The Trade

This is a very exciting and well written book. The hero is a real human. The trade in children is very moving and the ending is exciting and unexpected.

I am a huge fan of Shirley Palmer, have read every one of her books (Danger Zone; Veiled Journey; Lioness) and I have to say this is her best yet! Palmer reveals an underworld that is shocking and eye opening. Highly recommended!

Matt Lowell is a single guy who lives on the beach in Malibu and loves his dog. And he needs that dog, because as far as women are concerned, he has a problem with commitment. As the story opens we find Matt racing home to rescue said dog from a raging wildfire. The area has been closed off, but that's not stopping Matt. As he dashes though the surf, he finds an abandoned newborn. He picks up the baby and continues he dash home. Unfortunately, the child dies before he can get help. The police are quick to put Matt directly in the crosshairs of their suspicion. Then, when the baby's teenage mother is found dead, they galvanize their sights on Matt even as Matt begins to feel a sense of duty to this perished mother and her child. He can't leave the situation alone. He can't rest until he finds out what had happened to them and why. Then, while in the woods look for clues, he comes upon more children, runaways. But runaways from whom? One of the children is ill and he takes her home, hoping she might be the key to the mystery. He calls and asks his ex-girlfriend Ginn Chang for both support and legal advice. He has never really gotten over her, though she makes it very clear she has no intention of picking up where they left off, as she is definitely aware of his commitment problem. Then he calls a doctor friend to help with the girl and they find that the child is afraid of men, and, if that isn't enough, that night someone tries to break into his home and kidnap the child. What has Matt gotten himself into? He's about to find out as his investigation drags him into the underbelly of the criminal world and eventually leads to some very bad, very connected hombres who endanger not only Matt, but those he holds dear. In my opinion Ms. Palmer has written a powerful story, one that should open a lot of eyes. I know it did mine. I always thought slavery ended with the Civil War. Well, apparently it didn't. This is a thriller with a message, a thriller with heart, a thriller not to be missed.

Thanks to the Santa Ana winds, the fires are winning and roads are closed in and around Malibu. A frantic Matt Lowell needs to get inside the dead zone to rescue his dog, Barney, but is told that no one enters. Still he feels he must try as Barney has no escape from his fiery prison being locked inside their home. However, on the final leg of his trek along the beach, Matt is stunned to find a still breathing abandoned newborn in the midst of the inferno, but to his everlasting nightmare, the infant dies before he can bring the girl to safety.Not long afterward, the police find the dead body of the baby's teenage mother covered with wildflowers. Obsessed as much as he was in saving his beloved canine and feeling a connection to the deceased baby Matt wants who killed them especially since the police thinks he murdered the mother. Matt begins his own inquiries. He will soon find that he opened up more than just Pandora's Box as the malevolent forces are involved in more than just the killings are so ruthless AND evil that even a Good Samaritan hero like Matt could be killed going after them.Though Matt seems a bit too perfect, suspense fans will appreciate this terse thriller. The story line is action packed from the fires (out of the headlines) to the implied accusations to the amateur sleuth inquiries and finally to THE TRADE itself. Greed is the common theme and contrasts sharply to the hero who is goodness personified. Shirley Palmer is an expert storyteller whose tale is a study in contrasts.Harriet Klausner