Publisher: Gallery Books
Publication Date: November 2012
Category: Contemporary Women, War, Pakistan
Source: Susan Schwartzman Publicity
Description:
Newly heartbroken and searching for purpose in her life, Abby Monroe is determined to make her mark as a UN worker in one of the world’s most unstable cities: Peshawar, Pakistan. But after witnessing the brutal murder of a woman thrown from a building, she is haunted by the memory of an intricate and sparkling bracelet that adorned the victim’s wrist.
At a local women’s shelter, Abby meets former sex slaves who have miraculously escaped their captors. As she gains the girls’ trust and documents their horrifying accounts of unspeakable pain and betrayal, she joins forces with a dashing New York Times reporter who believes he can incriminate the shadowy leader of the vicious human trafficking ring. Inspired by the women’s remarkable bravery—and the mysterious reappearance of the bracelet— the duo traces evidence that spreads from remote villages of South Asia to the most powerful corners of the West, risking their lives to offer a voice to the countless innocents in bondage.
My Thoughts:
The Good:
This book highlights the horrors of human trafficking. Fast paced. Humorous.
The Bad:
Predictable romance. (Boy meets girl. Boy and girl immediately dislike each other. Until suddenly…they’re in love!) Clueless protagonist. Unrealistic. Simple.
The Ugly: By focusing on a love story and barely scraping the surface of human trafficking Gately missed the opportunity to educate her readers on a very real issue.
Though I wasn’t a giant fan of this book I do have high hopes for the author. With a bit of polish I think she’ll have better luck with future endeavors.
A recent op-ed piece by Roberta Gately
If you read the article above you’ll learn that Gately has experience as a nurse and humanitarian aid worker. I wonder if I would like a nonfiction account of her time in 3rd world war zones better than I liked The Bracelet? Perhaps.
The Relentless Reader 
Bummer. There are probably several non-fiction books on the subject of human trafficking. I listened to a podcast a while ago about it and was riveted. I have to admit, for myself, I'd probably not pick up something like this—despite the interesting real-life issues, I couldn't deal with the romancey fluff.
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I'm going to have to find a nonfiction account. I'd like to learn more but not as the background to a romance. 😦
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It's a shame this didn't work for you — it definitely had the potential to be a lot more than a predictable romance. Based on what I read in your post, I'd love to read a memoir by this author. Her life sounds rich and fascinating.
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A memoir would be a better idea I think! 🙂
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I agree. I'd love to read a memoir based on her experiences than this book. I found it overly preachy and the main character too naive.
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When the main character mentioned that she'd never heard of Pakistan (I'm paraphrasing here) I was like WHAT??
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I think this would really disappoint me as the superficiality of the love story would grate against the more serious plot.
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Exactly. I wanted to dig into a serious tale…it was much too fluffy 😦
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Yeah. Sometimes I get frustrated with books/movies/tv… like, not EVERYTHING has to have a romantic angle, people!! 😉
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I was thinking \”okay\” until you said it focuses on the love story. That's quite a big issue to push to the sidelines
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I couldn't agree more Charlie
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My favorite part of this post: That you have \”human trafficking\” and \”humorous\” in almost the same sentence. This book sounded soooo intriguing. . . but then you said the word that made me not interested: romance.
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Romance. Blech.
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