Short simple fast-faced thriller...

I came across this book via LibraryThing and received this copy for review. The author has sent me an ebook to review this book. The book is very short and as per the book information it is based on the real-life story.

This book centers on a human rights helpline that receives a call from a young girl that had been kidnapped and was assumed to be on her way to be sold into sex slavery. As it is was a short read I was able to finish this in 1 day. But during reading in the middle of the book, I felt that the plot was getting dragged. The ending of the book keeps you thinking about human trafficking and ask us society to get awaken and do something about it.

Rest author writing style is good and I enjoyed the book. I am going to read the 2nd book in this series soon and post the review.

I will recommend everyone to read this book as it talks about a very serious issue in our society...

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/3570520117 ( )

Morris, a humanitarian worker, and the staff of a human rights organization receive a desperate phone call from a girl named Mya, saying she's been kidnapped. She doesn't know where she is, but Morris and his team are determined to find and rescue Mya as part of their fight against human trafficking in When Hope Calls by author David Lui.

Although I found this novella (based on a true story) categorized as a kidnapping thriller, the subject didn't have me expecting thrills, and all things considered, I indeed wouldn't call this a thrilling read.

It's suspenseful, but for much of the time, the characters are waiting in dismal silence. Fiction-wise, the plot development suffers from emotional lows that are overwritten and redundant, with the characters sitting in abject despair for hours and spending a good amount of time feeling sorry for themselves and this place in their careers or lives. On a more technical note, there are some missing words and recurring errors in punctuation.

However, sometimes a story's message and purpose are bigger than the story, and that's okay. This quick and relevant read serves to raise awareness of a widespread, urgent real-life issue, without sugarcoating it but also without resorting to unnecessary vulgarity. It's a call to remind humanity that we have to fight against modern-day slavery. ( )

A heart-wrenching story that serves as an alarming wake up call. And the fact that this story is based on a real human trafficking incident makes us see the world in a different light where such sinister things can happen. ( )

What a sad story, made even more sad for being true. Mya's story is horrendous but the fact she wasn't found brings home just how important the work of the NGO's who specialize in human trafficking is. Mostly we go through our days giving no thought to people who are worse off than ourselves, not realizing how lucky we are to live a normal life. Well done David Lui for bringing this to our attention. ( )

This short story based on a true case and a true daily tradegy is well written. The overwhelming sadness was kept slightly at bay by following the responders to Mya not Mya herself. I was therefore able to finish reading the story and I experienced a range of feelings by empathising with each responder in addition to my own feelings about the tragedy. I received this as a LibraryThing Member GiveAway. Thank you. ( )