Book Review: Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock

Product Description

When fifteen-year-old Lance Covington finds an abandoned baby in the backseat of a car, he knows she's the newborn daughter of a meth addict he's been trying to help. But when police arrest him for kidnapping, Lance is thrust into a criminal world of baby trafficking and drug abuse. His mother, Barbara, looks for help from Kent Harlan---the man whom she secretly, reluctantly loves and who once helped rescue her daughter from a mess of her own. Kent flies to her aid and begins the impossible work of getting Lance out of trouble, protecting a baby who has no home, and finding help for a teenage mother hiding behind her lies. In this latest novel of suspense and family loyalty, bestselling author Terri Blackstock offers a harrowing look at drug addiction, human trafficking, and the devastating choices that can change lives forever.

MY REVIEW

Terri Blackstock has been responsible for far too many late nights spent trying to convince myself to put down her novels and get some much needed rest. Vicious Cycle proved true to form, and I devoured this book in record time. The action was non-stop, and yet the deeper issues Blackstock explored such as human trafficking and substance misuse were convincingly woven into the fabric of the story without distracting from the pace.

I must admit that I was somewhat frustrated by the way she portrayed the "system" handling the issue of the baby; I am very familiar with child protection issues, and this aspect of the story did not seem realistic. At least where I live, the hospital nurses would not have allowed Jordan to just leave the hospital with her baby with the knowledge that she had been high on crystal meth when she gave birth; at the very least, the child protection social workers would have been contacted upon Jordan being admitted to the hospital. However, I realize that laws in different provinces and states do vary, and so I tried to suspend my judgment regarding this issue. The rest of the story certainly captured my interest and was highly entertaining. 4 of 5 stars.