Stolen Lives is a frighteningly dark and difficult read due to the horrific realities of the subject matter. No parent wants to admit to their fears of the reality within these pages, yet I found I myself completely immersed in these characters lives in the horrific nightmare they were living. As the wife of a retired policeman I’ve seen first hand the harsh realities they too face in fighting crime and bringing these perpetrators to justice, as well as the after effect from PTSD they face. This one will stay with me for a long time.

I am giving this one 3.5 stars not because I enjoyed the storyline but because I felt it was well written. Thank you to NetGalley and Black Rose Writing for the opportunity to read this advance reader copy.

This book was hard to read in places and extremely dark , that said , it highlights the dark and dangerous sex trafficking industry and how the people that help catch the ones responsible are so focused and determined to get these criminals off the street and children safe. I loved the relationship that the boys had and how in such awful horrendous circumstances friendships get you through .

Three fourteen-year-old boys are inextricably linked by abduction and murder. Two of them were just abducted off a safe suburban street. Kelliher and his team of FBI agents have 24 hours to find them or they’ll end up like all the others- dead! They have no leads, no clues, and nothing to go on. And the possibility exists that one of his team members might be involved. A fourth boy, George Tokay, a Navajo, holds a key piece to this puzzle and doesn’t realize it.

Kelliher and his team have been on this case for two years. There isn’t much to go on, and each time he gets a break, potential witnesses are found dead. The stories of these boys are like loose threads on a sweater: pull the wrong one and it unravels completely. Slowly, Kelliher realizes that there may be one or more members of his team behind it all.
Enjoyed reading this detective novel. Interesting read.

This was my first book by book by Joseph Lewis. I have to say that this was a bit of a struggle due to the subject matter and in the beginning I wondered if I would be able to finish it. Then as the story progressed I found myself totally immersed in these characters lives and the nightmare they were going through. You put yourself in the position of these boys or there parents and you are then totally overwhelmed by emotion, it is relentless. It is so hard to fathom that this is an everyday occurrence happening to real children on a daily basis and the ongoing fight such as the police officers in this story must face on a continuous basis. I applaud them. At one point one of these vile pedophiles states that if you shut us down, do you think that this will stop the grooming and abuse of these boys? How sad and what a terrible reflection of the world we live in. Would I read another book by Joseph Lewis? probably not as I have more than had my fill, this book will stay with me for a long time and I am not sure that is a good thing.