The Guest Room by Chris Bohjalian, 336 pages

This is a heart wrenching novel about the consequences of human trafficking and the sex trade.  Richard is a happily married father of a 9-year old daughter.  He is also happily employed as an investment banker at a swanky bank.  He hosts a bachelor party at his house for his younger brother and things turn out not-so-happy after the two young "strippers" kill their handlers. It turns out the strippers were likely sex slaves.

At the time of the party, Alexandra has been in the United States about 3 weeks.  She was kidnapped from Armenia and forced into the sex trade in Russia when she was 15 years old and is now 19.

The story alternates from Richard's perspective and story to Alexandra's.  It follows the aftermath of the party with Alexandra on the run and Richard trying to put his life back together after the fall out from the very public sex party at his house.  It is a gripping thriller.

Trafficked by Kim Purcell 384 pages

This book is another 2014-2015 Gateway Nominee, and another one about a young Russian (actually Moldovian) girl. Hannah's parents were killed in a terrorist bombing and her favorite uncle has disappeared. She lives with her "babushka" but they are very poor and seventeen year old Hannah cannot continue school. When she is offered the chance to move to Los Angeles to be a nanny, she takes it. But things are difficult from the start. She is issued fake documents, her money is stolen from her, and the family treats her like a slave. She works 16 hour days, is not allowed to leave the house, lives in the garage and the wife is insanely jealous of her youthful looks. Things go from bad to worse until Hannah ends up in the hospital, badly beaten by the wife. Only then is she rescued and given a chance at a new life.

This book was okay. I don't feel the characters were well developed. Kudos to Kim Pucell, though, She is donating 20% of sales from this book to organizations that help trafficking victims. She says that 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States every year and at least half of them are children and teens.

Taken by Robert Crais 341 pages

This is another great Joe Pike mystery by Robert Crais.  I highly recommend this series.  Krista Morales and her boyfriend, Jake Berman, have been inadvertantly taken by bajadores, bandits who prey on other bandits.  They are captured with a group of illegal aliens being smuggled in from Mexico.  When Krista's mother, Nita, gets a ransom call, she hires Elvis Cole to find her daughter.  Cole goes undercover, and is soon in danger himself.  It is up to Joe Pike and Jon Stone to find their friend before it is too late.  This group of murderous human traffickers keeps their victims only until the ransom money dries up.  Time is ticking for Krista, Jake and Elvis.