“An absolutely first-rate thriller.” —New York Times Book ReviewSeattle PD sex-crimes detective Livia Lone knows the monsters she hunts. Sold by her Thai parents along with her little sister, Nason; abused by the men who trafficked them; marooned in America…the only thing that kept Livia alive as a teenager was her determination to find Nason.Livia has never stopped looking. And she copes with … stopped looking. And she copes with her failure to protect her sister by doing everything she can to put predators in prison.
Or, when that fails, by putting them in the ground.
But when a fresh lead offers new hope of finding Nason and the men who trafficked them both, Livia will have to go beyond just being a cop. Beyond even being a vigilante. She’ll have to relive the horrors of the past. Take on one of the most powerful men in the US government. And uncover a conspiracy of almost unimaginable evil.
In every way, it’s an unfair fight. But Livia has two advantages: her unending love for Nason—
And a lifelong lust for vengeance.
more
Very high on my list if not the best characterization of the lost nature of man and our struggle to make sense of a twisted world of our own making. Holden is an all-time original. I believe it’s better when you’re older although because he’s a teen they have you read it in high school. In my forties I felt it on a deeper level of consciousness. Highly highly highly recommended.
I literally stayed up all night reading this book. This book is by far one of the best suspense stories of the year. The story of LIvia from childhood to becoming the person she will be as an adult leaves you in awe of her raw power. The subject matter of human trafficking victims especially children is hard to read but it is in context to the story.
Four words:
Best
Female
Protagonist
Ever
Be sure you have time to read this book almost from start to finish. You’ll struggle to put it down if you must. The subject is extremely depressing for me, but it reveals the haunting, dark world of smuggling children for the sex trade. The writing is clear, dramatic, easy to follow and it keeps you on the edge of your seat. It’s action-packed while digging through twisted minds, laying bare emotional pain and suffering.
If you can handle the subject, this is an absolute must-read!
Good read.
Livia Lone opens the dialog for talking about human trafficking. It’s a worldwide criminal operation partnering for taking and fulfilling orders for people, against their will, to be distributed worldwide. This fictional account shows the political corruption and horrors associated with this heinous crime.
The psychological effects of abuse take on many forms and we get a front row seat to seeing Livia deal with years of childhood and early adulthood abuse. The suspense of not knowing if her sister is dead or alive after both were sold by their parents in Thailand haunts her.
The love for her sister keeps her going. Learning how to defend them both was her objective. She excelled at martial arts, studied criminal justice and became a cop with one purpose in mind – find and free her sister. What she did with her new knowledge crosses the line, but it fit her agenda – a vendetta against those who caused their suffering.
Barry Eisler weaves a tale of deceit that’ll keep you turning pages. In the end, you’ll be ready for the next in the series.
For most of the book, I have to say I wasn’t really getting into the story. Honestly, Livia seemed just as wacked as the bad guys and I was getting bored with her murdering the wackos that she was @#$%^&*. It really wasn’t until the last 10-12 chapters that the story actually started getting better.
Will I continue with the series? Meh??? Maybe, but there are so many other books on my to read list that sound so much better than this series.
Thrilling action, expertly developed characters, a strong (okay, BADASS) protagonist, and flawless writing came together to make Livia Lone without a doubt the best novel I’ve read this year. I especially appreciate how the story was thoroughly and satisfactorily wrapped up, yet openings were left for new interest in a next installment in the series. I’ll now be searching for anything and everything by Barry Eisler that I can get my hands on.