Barry Eisler

Seattle PD sex-crimes detective and former human-trafficking victim Livia Lone must relive the horrors of the past when she gets a fresh lead as to the whereabouts of her little sister, Nason.

Livia Lone

One of the saddest books over read in a while, with the most bittersweet ending, something Barry Eisler excels at. I loved it so much, and am grateful I have the next one to start right away. 

Katheryn

Jeff Brown 

3.5

This is a difficult review for me. In its writing, it was excellent. But the background of the main character, who, with her little sister, were sold into sex slavery in Thailand, and the details were too descriptive. Again and again.

For the most part, the person that is the main character, who becomes a Seattle Police detective, was quite compelling. But for the majority of the book, it was about the sexual abuse (then) of the young girl and (now) the revengeful police detective dealing with the sexual abuse. 

Yes, looking back, the description of the book was very vaguely accurate. As an audiobook, it was excruciating at times.

I liked the adult main character (mostly), so I will thoroughly review the next book in this series before proceeding.

I certainly can not outwardly recommend it, but go in knowing that there are horrid scenes and triggers for some people. 

Maybe I won't read the next book ......

Michelle Miller

This book will F**K you up. I can't even describe it. All I know is that I need to decompress after finishing this book. Good lord.

Jolie

I am going to warn you all, this book is not an easy read. Not an easy read at all. The subject of human sex trade trafficking is awful and I am sure it was not easy for the author to write about, much less research.

Labee/Livia was 13-year-old girl living with her parents, brother and 11-year-old sister Nason in her Lahu village in Thailand. The Lahu people live in the mountainous forests along the Burmese and Laotian borders. Labee has no clue about modern technology and lives a simple, but happy, life. That happy life ends when Labee and Nason’s parents sell the girls to human sex trade traffickers. That’s when her happy, carefree life ends.

She is put into a van with her sister and several other children and are driven to Bangkok and put into a shipping container (yes, one of those metal ones but this one seems to be open at the top?) that is put on a ship. While she is on the ship, the unthinkable happens. The people guarding the shipping box chooses Nason to go with them. Labee offers herself up to them, to protect Nason, and is forced to do unthinkable things to the men. But that isn’t enough and Nason is taken. Only to be brought back in a canonic state (use your imagination here).

She is soon separated from Nason and is eventually rescued when a SWAT team raids where her box is being kept and finds her. She is adopted by the prominent Lone family and soon realizes that her life with them is far from perfect.The only thing keeping her going is her quest to find Nason and her desire to get back at the men who hurt her and Nason. She becomes a master at jiu-jitsu and used it as self-defense one horrible night. That’s when she was sent to live with Mrs Lone’s brother, Ralph.

While that story is being told, there is also a parrell story of a grown up Labee, now called Livia Lone. She is a sex crimes detective with the Seattle PD. But she is more than that. She is a serial killer, a vigilante killer, who tracks down the rapists and child molesters and kills them. She has a name for her itch to kill. She calls it her dragon and it was formed during her imprisonment and her time with the Lone family.

She is trying to hunt down leads on where Nason could be. I am not going much into the book from here but lets just say that there is a huge twist in the book. There were hints as to what it was after Livia came to America but I was still very surprised when it was revealed.

I honestly felt bad for Livia. She was shaped into the person she was because of events in her life. I am sure if her father decided against selling her or Nason, it would have been a different story. But it wasn’t.

The end of the book was gory. Not going to lie. vengeance was served and it wasn’t pretty. There really wasn’t a happy ending, not that I was expecting it there to be one.

Like I said above, this was a very hard book to read. But, in a way, I am glad that the author chose to write so honestly about child sex trafficking (heck human sex trafficking period). More light needs to be shown on the atrocities committed against men, women and children. If you are interested, here is a link to a site that could really make a difference in eradicating it

Polaris

How many stars will I give Livia Lone: 5

Why: A brutal look into what happens after a girl is sold into a sex trafficking ring. It shows how events shape a person into something that they would normally not be.

Will I reread: Yes

Will I recommend to family and friends: Yes, but with a warning of how violent it can get.

Age range: Adult

Why: Violence. Also scene of oral child rape, vaginal child rape and sexual abuse.

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

Anyaconda

Wow! The topics are really heavy and depressing, but I enjoyed reading all about Livia's and her character development. I loved the past and now chapters and felt that they interlocked very well. I will be reading the second book in the series.

Rachel

What a book and definitely not for the faint of heart. Livia and her sister, Nason, were sold by her parents when Livia was 13. While being shipped to America from Thailand, Livia is determined to keep her little sister safe even if that means being abused by the men who are transporting her. Livia is separated from Nason and rescued by the police when she is in America, she is adopted by a wealthy and well connected man who she has to endure more abuse from. Her will to survive is to find her little sister and she revolves her life as she grows up to help her do so. She becomes a police officer who is well versed in self defense and is known to work hard to put sexual predators behind bars, and when the legal system fails, she takes matters into her own hands. 

The story is told going back and forth between Livia's past and present until her past meets the present. It is not a easy read because the content is upsetting and can be graphic (the abuse and fighting scenes). A lot about this book reminded me of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series, with similar themes, but the story is it's own. Livia's character felt realistic and the person she becomes makes sense, but I do I hope in the sequel we get to see more development of her character.

Gordon McLean

Taught revenge thriller 

Flashing back to her traumatic childhood, this story races along, unfolding the horrors of child trafficking and introducing us to the hero and how she became what she is today. Pacey, gritty thriller, with the usual suspension of disbelief required.

Livia Lone

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