hollern has written a gripping story that doesn't flinch from it's dark subject matter. The characters are well realised and believable and there is no attempt to sugar coat the darkness that the story shines a light on. This is not a book that I would have selected on my own, but I'm glad I got a chance to read it. It's well written and gripping from the off. Despite confusion about the seemingly unconnected plots, I eagerly read this book to the end.
It's expertly crafted and the only niggle I have, is the supernatural ability of the Captain to discover things that he should have little knowledge of. The other niggle is the inability of people to remain undiscovered on a container ship. These things are huge, how did the Captain know that he had Cole as a guest the moment he broke out?
But despite those minor niggles, this is a superb read and I thoroughly recommend it. Be advised however, the subject matter is extremely dark, dealing not only with trafficking but rape, gang rape, murder and child suicide. If you can look past the grim aspects of the plot, there is a lot to recommend this book.
*****
Ken Hollern has written a gripping story that doesn't flinch from it's dark subject matter. The characters are well realised and believable and there is no attempt to sugar coat the darkness that the story shines a light on. This is not a book that I would have selected on my own, but I'm glad I got a chance to read it. It's well written and gripping from the off. Despite confusion about the seemingly unconnected plots, I eagerly read this book to the end.
It's expertly crafted and the only niggle I have, is the supernatural ability of the Captain to discover things that he should have little knowledge of. The other niggle is the inability of people to remain undiscovered on a container ship. These things are huge, how did the Captain know that he had Cole as a guest the moment he broke out?
But despite those minor niggles, this is a superb read and I thoroughly recommend it. Be advised however, the subject matter is extremely dark, dealing not only with trafficking but rape, gang rape, murder and child suicide. If you can look past the grim aspects of the plot, there is a lot to recommend this book.
*****