thedeadgirlinthevacantlot

Phoenix investigative reporter Joya Bonner knew nothing about the world of sex trafficking—or the ugly status her city held in this filthy underground. But then her 15 year-old honorary niece went missing in Phoenix. And a 13 year-old from her hometown in North Dakota disappeared. And there was that pitiful dead girl in the vacant lot. As Joya rushed in to help—naive, scared, repulsed, frantic, but determined—her world would never be the same again. This is a work of fiction. The major characters are created from the author's imagination—with the exception of Mike Lacey and Jim Larkin. They really did create a media empire that began with the New Times of Phoenix; they really were arrested in the dead of night by Sheriff Joe Arpaio's goons; they really did create Backpage.com that Congress calls an "online brothel," they really are currently awaiting trial on scores of charges they facilitated child sex-trafficking. The story woven around these characters--ripped from today's headlines--will shock you to your core.