Harrowing, deeply moving, Bitter Sweet is a gripping revelation of human trafficking, escorts and police corruption
Nina's double-life as a university student and an escort falls apart when she is drawn into a web of violence, human trafficking and police corruption.
When Nina rescues three girls from the clutches of a vicious trafficker a city-wide pursuit ensues, one in which Nina must outwit not only the police, but also the trafficker and a fate far worse than prosecution.
Can Nina avoid capture by the trafficker and a life of sexual slavery? Or will she in desperation contact the police? And can she avoid her worst nightmare - exposure as an escort?
In his heart-pounding début novel Mason Forbes takes the reader on a roller-coaster through the escort business, human trafficking and corruption from the city streets all the way up to the Crown Prosecution Service.
Bitter Sweet is a powerful and very contemporary crime-thriller from author Mason N. Forbes. Forbes was moved to write about the realities of prostitution, to cut through the superficial veneer which has effectively glamourised the subject of escorting in recent years, through the popular 'escort expose' novels and memoirs like Belle de Jour. Forbes' brutal portrayal of the victimisation of women in the sex industry is more akin to Steig Larsson's epic novels, and involved extensive research into the lives of the ordinary people who choose to work in the sex trade - but who similarly do not support human trafficking - in order to produce a narrative that's all the more arresting for its authenticity. Forbes was astonished by just how different the media's representations of the lives of sex workers are to the nuanced reality; in researching the industry he found women and men who have chosen to work in the industry to earn a living; paying bills, financing mortgages and avoiding student debts. He did not find an industry rife with violence, corruption, coercion and drugs, particularly amongst the workers themselves.
What readers and reviewers are saying about Bitter Sweet
"Aside from the cliff-hangers and the edge-of-your-seat thrill, the novel is, at its best, deeply moving--you get more than a glimpse into the heart-breaking experience of the victims of human trafficking" Meghan USA TOP 500 REVIEWER
"Bitter Sweet is a taut and gripping thriller that's also quite emotional" Alex Prosper USA TOP 1000 REVIEWER
"The style is authentic and in the new tradition of gritty, gripping, Stieg Larsson style crime novels" Constance Carter
"Bitter Sweet takes you on a fast paced and engrossing journey into the ugly truth of human trafficking" Sigi Lorenz
"Pretty tough to read at times, but it's a story that must be told" Brenda Lee
"This book is thrilling, challenging, and will leave you wanting more" Ricky Hansen
"You really don't know what you are in for until you get a few chapters in, but once that happens you will not put the book down" Adeshola
"The best book I've read this year" Gary Walker look4books.co.uk
"A well crafted critique of UK law enforcement system from an escort's POV." The News Letter.
"Forbes has succeeded in conveying the realities of prostitution, to cut through the superficial veneer which has effectively glamourised the subject of escorting in recent years, through the popular 'escort expose' novels and memoirs like Belle de Jour. His brutal portrayal of the victimisation of women in the sex industry is more akin to Steig Larsson's epic novels, and he was astonished by just how different the media's representations of the lives of sex workers are to the nuanced reality." The Belfast Telegraph.
