True Mercy

True Mercy: Idelle Kursman

Trust, blind faith and hope are at the heart of this novel as we meet Adam Hitchens who although he looks like a teen of 18 in reality he is autistic and quite childlike. His father is recently widowed and is his sole caregiver and at times it stresses him out in many different ways. Adam is smart in many respects and yet when he decides to allow a perfect stranger into his home the events that follow will enlighten readers to the seriousness of human trafficking and meet Marina the one person who Adam feels might take the place of his mother who has passed. Working and having a special presentation that he needs to give and yet making sure his son catches the bus and goes to work little does he know that this one specific day Adam decided to watch television, make his own breakfast and not go to work. A call from his boss alerted his father to his misdeed but seeing Marina outside and befriending her, trusting his own instincts and allowing her to become part of his life would radically change everything for him and his father. Adam is autistic and very sensitive to the moods and feelings of others and he takes to Marina more than his father would like. Danger surrounds her at every turn even though she is somewhat safe living with them. Learning about Marina his sister-in-law Judy comes over without giving it a second thought to make sure that Adam is safe. Meeting Marina she is leery about her at first but getting to know her the author reveals a woman who has been through torture, drugs that the criminals injected in her without her permission or knowledge at times and the fear that she would never have a normal life.
Igor and Sergei are the two who will not give up and yet their boss or handler Andre is vicious and will stop at nothing short of murder or anything lethal to get Marina back and the money from clients for her.
Adam loves videos and movies about animals of any kind and enjoys long walks and Marina gives him the love and understanding he needs when Bruce gets overwrought and feels stress. She’s a calming influence and after a while an important part of his life.
When she finally agrees to get checked out at the hospital things change for both Adam and Bruce when the police are notified and they take on this sex trafficking cartel or organization. Kidnapped from her home country Moldova and in America she looks like a poor waif but within this young woman is someone bright, computer savvy and kind. Here is where things spiral out of control and Adam becomes distraught when Marina is not with him and he has to be sedated.
Officer Lewis was in charge of the interrogation and seemed understanding and concerned, as did everyone else in the police department. Listening to Marina relate that she was thinking about going back with her boyfriend and that two men kidnapped her, repeatedly drugged her, wanted to use her for their own purposes and exploited other young girls torturing them if they dared to not comply to their wishes, made the police wonder how she was able to even withstand any pressures of life at all and yet she is a survivor. This story is about trust, surviving and standing up for yourself and fighting back.
Each chapter is told in the voice of one of the main characters as we learn and hear the inner most thoughts of Bruce as he struggles with his obligations to work, his presentation, competition from Steve hoping to outshine him and get his promotion and dealing with Adam. Marina just wanted to feel safe, be apart of their lives and did everything she could to make them feel comfortable around her but for how long. As the investigation was not leading anywhere something was about to change including her safety.
Flashing to her own feelings for her own father and then thinking about Bruce and his relationship with Adam, Marina’s thoughts are revealed as she envisions as scene with him on the beach and all her worries would be washed away in the ocean. Marina repeats for more than once the background of what happened to her and this time it was being taped in order for other law enforcement officials to hear what she had to say and with Lewis doing the questioning it made it easier for her to speak. Not needing prompting she explain that she was in Chisinau the capital of Moldova visiting her boyfriend who came from Moscow. Thinking they could reunite she explains to Lewis that leaving his apartment in the morning she met and encountered two men and then finding herself chained on a ship. Sergei and Igor checked on all of the women periodically and took the dead ones away and tossed them like trash. Anyone who had an accident was made to realize that it better never happen again as Lewis could not hide or conceal his horror.
Barely able to walk or talk and deprived food until they needed to sell her to clients, Marina lived in small, dirty and unhealthy environment.
The details and the graphic description provided by the author and Marina gives readers a first hand experience about what these unsuspecting young girls learned. Unfortunately, sometimes parents pay money to these people to bring their children to America for an education or a job and instead these innocents are sold into slavery. This book brings to light that doing this through a private broker can lead to what happened to Marina and others. Pages 290-292 will make your heartbreak and bring tears to your eyes.
Officer Lewis explained that a car would ride by and watch his house but both Adam and Bruce had to go to work the following day and what happens as a result will change it all. Irene the lady next door sees something and is suspicious and when they arrive home Marina is gone but where and how? Igor takes out his revenge on someone and now hopes to make sure Marina is never found but what she does is short of ingenious but will it be enough to save her from Igor and his minions.
Hiring someone named Victor, Andre is assured that the job will be done, she will be eliminated and anyone else that stands in his way of achieving his goal. But, not everyone is who they appear to be and the startling and tension filled ending will keep you wondering if Marina will survive, will se return to her country or will she change the course of her life forever?
Eight year old Joseph is quite astute and living in Puerto Rico he sees a lot and claims he hears things and what is scene will shock readers as it is no different than what others would have seen had they reported the capture of the girls and what happened to them.
Adam, Bruce and Marina’s lives are now intertwined but the ending might change it all and the sacrifice that Bruce is willing to make you just won’t believe. Igor, Marina, Bruce and a young 18 year old autistic boy named Adam that would put himself in danger to save someone’s life whom he just met. Adam is a sterling character and although he is at the low end of the spectrum his powers of perception are strong and astute. So, before anyone pays money to send their child here from an unknown broker that promises them the world think twice, call a reputable agency, check them out before endangering the life of your child. This is a story that is so well told and a family hoped to save the life of a young woman and truly understood the meaning of TRUE MERCY!
Fran Lewis: Just reviews/MJ magazine