When Half Spent Was the Night

The 999 call rang into New Scotland Yard's dispatch center at 7:43 PM, Christmas Eve. "They took my sister!" While shopping with her sister Erika on Christmas Eve, Katarina Livani, a beautiful 24-year-old Estonian woman, is abducted by Albanian sex traffickers from a bogus boutique in north London. We tend to believe that slavery ended in the mid-19 century. Far from it. Human trafficking is the fourth most lucrative crime worldwide. Detective Chief Inspector and his partner, Detective Sergeant Elizabeth Chang, are racing against the clock. They must find the Estonian beauty before she is either murdered by her "enforcers" for resisting them, or dies from physical neglect, such as beatings, starvation, or the inevitable STDs. Mick dispatches his undercover agent and friend, Jamie Geller to Soho, where he poses as an American punter on the prowl. Here he meets up with a resilient sex slave, Olga, who passes on helpful information as to Katarina's whereabouts. Mick feels confident he can save her, but time is running out. With the help of the Yard's Clubs and Vice division, Mick and Elizabeth gradually get closer to rescuing Katarina. But will they get to her in time? The over arching question is: Who within the Home Office is on the Albanians payroll, making it easier for the gangs to operate in London?

"They took my sister!" While shopping in north London with her younger sister on Christmas Eve, Katarina Livani is abducted from a bogus boutique by Albanian traffickers, who intend to sell her as a sex slave in the notorious Soho district. The abduction takes Detective Chief Inspector Mick Chandra and his partner, Detective Sergeant Elizabeth Chang, into the murky world of sexual slavery. In order to find and release her, Mick and Elizabeth must cooperate with the Clubs and Vice division of Scotland Yard, a department led by the abrasive, but competent, Detective Chief Inspector, Matt Miles. Without seeking Miles' permission, Mick dispatches his undercover agent and friend, Jamie Geller, to pose as an American punter on the prowl in Soho. He encounters a resilient sex slave, Olga, who shares important information with him about Katarina's whereabouts. Thanks to this courageous woman's help, Mick gets closer to saving Katarina. But he and Elizabeth must act quickly. According to Erika, Katarina is "a fighter" who will likely resist captivity rather than submit to the collective wills of her enforcers, even if it means putting her own life at risk. Mick and his partner learn that, in recent days, two sex slaves have been found dead in Soho. Will Katarina be next? The story serves as a caveat to the readers: Don't think for a moment that slavery doesn't exist in the 21st century. A cast of diverse characters carry the action to its conclusion, including Mick's gifted American expat wife, the celebrated concert pianist, Jessica Beaumont Chandra. But the question remains: Who within the Home Office is in on the Albanians payroll, helping to facilitate the sex trade in London?

Rebecca Yount is the author of the 5-star rated Mick Chandra mystery series. After working for several years in the field of education policy in Washington, D.C., she decided to live her life-long dream of becoming a fiction writer. The fifth book in the series, "When Half Spent Was The Night," now available, focuses on international trafficking, specifically the kidnapping of a beautiful, young Estonian woman, Katarina Livani, by a London-based Albanian gang. She is then sold as a sex slave in London's notorious Soho district. Once when asked how she chooses her topics, the author answered, "I write about those things that outrage me." As with her previous books in the series, the author has yet again informed her readers about an important topic in a compelling, well-written story.