Corban Addison
On a dark night in Lusaka, Zambia, an adolescent girl is brutally assaulted. In shock, she cannot speak. Her identity is a mystery. Where did she come from? Was the attack a random street crime or a premeditated act? The girl's case is taken up by Zoe Fleming, a human rights lawyer working in Africa. A betrayal in her own past gives the girl's plight a special resonance for Zoe, and she is determined to find the perpetrator and seek justice. Also investigating on behalf of the Zambian police is Joseph Kabuta. At first reluctant to work together, they team up. Yet their progress is thwarted at every turn and it soon becomes clear that their opponents are every bit as powerful and determined as they are corrupt.
Susan S. on Amazon wrote:Zoe Fleming is an American human rights lawyer working in Africa. Joseph Kabuta is a Zambian police officer. Their paths collide when a child with Down's Syndrome is found wandering the alleyways of Lusaka, Zambia, after being brutally assaulted and raped.
Their investigations lead them into danger as they uncover the perpetrator, who has family links to high ranking officials in the countries political and justice systems.
The author highlights the shocking realities of child sexual assault and the lack of DNA laboratory facilities in Africa.
He also adds in "Author's Notes" that "In Zambia, four in five children born with an intellectual disability die before their fifth birthday, and disabled girls are more likely to be raped than their non-disabled peers."
A mystery, a legal drama, and a lesson in morality and compassion.
Corbin Addison has written another compelling novel about the plight of young girls around the world. It is the story of the rape of a young Down's Syndrome child whose parentage and whose rapist are at the heart of the mystery. It is apparent that for the author, the issue is a moral imperative to fix the problem and educate the world. Therein lies the rub, because the heroine, Zoe Fleming, who represents the liberal, West ends up lecturing the reader and this mars the narrative somewhat. Zoe, too, is a victim of rape and her father, who is an extremely wealthy Presidential candidate, did not believe her at the time. So, their relationship is quite strained. Her mother is dead, and she is not in control of her trust fund yet. She works the young girl's case and meets and falls in love with a Zambian man who has a secret of his own that complicates their relationship. And, they are up against a very rich and powerful Zambian family who will stop at nothing to protect their own. Great read.
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