Review for “Livia Lone” by Barry Eisler (to be published on 24 Oct 2016)
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
I’m not sure what drew me to this book on NetGalley. Perhaps it was the dragon with the lady’s picture superimposed on the cover, or the description of a bad ass woman character that held some kind of promise. As soon as I got a hold of this book, I couldn’t let it go.
Livia Lone is not a woman I’d want to meet in a dark alley. Beneath an attractive exterior, she’s a Seattle PD sex crimes investigator, a jiu jitsu expert, and a motorcycle enthusiast. She’s also a killer, hunting down rapists at night to extract a form of justice that was denied to her as a child. In flashbacks, we learn she was once known as Labee, a girl from a remote hill country in Thailand. After her and her younger sister were sold by their parents to human traffickers, they endure a horrific ordeal in a shipping container and wind up in America, where Labee is separated from her sister and adopted by a local businessman. Her nightmare doesn’t end in America, however, as the events that take place shape her life over the next several years in a dramatic way.
I loved reading about Livia. She’s reminiscent of Lizbeth Salander, an outcast riding on her motorcycle. As she searches for her sister outside of her job and kicks ass in the process, I couldn’t help but to root for her. It’s a disturbing read, and the author’s thorough research into the topic of sex abuse and human trafficking really shows. Even though there were a lot of graphic scenes, I still found the story compelling enough to continue without skipping any parts. I would be excited to continue to read about Livia Lone, as I hope this is the beginning of another series character.
[Note: Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Thomas & Mercer, for a free digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.]
29chapters.com 