See them Run
Lucy Kendall, #2
By Stacy Green
ISBN# 9781505722864
Author’s Website: http://www.stacygreen.net
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra
Synopsis:
“I couldn’t erase the memory of the video. A little boy with dark brown skin, a little skinny but overall healthy looking, stood naked in the middle of a nondescript room. A disembodied voice ordered him to turn in a circle, to raise his arms over his head, to bend over. He obeyed with a glazed look in his eyes and tears running down his cheeks. A price was named just before the video ended. I would kill someone for that little boy tonight.”
Savvy undercover work leads Lucy Kendall to an underground child sex trafficking ring. But when her best lead is found dead, Lucy becomes a suspect in a murder she didn’t commit. Lucy barrels ahead, determined to take out the trafficking ring no matter the personal cost. Powerful outside forces intervene, and she finds herself on the run for murder.
Clearing her name means embracing her growing dark side. With Chris by her side, Lucy fights for justice. Is a monster from the past Lucy’s worst enemy, or will the blossoming evil in her own heart be her ultimate destruction?
Packed with suspense, See Them Run is a dark psychological thriller with a finely crafted mystery that takes readers into the deepest recesses of the human psyche.
Review:
Ms. Stacy Green continues to amaze me with See Them Run, the sequel to All Good Deeds and the second in the Lucy Kendall series. I was so captivated by this psychological thriller….I was on the edge of my seat and did not want to put the book down.
Right from the opening words, we get a sense of Lucy Kendall’s intensity and dedication to protecting those that cannot protect themselves.
“Blowing snow blinded me as I careened down Interstate 81. My jaw muscles throbbed from clenching my teeth for the past five hazardous hours, and the truck stop was still four miles away. The icy roads made me late–the exchange was planned for 9:15 p.m., exactly eight minutes ago. Unless my luck had been blessed with a major traffic accident, I wouldn’t be catching the seller. But maybe saving the child and interrogating the buyer were still within reach.”
“After discovering Kailey Richardson had nearly been sold into an online sex trafficking ring, I’d decided to take my operation beyond old case files. Child sex trafficking was running rampant in this country, and law enforcement often found its hands tied by our legal system.” “I didn’t”.
Her methods I would describe as getting primal. Lucy sees the end goal (saving the child) as paramount regardless of how she achieves that goal. I found her crossing the line disturbing yet gripping and necessary as can be seen from the following:
“With my left hand, I showed him the FBI badge I’d painstakingly crafted. “FBI, Human Trafficking Division. I know you’re holding a nine-year-old African American boy purchased less than half an hour ago from a seller out of Ohio. The transaction took place here, and you’re under arrest.”
Lying came naturally to me, even easier than breathing.”
What she does next is chilling to the bone, but definitely portrays the person she is becoming. The question is…..is this person really someone she wishes to become? As the story unfolds, we see that Lucy struggles with this dilemma.
Lucy’s relationship with Chris continues to develop….in its odd, weird way. Chris needs Lucy to help find and exact revenge on his mother – Mary. Mary was/is truly an evil individual (which is learned from the first book in the series). Chris has one goal…to find his mother and confront her, but he needs Lucy to accomplish this task. Therefore, Chris agrees to help Lucy break this child porn trafficking ring.
Lucy receives her first tip regarding the ring from the boy she rescued in the beginning of the story…..
“The man who brought me here.” Aron looked like he was about to cry and then gave himself a little shake. “He kept saying exhale. That I’d be going to exhale. People there were interested in me. That’s all.”
Lucy once again avails upon her ‘geeky’ computer friend, Kelly to further refine the lead “exhale”. I love the evolution of Kelly from when she was introduced in the first book, it was heartening. It feels right that Lucy does indeed have these quirky friends, that all seems to just mesh together in their quirkiness.
Lucy uncovers information and embarks upon a path with danger and intrigue (hookers, pimps, politicians)….but hopefully a path that will lead to the downfall of the child trafficking ring. Many unexpected twists and turns emerge and the story unfolds…too many to detail here. As well, don’t want to add spoilers….I want you to read the book yourself!
A truly spectacular psychological thriller which will keep you on the edge of your chair while reading. I will no doubt be waiting patiently for the next “Lucy Kendall” installment as these first two books in the series have reeled me in…hook, line and sinker. Congratulations on another splendid book Ms. Green!
