Wow!! A local womans true story of her life. And what a life this woman has lead... Raped by her father from been 3 years old... worked in Amsterdam as a prostitute and put on heavy drugs by her pimp. Gang raped... You name it, its in this book.. Certainly an eye opener.

( )

Wow!! A local womans true story of her life. And what a life this woman has lead... Raped by her father from been 3 years old... worked in Amsterdam as a prostitute and put on heavy drugs by her pimp. Gang raped... You name it, its in this book.. Certainly an eye opener.

( )

I like a good bit of true crime and over the past few years I've read a good few titles and particularly enjoyed 3,096 Days by Natascha Kampusch at the start of the year. Based on this and the great reviews this got on Amazon I decided to read this. The book is the true story of Sarah, a British woman who is kidnapped and forced into prostitution in Amsterdam. She was also abused by her father and by a care system that was meant to protect her.

I found it to be a very fast read but I have to say that I am at a loss to how it got such good reviews. There is nothing wrong with it in particular but it brings nothing new to the table in my opinion. The writing is particularly weak, perhaps understandable for Forsyth but Tim Tate worked as a researcher and was part of the Roger Cook investigative team. I assume he was brought on board or took the decision to write the book due to the fact that this is his field. If I compare it to 3,096 days the writing is years apart.

The story is wretched and pretty horrific but I just can't help but feel they missed a trick. Occasionally emotion creeps in but its far too occasional. Also unlike 3,096 Days we don't get behind Forsyth's thought process during the experience but perhaps I am being too harsh, she was a drug addict at the time. The flow of the book is a bit of a mess as well, it follows a time line but its a bit all over the shop. I had far higher hopes for this book than it delivered and I would be unlikley to recommend it to anyone. It could have been so much more than it ended up being. ( )

Geen woorden voor wat deze vrouw is aangedaan.
Ik vind het goed dat ze haar verhaal doet, men moet weten wat voor een gruwelen -óók in 'beschaafde' landen- vrouwen worden aangedaan.
En hoerenlopers moeten weten wat voor een verschrikkelijke markt ze in stand houden.

Heb me wel verbaasd hoe ze ook na haar bevrijding zichzelf niet kan hervatten ( )

This is a shocking but compelling tale that I found difficult to put down. It is written in the first person and the narrative is easy to follow throughout, with an afterword given at the end of the book giving an interesting perspective on some relevant laws and police operations relating to human trafficking.
Having walked around the red light district in Amsterdam as a tourist, I have to say I would never do so again. This book exposes a truth that the majority of tourists are completely naïve about. The author has bravely written this account and made her experiences public. Lets hope the authorities take note and appropriate actions to prevent similar experiences for other innocent girls. ( )