Following on from my first novel, ‘The Weak Against the Strong,’ ‘I Must Remember’ continues the travails of Mitch Galichin as he flees from the vory-v-zakone after exposing a human trafficking ring in Leningrad. The story oscillates between the Canadian backdrop and the stark contrasts of Siberia and tackles a timely and important issue: the burgeoning worldwide crime of human trafficking for the sex industry. Rather than quoting impersonal cold statistics, through the fictional stories of victims and those seeking to bring traffickers to justice, readers feel a connection with the characters and greater awareness of the scope of the problem. The story balances gravity with moments of levity while delivering a potent social message.

While it follows Josie’s previous novel, the gripping narrative stands on its own as a suspenseful and emotionally charged drama.

***** REVIEW: S E COUNTER, United Kingdom (Amazon, 8 June, 2024): An excellent novel which moved me to tears. It is a compelling and gripping story which left me thinking about it long after I had finished it.

***** REVIEW: LOUISE PASS, USA (Amazon, July 17, 2024): An important, realistic novel exploring the world of human trafficking.

I Must Remember, Josie Mounsey’s sequel to her previous The Weak Against the Strong, captivates the reader with the writer’s comprehensive understanding of the sinister world of human trafficking, as well as the difficulty of enacting legal means necessary to protect and defend its young victims. Moreover, the writer’s depiction of Russian life, customs, law, and language is drawn in such a way as to move the story and its characters into a drama of family with its joys and sorrows, love and loss. The story moves back and forth from Russian settings to Canada. The reader is thereby enmeshed in a novel of realistic suspense. Characters are clearly drawn, the story never loses its hold on the reader as the novel resolves.

I Must Remember opens for us a new set of insights into a hidden world of darkness. Important issues in the secrecy of the modern world of crime are given, as the bard might say, ‘a local habitation and a name’. The writer’s admirable knowledge of this world and its people grips the reader and creates a vivid and enlightening experience.

Paperback/Hardback: Available from Austin Macauley Publishers / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Foyles/ Waterstones / W H Smith. e-Book: Austin Macauley / Barnes & Noble.

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