I just got a great review from one of Goodreads top reviewers.
Booklover Catlady Publicity & Reviews — the No. 82 best reviewer globally — has reviewed more than 800 books and given them an average of 3.75 stars. But she gave The Black Lens 4 stars for the following reasons:
Do you think sex-trafficking and slavery sits elsewhere than the suburbs you might live in within the USA? Think again.This is a BILLION dollar industry and a world wide crisis.Yet so many people are really in the dark as to how serious this is. As you read this book review, girls and women around the world are enslaved, forced to commit sexual acts against their will with no sign of freedom or life beyond. Just think on that for a minute. Imagine. Because it’s real…
Christopher Stollar did years of research into this hideous industry before writing The Black Lens and whilst it’s not an easy read, certainly not a fluffy subject matter, sometimes fiction can get the message across just as well as, if not better than non-fiction. The Black Lens endeavours to get this powerful message across and does it really well.
We meet young Zoey and her sister Camille who has a number of developmental disorders including Autism (something close to my heart so this book was heartbreaking). They have not had a good start to life, not been raised with a silver spoon in their mouths and are struggling young women. They get tangled and entrapped in a web of sex-slavery and life goes from bad to worse very quickly. It could happen to any young women that you know.
I loved the courage and gumption of both characters. Zoey is passionate about protecting her sister Camille as much as she can, and whilst Camille has her challenges she is a fighter too. This really endeared me to both girls and I was rooting for their justice and vindication all the way.
The plot is a surprising one, but really reveals just how many players of “upstanding position” in society can be involved with the sex-trafficking trade and sex-slavery. Absolutely appalling. It seems you can trust no-one these days. This is how Zoey and Camille feel. As the tangled web entraps them more it seems they have no hope to ever get free of the horrible life they are now subjected to. There are HARD scenes to read in this book. But we have to open our eyes to this.
With a keen Journalist/Photographer (Aidan) on the tail of a story, the two storylines interconnect and make for really entertaining reading. Well, as entertaining as this subject matter can be considering. Who is really on the side of the girls? Who can they trust? Can they ever be free again? You will have to read this one to find out.
I LOVE that some proceeds from the sale of this book goes to help stop this awful industry (explained at the end of the book by the Author). It’s a crisis of phenomenal scale and I for one am thinking sadly of all of those women and girls for whom life is literally hell on earth. It’s just so darn wrong. 4 stars from me for The Black Lens.
You can see the full review here. To read more reviews of The Black Lens or order a copy, please go to Amazon.