I chose this from an ARC program after having read the first in the series, “The Silence of Children” which blew me away.

The Premise

Picking up where the last book left off, Deirdre has now finally found a purpose in life: helping her father’s vigilante justice cause to aid children who are abused. When a rescued child Amy becomes their new charge, an investigation into her past leads them down a wild chase to reveal the dark truth and unmask the true kidnappers.

The Pros

Since the thrilling end to Book 1, Deirdre has been following her dad’s lead — going where he says, doing what he advises, and adjusting to her new lifestyle under the radar. But when he goes missing, she suddenly has to come to terms with the depth of her own ignorance on this “mad adventure” thus far, realising that though her father may be in deeper trouble, she is now “floating downstream without a paddle.” As she tells Amy, the child they rescued:

“Dad’s the brain, I’m just an accidental accessory.”

Dealing with child abduction and exploitation, this is not a book for the faint of heart. It exposes some of the unspoken truths about these difficult subject matters: the ones who are at the heart of the most despicable crimes are often the ones we trust blindly. As Deidre voices:

I have no idea why I had assumed that a pedophile wouldn’t be an educated professional. I guess it’s kind of a cliche to assume that pedophiles will be uneducated, dirty men, because that’s how we prefer to imagine them [but] it’s just that the educated ones are less likely to get caught, shielded by a social structure underpinned by finance.

I also loved the return of Greg — the sketchy on-and-off-lover who isn’t there most of the time, but sails in when needed to save the day. The new character of Amy was also wonderful: a half-child-half-adult who has had the world turned against her yet still manages to cope.

I loved the swift writing style that was at times emotionless and cold, yet somewhat endearing and inspiring as it gave readers a female protagonist who’s relatable in her imperfections, one not necessarily worth rooting for but yet we feel every moment of her crazy vigilante adventure, and we want her to win.

Conclusion

With a wild ride full of shocking twists and turns as it winds to an end, this was a suspenseful thriller that leaves you guessing. Warning: as the second book in the series, you do need to read the first one first! I admit the first one completely blew me away so this one was a wee bit less in my overall ranking, but this was through no fault but my own as I had grown to expect some of the aspects that rocked my world last time around. Overall I highly recommend the book and the series. The writer is talented at weaving a tale that not only tells a story about fictional characters, but also leads you to ask yourself the difficult questions in life: what do you stand for, what would you do, how far would you go… and: are you part of the problem, or the solution?

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