Inhuman Trafficking

Nick “Deke” Deketomis’s law firm specializes in hard cases, like taking on big pharma or his current project, human trafficking. Most people turn a blind eye to this lucrative enterprise, which should be better labeled Inhuman Trafficking due to the treatment of its victims. Women and children as young as thirteen are lured into slave labor and prostitution by boyfriends or companies promising housekeeping jobs.

One such company, Welcome Mat Hospitality, has truck stops and lodgings all over the United States, and human trafficking occurs at its properties. Deke sets out to take down this corporation, but in the process, he discovers that his goddaughter, Lily, has become one of the many victims of this horrible business. Lily, who’s only fifteen, mistakenly trusts her boyfriend, who sells her to a criminal to pay off his own debt. That man, in turn, sells Lily to a woman who runs a strip club using those who are trafficked and also forces them to clean the hotel she runs. The woman has very shady backers who have no hesitation in getting rid of loose ends.

Deke and his team will have to use the law, and some illegality, to take down Welcome Mat Hospitality and save Lily before she becomes more trouble than her captors think she’s worth.

I heartily agree with the description that this is a fast-paced thriller. I couldn’t put it down. The subject matter is atrocious, even more so because it’s not fiction. You get a small glimpse of what it’s like for these girls as most of them suffer unforgivable brutality and often lose their life in the process. Those who do make it out will never be the same again.

I enjoyed the legal side of the story and the characters were very endearing. I think I loved Michael and Mona the best. What added to the appeal of the legal team was how they all had difficult pasts, which ended up forming them into the people they were as the story was taking place. The only thing that could make this book better would be if there was information included at the end for who to contact if you wish to help or know someone who’s become a victim of human trafficking. Otherwise, it is a great legal thriller that is worth picking up.

I sincerely hope there are more of Deke’s cases that we get to read about. I definitely want to hear about the time he was accused of murder.