KIDNAPPED: A Tugboater's Tale

by Bob Ojala

Overview

Being a tugboater is sometimes a dangerous job. Like...... Going out to buy pizza for the crew? That's not one of them, or is it? When Captain Ashley Walters and her husband, Adam, leave their tugboat in Indiana Harbor to pick up some Chicago-style pizzas for the crew, they never once thought it would become a life-defining event. But they will soon learn that sex traffickers lurk on corners where you least expect them, and being kidnapped by them can happen to "normal" Americans engaged in everyday, mundane tasks, in places considered safe and unsuspecting of trouble. This book is a gripping tale of what happens in the underworld of sex and human trafficking and brings light to its ills in our society. At the very least, it will show that being kidnapped by sex-traffickers is not just sme Third World or big city ghetto problem. The characters are endearing and you will wonder how they can continually deal with the trauma that they see the victims endure and that they experience themselves. Be prepared to cry with them!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781087997629
Publisher:	A3Pi Services, LLC
Publication date:	04/18/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	222
Sales rank:	756,002
File size:	2 MB

Editorial Reviews

07/11/2022

Ojala offers a rare and deeply researched insight into the world of human trafficking in middle America. Lake Michigan tugboat captain Ashley Walter and her husband Adam disappear after disembarking to buy pizzas for their crew. Young crew member Steve Steiner raises alarm over the couple’s disappearance, and both he and his father, Curt, must plunge into the grim netherworld of sex trafficking, working closely with police to conduct covert operations to gather the evidence to bring down those involved in smuggling these women across state boundaries.

Much of the novel’s strength comes from its female protagonists. There is Ashley, the tugboat captain who gets kidnapped, only to escape quickly by outwitting her kidnappers. Moved by what she witnessed and concerned about the welfare of other young women who fell victim to these traffickers, Ashley volunteers to work with the police on a sting operation, along with Officer Elizabeth “Liz” Trent, an experienced undercover officer who has busted many trafficking rings. Under her hardened exterior, Liz is an exceptionally empathetic police official who treats each young woman she rescues with kindness, making sure they reach their respective homes safely.

Though fast paced and suspenseful, with a strong sense of milieu, especially the “tough, steel mill town” of East Chicago, Indiana, not a place commonly assumed to be a hotspot of traffickers. (One character notes “I thought those places only existed in Detroit or Chicago, not right here.”) Still, the book often reads like a series of various characters’ adventures rather than one cohesive story, with perspective shifts from chapter to chapter and some plot points, such as the fact that civilians volunteer their services to the police and participate in high stake operations, strain credulity. The budding romance between Steve and Liz, though, is engaging, which makes it easier for readers to invest in the plot and its characters and look forward to subsequent sequels of the novel.

Takeaway: This suspenseful dive into human trafficking in middle America is distinguished by strong female characters.

Great for fans of:Lisa Clonch Tschauner’s Reclamation, Helen C. Escott’s Operation Trafficked.

Production grades Cover: B+ Design and typography: A Illustrations: N/A Editing: B+ Marketing copy: A-

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