Unquiet Souls (a DS Gus McGuire Case book #1) by Liz Mistry

He's still recovering from knife wounds where he was trying to prevent the death of a woman and her child.  He survived but his friend with mental issues didn't.  Now he's trying to recover from the impact on his mind, too.  If  only he could go back to work...

Bloodhound Books and Net Galley allowed me to read this book for review (thank you).  It has been published and you can get a copy now.

The subject matter is not very pleasant but the police action makes up for it.  Almost by accident, the police run across a home housing children that are rented or sold to sexual predators.  Most of them are from foreign countries and don't speak English.  All of them are terrified and hurt.  They wish they had Gus back because he's so good at these cases.  The psychologist isn't sure he should tackle that but she's getting pressure to let him come back to work, so she signs off.  He still has to visit her, though, for regular visits.

As they dig for information about where the children came from and who transported them as well as trying to find all the participants in this ugly plot, they find it's hard going.  Most of them have had experience at it and know what to do but this group is good at covering its tracks.

While all this is going on, they have a missing teenager.  It turns out she's part of the witness protection program and her mother had let the cops bug their house to get proof her husband was part of the group.  They got him and other participating individuals but not those at the top.  Now the man at the top has found them and he intends to make her pay.

Sex is a predominate subject in this story but the investigation is what keeps your attention.  You can't be sure how it will turn out, if Gus can hold himself together until the end, and you worry about the kidnapped children.

It's full of suspense and will keep you reading.  I'd read another in this series.