The Takers and the Keepers by Ivan Pope

Happy Friday, everyone! Today I'm a stop on the Random Things Blog Tour for Ivan Pope's The Takers and the Keepers.

Allen Kimbo is ex military and an ex con as well. Now he's a writer—a self-made expert on human trafficking, covering the stories most want to avoid. And for good reason. 

As Allen becomes more and more entangled in the dark world he covers, he makes connections with some questionable people. Eventually, he finds his way to Eastern Europe and a meeting of the so called Takers and Keepers. 

When he returns home, his girlfriend has disappeared.

Well I seem to be on a roll with human trafficking stories of late, don't I?!

This is a topic that I do find hard to read. Even with it's dark content, I have to say that I liked Allen as a character.

He's been in jail. He's been in the Army. And even though his girlfriend, understandably, doesn't like his current line of work (research, specialty...?), he's becoming a go to guy for journalism on the issue. 

There's an interesting additional thread to this story where Allen is asked to ghost write a book about the experiences of a woman who is supposed to be a girl who went missing over a decade ago. She wants to tell her story and become famous and Allen's connections put him in touch with her. And he's seemingly perfect to do the job—he's sympathetic to her and knows the world she's been exposed to. 

The Takers and Keepers is definitely not going to be for everyone. Fans of dark crime fiction, though, will find a lot to like in Pope's writing. It's a bit of a slower burn, but one that is absolutely enthralling!