Nothing As It Seems

One of my favorite things about this talented author is that the stories are very real and thought provoking. This one proves my point. The beginning of this series introduces two characters that appeared in other series. Whether you are familiar with them or not, won’t matter, as you become engaged in the plot. The author gives us enough background to bring us up to date. Billy-Jo McCabe, is the new social worked in Rocher Harbor, a small Pacific Northwest Island. Her past as a foster child and later adoption, have defined the woman she is today. One that will jump hoops to help the kids in the system. Mark Friessen is the town’s detective and a man that at first seems uninterested in others, when in fact, that is the farthest from the truth. Even as these two strong willed, opinionated, stubborn individuals clash, their goal is the same, help solve the mystery and help the foster girl. But there are many on the island keeping secrets and in the end, these two, and the reader, are left with more questions than answers. In addition to the well developed characters and the engaging plot, the author brings to light a very real occurrence not only in the USA but also abroad. That of human trafficking, in this case, young women. Yearly, in the US alone , over 200,000 children are at risk of human trafficking, in addition to over 20,000 brought in from overseas. More social workers and policemen like Billy-Jo, and Mark as well as the government and our society, need to do more to help these individuals and prosecute those at fault. Not an easy task but one that will change many lives. I look forward to more stories in this series. Hopefully these two will become more than allies of sorts in the future books. I was entrusted a copy of this book. The opinions expressed are solely my own.

I read other books in this series before reading this one and now it became easy to understand the love/hate between Mark and Billy Jo and why this story ends with so many unanswered questions. Child abuse is something that adults should prevent and fight against, and never promote, in this story every situation has an appropriate ending that is most questionable and that is the way society seems to work. A challenging theme and an issue of our time put together in a good story.

Fascinating start to what I’m sure is going to be a compelling new series. For fans of the McCabes and the Friessens, it’s exciting to read more about Billy Jo McCabe and Mark Friessen. The storyline touches on powerful social issues, including human trafficking, that will not always be comfortable to read about as it will often draw out an emotional response. Billy Jo and Mark are strong-minded characters with rough edges that start out striking sparks, but there’s something there that will definitely pique your interest in watching how things play out for the two of them. It’s a fast-paced read that will pull you in at the start and keep you turning pages until the end, which will leave you anxious for what’s to come as this is just the beginning to what promises to be a captivating story.