Jonathan Epps pulls from the darkest corners of our headlines a tale most despicable in his latest novel, Until Morning Comes.
Young girls seldom know the dark, wicked places awaiting them in the world, but they do have real problems. They come from hard-scrabble backgrounds and make destructive decisions because they want something more for themselves. These girls don’t know how to get what they desire, only without a doubt, each one understands they need something so much bigger – so much better than what life currently offers, and they will believe anyone – and do anything – to attain it.
In short, they become targets for predators.
The very rich and the celebrated take what they want from these girls and leave them worse off than ever. It’s those people who should know better but don’t care. They hire people to hunt down these girls, profit from them, and promise a future that never comes to fruition, then discard them like trash.
The girls participate in sordid parties for the uber-wealthy, famous, even celebrated elite who enjoy perpetrating illicit and disturbing actions upon the underaged and vulnerable. They take their pleasure in places where drugs never run dry, and consent is deemed optional. Lots of money changes hands, and some of it even makes its way to a few girls. But at one of these events, Ava witnesses a most deplorable act, and instead of helping the girl, she runs away. She can’t forgive herself. Ava’s haunted by the sights, sounds, and smells of that night, and her hatred grows for the people who perpetrated these offenses.
Ava forms friendships with two others, and they all try to move on. Each one deals with the lingering trauma in different ways. The other two begin to piece together plans for the present, hoping they can eventually set goals for happy futures. But Ava fails in all her attempts. She can’t move on from her past. She can’t move on from the horrific scene she ran from, and so she puts together a plan for revenge.
Ava Rose Anderson decides to put an end to the group.
Why? Simple. She has nothing left to lose. Ava seeks revenge for herself and for all those who suffer the aftermath of the life they once lived. She challenges the offenders with exposure of their crimes – and she’s determined to fight that nightmare to the bitter end.
Revenge may give Ava closure, if not peace. Ultimately, she wants to face the man who ran the trafficking operation. She wants to see him dead. Also, she wants to face off with the woman who recruited her – and so many like her. Ava hunts her targets through media and across a couple of major cities to trap the human trafficking ring. She doesn’t know it, but Ava is not the only person on this trail. Who will reach them first, and how will it all end?
Jonathan Epps masterfully develops his latest thriller with public figures we all recognize from today’s headlines. True crime and thriller fans alike will find Until Morning Comes riveting and simply impossible to put down.
Facing the Dragon by Philip Derrick explores the Vietnam War era through the eyes of an extraordinary high school student named Jim Peterson, who at fifteen made the varsity football team as a freshman. He’s intelligent as well as physically fit as he begins his journey in the backseat of a station wagon with his sister on their way to a family vacation, seemingly a typical teenager.
