Carnal Acts

Suzana Noli, an Albanian woman lured into sexual slavery in Corham, England, makes a desperate escape that leaves a trail of dead and wounded gangsters in her wake in this exciting, gritty thriller from Alexander, a pseudonym for Paul Johnston (The Black Life). Det. Insp. Joni Pax and her boss Det. Chief Insp. Hector “Heck” Rutherford struggle to unravel Corham’s web of criminals before the gang can find and recapture Noli. The investigators’ sense of urgency is only heightened after they find the taciturn young man who witnessed Noli’s escape brutally murdered. Though initially the case seems to concern exclusively foreign gangsters and victims, Pax and Rutherford discover that the Albanian human traffickers are working hand-in-hand with respected government figures. Alexander uses the setting to good effect, ably capturing the modern realities of immigration to the U.K. without veering into xenophobia. Although lurid and graphic, the book is an enthralling tale, rather than an exploitative one. (Oct.)