Not really feeling crime novels anymore, the tropes are over done. But this book was a good balance between police drama and it was great with treating sex crimes with a respect and importance that they need to be treated with.

A gripping story full of suspense and intrigue from the start. The author has paced the story perfectly, increasing the tension as the story progresses. The storyline was unique and really had me sat on the edge of my seat and left me guessing right to the very end. The book has so many layers, and fascinating characters, it is practically impossible to not become fully immersed in this book.

Plot well thought out and kept you turning the pages. Nice to have no superhero that solves everything in record time .

# I Trade In Tears # Netgalley
I absolutely loved the storyline. It was a brilliant full of content with numerous twists and turns. Very much plenty of things going off in the storyline. However I found Morage a unbelievable student. Her character was not put over well enough for her to believable. So I didn’t actually like her. Her dad Colin it took me some time to connect with him. But I did in the end. Johnny well I would prefer not to comment. Unfortunately with such a brilliant storyline I found it very slow starter. I was hoping that as I got further into the book it would pick up, it didn’t. Which is a absolutely sad. It just did not flow right. Not for me anyway. That’s just my honest opinion. It’s really is a shame I was really looking forward to this book with its synopsis. However the writing style I found I was very disappointed. I really would like to give it a higher rating just for the storyline alone. However I can not really do that because of the comments I have already written. Unfortunately I am a put of or mega interested depending on the writing style. The style of the writing just really wasn’t for me.

A Trade in Tears by Samantha Shiye begins with Morag Massey finding the victim of a violent rape in a graveyard. A police investigation is launched led by Morag's Dad Colin who realises that the rape is one of a series and his investigations lead to him discovering a vast and dangerous network of sex-traffickers and pornographers working internationally and evidence of police collusion and corruption.
The investigation stirs up a Hornet's nest and those being investigated are powerful enough to threaten Colin and his family.

That's the basis of what is largely a fantastic debut Thriller. There is a slightly odd part of the tale however that echoes a Stephen King or Thomas Harris novel ,a touch of the supernatural with a bit of Gothic horror thrown in. While other readers might enjoy this it did jar with me and seemed out of place with,and spoiled, what otherwise was an excellent story. There were also a couple of occasions when the behaviour of some of the characters just baffled me and I'm still none the wiser after finishing the book.

That aside it's a really good read,albeit graphic in it's description of various extremely violent acts,rape included so a warning for those who will be upset by that.
There are some great characters and largely a strong story-line. The book isn't perfect but it's good enough to show that Ms Shiye is a great new talent ,"mystical stuff " aside her writing style is very similar to Katrina Diamond, complete with her relish for gory and often brutal scenes. If it had been a straight Crime Thriller I'd have given it a solid 4 star rating.

Thanks to Samantha Shiye,Troubador Publishing and Netgalley for the review copy.

I was drawn in from first pages.So well written so tense, characters that come alive.A new author for me one whose books I will be devouring.#netgalley#troubador

This is an excellent story with an interesting plot. The subject is sex trafficking and it has been well researched. I like my crime thrillers to be just that but I failed to embrace the slightly supernatural aspect to this book, other readers may enjoy it however. There were lots of twists and turns and overall, a good read. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I had hoped this would be the first in a new series but it appears not..... Well written with a complex plot and mostly interesting characters this is a solid offering. I did begin to wonder what the point of Johnny was but my wonderings were answered.

Thank you to NetGalley and Matador for the arc of A Trade In Tears by Samantha Shiye.

A Trade in Tears is a debut novel by Samantha Shiye, This is a book in which is seen from the point of view of several characters. Morag ‘Mo’ Massey is taken from her, easy life and is plunged into a very dark nightmare when she ends up finds Cindy who is the victim of atrocious and brutal rape whom is left for dead in a graveyard. Mo is warm as caring but not a pushover for anyone.
I really enjoyed reading this was amazing read and had me gripped start to finish.
This was a 4 star read for me⭐⭐⭐⭐
recommend

I am afraid this book was not for me. I really enjoyed the first half, but at about 60% of the way through, something happened which I felt was really unbelievable and then the story turned and the whole plot became bordering on the ridiculous.
I did finish the book, and whilst I can say that Samantha Shiye is clearly a talented author, this book was not one which I enjoyed due to the plot twist and how the book progressed and concluded.
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review
A Trade in Tears is the debut novel by Samantha Shiye, a twisting tale seen from the point of view of several characters. Morag ‘Mo’ Massey is taken from her, easy-going life and plunged into a nightmare when she finds Cindy; the victim of a vicious and violent rape left for dead in a graveyard. As a character, Mo is easy to read about and quick to connect with, she is warm, caring but certainly no pushover. She’s a well-rounded, strong female lead and nothing but a pleasure to read about. Morag's connections with the other characters in the book; Colin Massey, Johnny and Cindy bring her to a more central position than the other characters A Trade in Tears. Which makes following her journey a lot more sense.

The plot of A Trade in Tears twists and turns rather rapidly, despite the time-span that it takes. You get a real sense of scale to the novel and that the complicated case of Cindy's abduction and abuse is taking a long time to solve – for various reasons all explained as and when the plot develops. It’s great to read a thriller that isn’t instantly solved by a singular ‘one-man army’ character. There are some developments that genuinely shocked me, not for their graphic content – of which there are a few scenes, which I’ll come on to in a moment – but for the events that take place. A Trade in Tears doesn’t pull its punches and I find it rare that a novel will go to the lengths that this one did to keep the reader guessing. The frustration for Colin Massey as the lead on the investigation into Cindy – and all that it ends up entailing – is palatable at times and I found myself feeling really feeling for him in more ways than one. I ended up second-guessing all of the members of his team and feeling paranoid as I turned the page to find out what was going to happen next. A Trade in Tears is a tense, emotional rollercoaster of a book that I found addictive.

I am a hardened reader, especially when it comes to graphic and violent scenes. I grew up reading horror stories so not much phases me. A Trade in Tears has scenes of violent, physical mutilation and rape. All of which are central to the plot and bring something more to the book than just shock-value. This might be a big put off for some readers, especially the scenes of genital mutilation and the violent rape scenes. A Trade in Tears is not for the faint-hearted. These scenes, however, are off-set with ones of tenderness and affection and both are handled with careful consideration on the authors' behalf.

There are a few elements that I struggled with. Johnny, one of the central characters, loses his girlfriend along the way. As a part of his grief he talks to her – which is fine and part of the natural grieving process – but it’s implied that she walks back to him and guides him. I can understand if the guiding of Johnny was just an implication, but it becomes an integral part of the plot. This is the only supernatural element to the book and, other than providing a rather satisfying conclusion to the antagonist's fate, I found it rather out of place as it only comes into play around Johnny. Other characters express their concern about Johhnys conversations with his dead-girlfriend, but nothing else comes of it. It’s a little unusual and feels out of place compared to the rest of the story, but despite the reservations I have of this side-element I still found myself enjoying where they led the plot and how it helped to wrap up A Trade in Tears to its conclusion.

Summary
A Trade in Tears is a very nicely wrapped parcel. We have some really well-rounded and interesting characters, a strong plot that makes a lot of sense and is wrapped up nicely at the end. A Trade in Tears follows a good pace, that’s not drawn out despite the fact the story takes place over a long period of time. Some of the elements felt a little out of place considering the book as a whole, but don’t detract too much from and enjoyable, but graphic read.

A Trade in Tears is a gripping suspense-filled read, that has the reader on the edge of their seat. Expertly crafted and paced just right, it's a novel that leaves you guessing as the plot unfolds. The characters in it are well written and have many layers which add so much to the story as the writer slowly peels back their layers.