by Pamela Samuels Young
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Publisher: Goldman House Publishing
Pages: 376
Purchase at Amazon
Is Anybody’s Daughter
Ever Safe?
Based on the real-life
horrors faced by thousands of girls, award-winning author Pamela Samuels Young
takes readers deep inside the disturbing world of child sex trafficking in a
fast-paced thriller that educates as much as it entertains.
The opening chapter of
Anybody’s Daughter introduces readers to thirteen-year-old Brianna Walker.
She’s ecstatic because she’s about to sneak off to meet her first real
boyfriend—a boyfriend she met on Facebook. But Brianna is in for a horrifying
surprise because her boyfriend doesn’t exist. Instead, Brianna unwittingly
becomes the captive of a ring of drug dealers-turned-human traffickers who prey
on lonely girls from dysfunctional homes. But they’ve made a big mistake in
targeting Brianna because she doesn’t meet either of those criteria.
Brianna’s Uncle Dre, a
man with his own criminal past, is determined to find the niece who is more
like a daughter to him. Rather than sit back and rely on police to bring
Brianna home, Dre scours the dark corners of Los Angeles looking for her. He is
stunned to learn that the trafficking of children isn’t just happening in other
countries. It’s occurring at epidemic levels right in his own backyard.
Dre is not alone in
his desperate search. Loretha Johnson knows this world well. A social worker
who previously lived “the life,” Loretha now dedicates her time to saving as
many young girls as she can find. She turns out to be an invaluable resource
for Dre, who ultimately gets a lead on The Shepherd, a mastermind in the
trafficking world whose every move is fueled by ego and greed. Dre vows to
bring The Shepherd’s reign of terror to an end, even if he has to break the law
to do it.
While Brianna makes a
futile effort to thwart her captors, Dre is getting closer and closer to
finding her. The woman he loves, attorney Angela Evans, knows the dangers faced
by sexually exploited children because she represents them in juvenile court.
Angela lends her moral support and, eventually, an important clue to Brianna’s
whereabouts.
As he races against
the clock, Dre ultimately comes up with a daring plan—one that puts many lives
in danger, including his own. But will he find Brianna before it’s too late?
Kirkus Reviews called
Anybody’s Daughter “A fast-paced, well-written thriller that’s grounded in
important social issues.”
About the Author:
When attorney and
author Pamela Samuels Young isn’t practicing law, you can usually find her
penning her next legal thriller. Described by one reviewer as “John Grisham
with a sister’s twist,” Pamela is an award-winning author of six novels.
Pamela has always abided
by the philosophy that you create the change you want to see. Fed up with never
seeing women or people of color depicted as savvy, hot shot attorneys in the
legal thrillers she read, the Compton native decided to create her own
characters. Despite the demands of a busy legal career, Pamela accomplished her
ambitious goal by getting up at four in the morning to write before work,
dedicating her weekends to writing and even spending her vacation time glued to
her laptop for ten or more hours a day. In the process, she discovered her
passion.
Her debut novel, Every
Reasonable Doubt (2006), won the Black Expressions Book Club’s Fiction Writing
Contest, received an honorable mention in the SEAK Legal Fiction Writing
Competition and was a finalist for USA Book News’ Best Books of 2006 awards in
the mystery, suspense and thriller category. Her second novel, In Firm Pursuit
(2007), was honored by Romantic Times magazine as a finalist for Best
African-American Novel of 2007. Murder on the Down Low (2008), Pamela’s third
release, was an “Editor’s Pick” by Black Expressions magazine and a finalist
for the 2009 African-American Literary Awards in the fiction category. The
Black Caucus of the American Library Association honored Pamela’s fourth novel,
Buying Time (2009), with its 2010 Fiction Award, calling the book “a
captivating, suspenseful thriller.” Attorney-Client Privilege (2012) was
Pamela’s fifth legal thriller, followed by Anybody’s Daughter (2013), which
examines the shocking world of child sex trafficking.
The prolific writer
has also penned the short stories Easy Money, featured in the anthology
Scoundrels: Tales of Greed, Murder and Financial Crimes (2012) and Setup,
selected for the Sisters in Crime anthology, LAndmarked for Murder (2006).
A former journalist,
Pamela began her broadcasting career with WXYZ-TV in Detroit and later worked
as a news writer and associate producer for KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. Burned out
by the news business, Pamela took a big and scary step a few months before her
30th birthday and entered law school—a long-held dream. Pamela currently
moonlights as a mystery writer while working full-time as Managing Counsel for
Labor and Employment Law for a major corporation in Southern California,
specializing in employment law and social media law. Prior to that, she served
as Employment Law Counsel for Raytheon Company and spent several years as an
associate with the law firm of O’Melveny & Myers, LLP, in Los Angeles.
A graduate of UC
Berkeley’s School of Law, Pamela has a bachelor’s degree in journalism from USC
and a master’s degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University’s Medill
School of Journalism. She formerly served on the Board of Directors of the Los
Angeles chapter of Mystery Writers of America and is a diehard member of
Sisters in Crime-L.A., an organization dedicated to the advancement of women
mystery writers. A graduate of Compton High School, Pamela lives in the Los
Angeles area and attends Hope in Christ Community Church in Compton.
Pamela is a frequent
speaker on the topics of fiction writing, discrimination law and pursuing your
passion. To read an excerpt of Pamela’s books or to schedule her for a speaking
engagement or book club meeting via speakerphone, Skype, FaceTime or in person,
visit her website atwww.pamelasamuelsyoung.com or email her at
authorpamelasamuelsyoung@gmail.com.
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