What do you think?
Rate this book
Stevie Hooper #3
Take Out
When DSS Stevie Hooper steps into the empty Pavel house and someone else's jurisdiction, she upsets more than the ego of a struggling suburban cop. She has breached the defences of a ruthless group that has at its rotten heart a disregard for human life.
356 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
48 people want to read
About the author
Felicity Young
16 books94 followersI was born in Germany and educated at an English boarding school while my parents travelled the world with the British army. I think the long boring plane trips home played an important part in helping me to develop my creative imagination.
I settled with my parents in Western Australia in 1976, became a nurse, married young and had three children. Not surprisingly, it took ten years to complete an Arts degree (English lit) at UWA.
In 1990 my family and I moved to a small farm 40 kilometers NE of Perth (Western Australia) where I established a Suffolk sheep stud, reared orphan kangaroos and embarked upon a life of crime writing.
I settled with my parents in Western Australia in 1976, became a nurse, married young and had three children. Not surprisingly, it took ten years to complete an Arts degree (English lit) at UWA.
In 1990 my family and I moved to a small farm 40 kilometers NE of Perth (Western Australia) where I established a Suffolk sheep stud, reared orphan kangaroos and embarked upon a life of crime writing.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 26, 2017
Felicity Young is proving herself to be a very versatile writer and this is an excellent series so far.
The theme of the story is human trafficking, in particular female sex workers. It is an unpleasant topic but the author handles it well. Stevie Hooper is a detective in the Sex Crimes Department but she steps outside her role to investigate an abandoned baby. Things go from bad to worse and she ends up with her life threatened.
An awful lot happens in what is actually quite a short book and it is very hard to put it down until the end. I enjoy the characters of Stevie and her husband Monty and the struggles they have domestically as well as at work. A series is always best enjoyed for the development of characters and their relationships.
This particular book also has a sting in the tail which gave me quite a shock as I read the final page. Very clever Ms.Young. I liked it!
The theme of the story is human trafficking, in particular female sex workers. It is an unpleasant topic but the author handles it well. Stevie Hooper is a detective in the Sex Crimes Department but she steps outside her role to investigate an abandoned baby. Things go from bad to worse and she ends up with her life threatened.
An awful lot happens in what is actually quite a short book and it is very hard to put it down until the end. I enjoy the characters of Stevie and her husband Monty and the struggles they have domestically as well as at work. A series is always best enjoyed for the development of characters and their relationships.
This particular book also has a sting in the tail which gave me quite a shock as I read the final page. Very clever Ms.Young. I liked it!
May 27, 2018
Detective Senior Sergeant Stevie Hooper was painting her house when her friend Skye asked for her help. The house they went to had been ransacked, but it was the baby in the cot; dehydrated and naked that shocked both Stevie and Skye. Obviously abandoned, Skye accompanied it to the hospital in the ambulance while Stevie stayed to work with the police. Mrs Hardegan who lived next door and seemed to know a little of what was going on, had recently had a stroke and was unable to communicate.
Stevie was a member of the Sex Crimes Unit and was looking forward to the three weeks off she had coming up – caring for her husband Monty after he had bypass surgery wasn’t her idea of a holiday, but their daughter Izzy would need her. So why did she feel so drawn to the case that wasn’t hers? As the investigation deepened and the horrors of the trafficking of female sex workers from Thailand to Australia reared its ugly head, danger followed Stevie closely. There were people out there who would kill to keep their secrets buried…
Take Out by Aussie author Felicity Young was intense! 3rd in the Stevie Hooper series, it is fast paced and violent (though not "in your face"); the evil and degradation was handled well by the author. Incredible twists with a strong main character, Take Out is an excellent police procedural with a very surprising ending, which I highly recommend.
Stevie was a member of the Sex Crimes Unit and was looking forward to the three weeks off she had coming up – caring for her husband Monty after he had bypass surgery wasn’t her idea of a holiday, but their daughter Izzy would need her. So why did she feel so drawn to the case that wasn’t hers? As the investigation deepened and the horrors of the trafficking of female sex workers from Thailand to Australia reared its ugly head, danger followed Stevie closely. There were people out there who would kill to keep their secrets buried…
Take Out by Aussie author Felicity Young was intense! 3rd in the Stevie Hooper series, it is fast paced and violent (though not "in your face"); the evil and degradation was handled well by the author. Incredible twists with a strong main character, Take Out is an excellent police procedural with a very surprising ending, which I highly recommend.
August 2, 2018
Thoroughly enjoyed from beginning to end!
January 29, 2010
Fremantle Press have just released the third DSS Stevie Hooper book by WA based writer Felicity Young, TAKE OUT, following on from HARUM SCARUM and AN EASEFUL DEATH.
Starting off with a prologue that is obviously telegraphing something awful in the future of Mai, a young Asian girl, the action moves to Perth. Stevie is working in the Sex Crimes unit, but it's in her capacity as friend that she steps into the strangely deserted Pavel house that morning. The house is luxurious, big, beautiful, yet it's contents are sparse, scruffy, untidy. The remains of an unfinished meal are on the table, and in one of the back rooms, a young child has been deserted - alive, but strangely it seems he has been fed and looked after until only recently. For days after his parents have both just vanished.
The only reason the baby is discovered in time is because Stevie knows Skye - a young visiting nurse, who has been alerted to something wrong at the Pavel house by one of their neighbours. Unfortunately that elderly neighbour has had a severe stroke affecting her speech patterns, which makes them garbled and nonsensical. A simple disappearance isn't really a case for a DSS in the Sex Crimes squad, and the local police are keen to move her out of the way when they show up, but Stevie's not one that's easily distracted and there are things at this crime scene that don't quite add up. Mind you, Stevie would do well to leave it alone, especially as she and partner Monty are up to their elbows in house renovations, and he's about to undergo major heart surgery.
When the investigation into the father's background quickly reveals a very sinister connection to human trafficking and sexual enslavement Stevie's concern is vindicated and despite worrying about Monty, their house, her daughter, Skye, and her own safety, finds herself ultimately on the trail of a shadowy Madam and her son.
The subject matter of TAKE OUT is sleazy and unpleasant, but it is handled carefully. The sexual exploitation of young people (in this case female) is difficult to comprehend and TAKE OUT makes it that more difficult by letting the reader get to really know one of the (now) women - Mai. Along with Mai's story, and the disappearance of the Pavel husband and wife, there are a number of other lesser, but connected threads, and there is a sprinkling of personal stories - triumphs and sadness as well.
TAKE OUT has a busy plot, but the focus remains on a number of aspects of enforced prostitution, making the novel possibly quite challenging for some readers. There is a very strong concentration on the victims of the sexual exploitation - working on making them human, real people that can be sympathised with. Combine that with Stevie, her work colleagues, her personal life and the increasing complications in both and it does mean that the villains of the piece are little more than bit players for quite a bit of the book. The perpetrators, whilst eventually identified, remain shadowy, almost strangely incidental and there's little if no explanation of the inexplicable attempted - which may intrigue some readers and frustrate others. TAKE OUT does, however, balance the personal angst and professional responsibilities of Stevie a lot better than in the earlier novels, and the complexity of the plot is handled well, believably and with sensitivity. TAKE OUT really does take on a difficult subject with sensitivity and insight, making the victims a point of focus, delivering a realistic (and therefore not all neatly wrapped up and sealed off) resolution. For added measure, there's a bit of a kick in the tail at the end of the book as well. For this reader at least, that alone went miles towards demonstrating why some things remain utterly inexplicable.
Starting off with a prologue that is obviously telegraphing something awful in the future of Mai, a young Asian girl, the action moves to Perth. Stevie is working in the Sex Crimes unit, but it's in her capacity as friend that she steps into the strangely deserted Pavel house that morning. The house is luxurious, big, beautiful, yet it's contents are sparse, scruffy, untidy. The remains of an unfinished meal are on the table, and in one of the back rooms, a young child has been deserted - alive, but strangely it seems he has been fed and looked after until only recently. For days after his parents have both just vanished.
The only reason the baby is discovered in time is because Stevie knows Skye - a young visiting nurse, who has been alerted to something wrong at the Pavel house by one of their neighbours. Unfortunately that elderly neighbour has had a severe stroke affecting her speech patterns, which makes them garbled and nonsensical. A simple disappearance isn't really a case for a DSS in the Sex Crimes squad, and the local police are keen to move her out of the way when they show up, but Stevie's not one that's easily distracted and there are things at this crime scene that don't quite add up. Mind you, Stevie would do well to leave it alone, especially as she and partner Monty are up to their elbows in house renovations, and he's about to undergo major heart surgery.
When the investigation into the father's background quickly reveals a very sinister connection to human trafficking and sexual enslavement Stevie's concern is vindicated and despite worrying about Monty, their house, her daughter, Skye, and her own safety, finds herself ultimately on the trail of a shadowy Madam and her son.
The subject matter of TAKE OUT is sleazy and unpleasant, but it is handled carefully. The sexual exploitation of young people (in this case female) is difficult to comprehend and TAKE OUT makes it that more difficult by letting the reader get to really know one of the (now) women - Mai. Along with Mai's story, and the disappearance of the Pavel husband and wife, there are a number of other lesser, but connected threads, and there is a sprinkling of personal stories - triumphs and sadness as well.
TAKE OUT has a busy plot, but the focus remains on a number of aspects of enforced prostitution, making the novel possibly quite challenging for some readers. There is a very strong concentration on the victims of the sexual exploitation - working on making them human, real people that can be sympathised with. Combine that with Stevie, her work colleagues, her personal life and the increasing complications in both and it does mean that the villains of the piece are little more than bit players for quite a bit of the book. The perpetrators, whilst eventually identified, remain shadowy, almost strangely incidental and there's little if no explanation of the inexplicable attempted - which may intrigue some readers and frustrate others. TAKE OUT does, however, balance the personal angst and professional responsibilities of Stevie a lot better than in the earlier novels, and the complexity of the plot is handled well, believably and with sensitivity. TAKE OUT really does take on a difficult subject with sensitivity and insight, making the victims a point of focus, delivering a realistic (and therefore not all neatly wrapped up and sealed off) resolution. For added measure, there's a bit of a kick in the tail at the end of the book as well. For this reader at least, that alone went miles towards demonstrating why some things remain utterly inexplicable.
October 12, 2011
The third DSS Stevie Hooper novel by Australian author Felicity Young. Set in Western Australia, this book is an enjoyable police procedural involving illegal trafficking of female sex workers from Thailand to Australia.
April 3, 2010
Australian crime fiction. Gripping & sophisticated. DSS Stevie Hooper is a gutsy heroine who steps into a sordid world of prostitution & payback.
September 14, 2010
I have so far read two other of Felicity Young's books featuring Stevie Hooper. This one is good too. Thumbs up!
OK, have finished it and give it a thumbs up : )
OK, have finished it and give it a thumbs up : )
September 20, 2015
A good Australian detective story.
June 29, 2010
Top-drawer crime fiction, great characters, and set in Perth, where I live. An excellent read.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews