The Trafficker: A Novel

by Scott Douglas Gerber

“Drawing on first-hand testimony gathered while serving on the Ohio Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, Scott Gerber transforms real stories into a gripping thriller about the hidden world of human trafficking. This novel plunges readers into the dark undercurrents of exploitation—an insidious scourge unfolding inside seemingly ordinary homes and neighborhoods.”
---Diane Citrino, Esq., former Chair of the Ohio Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights

“As a former law-enforcement officer, I can say this story captures the reality of human trafficking with disturbing accuracy. The Trafficker is a gripping, unflinching look at the cases we encounter far too often, and the system struggling to protect our most vulnerable kids.”
---Tristin Kilgallon, author of Philly Warrant Unit

“If you believe that human trafficking is a problem only in backward, Third World countries, you're mistaken. There is a lot of it in the United States and it’s deadly serious but receives scant attention. I’m glad to say that the trafficking industry has a passionate enemy in Scott Gerber. His new novel The Trafficker is written with a law professor’s sharp eye for conflict and detail. It shines a bright light on this hidden national tragedy.”
---George C. Leef, author of The Awakening of Jennifer Van A Political Fable For Our Time

“A harrowing tale of the serial abuses inflicted on a trafficked young girl. Anxiety over her plight propels the reader forward.”
---Chaitram Singh, award-winning author of The Flour Convoy

When a fourteen-year-old girl is discovered by an off-duty police officer at a truck stop outside of Toledo, Ohio, she won’t reveal her name, what she’s doing, or where she’s from. A concerned juvenile court judge appoints acclaimed law professor Cameron Warren as the girl’s guardian ad litem and asks the professor to try to find out more about the girl so the court can return the girl to her home. What the professor learns along the way shakes him and the legal system designed to protect our children to the core.

The Trafficker is a rocket-paced legal thriller that provides heartbreaking insights into one of the most serious problems of our time.

379 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 13, 2026

Reviews

[Melissa Ammons · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are a sensitive reader, I am putting some trigger warnings on this one. I normally don’t, but what “Jane Doe” went through as a child (though not explained in great detail) may upset some readers.

Essentially, a 12-year-old went missing and was found two years later. Obviously, after everything she saw and was forced to do, she was a traumatized little girl who didn’t know how to trust, nor did she know whom she could trust. Even the Warrens couldn’t reach her, unfortunately.

I can only imagine what children in Jane Doe’s situation go through, the trauma they experience. I think this is a good book to bring light to this extreme tragedy, told in such a nonjudgmental, straightforward way (something I appreciated), with caring people who wanted to help.
Unfortunately, these children don’t know who to trust or where to turn. In the end, Jane Doe made the only decision she knew how to make, based on what she had been through.

The thing about these kinds of stories is sometimes they get bogged down in facts and statistics. For me, those sorts of things are a bit over the top and make some stories rather dull in places. This one was not like that. It was told in a straightforward way to bring light to this terrifying subject.

[Masha M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a gripping, urgent, and deeply unsettling legal thriller that pulls back the curtain on one of society's darkest horrors. The novel explains with a chillingly simple scenario: an off-duty police officer discovers a fourteen-year-old girl at a truck stop outside Toledo, Ohio. The girl is a closed book, she won't reveal her name, her past, or her origin. This single, silent teenager becomes the focal point of a legal and moral maelstrom.

A concerned juvenile court judge appoints acclaimed law professor Cameron Warren as the girl's guardian ad litem, a legal advocate tasked with uncovering her story so she can be safely returned home. What begins as a complex but procedural assignment quickly transforms into a harrowing investigation. As Professor Warren digs deeper, what he uncovers shakes him and the legal system designed to protect our children to the core.

It was a page turner for me. But It was also a sad book. It shows trafficking up close making it very emotional and sad.