Trafficked!

Natalie McMasters Mysteries #3

by Thomas A. Burns Jr.

Bullet wounds heal, but a broken heart is something else entirely. Natalie McMasters is twenty-one, short and blonde (OK, it’s bleached), a way cute former stripper and a pre-law student at State. Nattie also works as a private detective at her uncle’s 3M detective agency. After her last case, in which she was nearly killed, she’s faced with a new, daunting challenge. She must trace the most important person in her life – who doesn’t want to be found – through the squalid sexworld of New York City. Even with help from old and new friends, Natalie will need more persistence and courage than she’s ever shown before if she is to prevail in her most difficult and personal challenge. Trafficked! - A Natalie McMasters Mystery is full of the action, suspense, and unexpected plot twists that Nattie’s many fans thrive on. You totally won’t be disappointed!

Genres: Mystery

241 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2019

About the author

As a kid, Tom started reading mysteries with the Hardy Boys, Ken Holt and Rick Brant, and graduated to the classic stories by authors such as A. Conan Doyle, John Dickson Carr, Erle Stanley Gardner and Rex Stout to name a few. Tom has written fiction as a hobby all of his life, starting in marble-backed copybooks in grade school. He built a career as a writer, doing technical writing, science writing and editing for nearly thirty years in industry and government. Now that he's truly on his own as a freelance science writer and editor, he's excited to publish his own mystery series as well. Follow Tom on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/3MDetectiveA..., on Twitter @3Mdetective or email him at tom@3mdetectiveagency.com to get all the news about Nattie and 3M, as well as Tom's other writing projects.

Reviews

[Meliha Avdic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book is written well in terms of style, timeline, characters, dialogue, which in many places has foreign words giving the book a cosmopolitan feel. I did not check the map of New York, but the confidence with which the writer takes the character through the streets of New York, I trust that this is well researched. The whole story is first person, present tense, and Natalie knows we are right there. I have to admit, I do like this. I am a book worm so I do, sometimes, talk to the characters. However, there were a couple of places I wished I could have helped her. Or at least that she could hear my reply to her questions. The way she talks is novel to me, especially since she uses a lot of WFT, OMG and so on. But even though the language she uses is novel, it was still easy to understand. So thumbs up for that.

The plot… I wish this book started at the point Natalie’s wife left. I had way too many questions about that period. We are given snippets, but I was not satisfied with that.

I liked Natalie just fine until Danny was introduced, oh then she annoyed me. It’s not that she’s evil or anything like that. Just annoying. I liked Danny. He has one major fault, but I feel like I would be giving away an important part of the story if I said what that was. And then there’s a part about Natalie’s view of the UN and I realised that she’s just a ‘child’. It was a bit of a ‘daisy-in-my-hair’, which is kind of cute. So I found myself excusing her. Yet I still couldn’t excuse Danny. Interestingly, even at the end of the book, I liked Danny far more than Natalie.

There was one major incident that I thought would have been on TV. However, in the story, this incident is treated as nothing. I would fix that.

Irish deserved more! That chapter (I’m not going to say which one because I would spoil it) should have been longer and much more… Never mind… Just, Irish deserved more IMO.

Now, the title is a bit of a ‘spoiler alert’ – I don’t think I’ve ever said this. Initially, I thought the book is about ‘trafficking’. When I realised that it’s not, I knew what would happen. Because of the title, I kept waiting for it to happen. Did it, or did it not? That is the question.

The only major issue I had was a sex scene on the ship. Because of my experience working with victims of 'sex crime in war zones', I did have an issue with that. But then, can the two be compared?

All in all, nicely written book. The fact that it inspired me to wonder and add my own spin on it is quite telling.

[Ian Canon · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you enjoy LGBTQ detective / mystery novels, you’ll enjoy this one. I’m partial to classical noir books myself but still enjoyed this book for what it was.

This is the third book in the Natalie McMaster series. Natalie is a young millennial—complete with phrases like “I was totally cray’ and other generational jargon—determined to find her wife Lupe, who is on the run from ICE.

With vivid writing, fast-paced action, and high sexual tension, we’re transported to the seedy underbelly of sex work.

At some points, I did find the millennial jargon a little bit *too* much, but that’s a small complaint for a novel that packs a punch.

This was my first experience in the Natalie McMaster series, but I’ll be checking out Revenge and Stripper to get more of Natalie.

[Sabrina Fish · Rating 4 out of 5]

A dark, gritty tale

Trafficked is the 3rd book in the Natalie McMasters Mystery series. I hadn’t read the first 2 which I wished I had as there were references to the first 2 I was out of the loop on.
This book is dark and gritty. Mattie is strong, determined, and very much a millennial. She doesn’t let anything stop her from her mission to find her missing wife.

I enjoyed the adventure. The scenes are vivid and the author mostly keeps us engaged.

The middle sagged a bit, the cover needs a professional’s touch, and the over-use of “millennial” jargon was super annoying.

Overall though, I’d recommend this book.

[E.M. Swift-Hook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard Nosed Thrills

Natalie McMaster’s wife, Lupe, has run away to avoid being picked up by ICE and deported from the USA. Due to having to recover from injuries, Natalie can’t begin to look for her until six long months have passed. But this is her wife, Natalie loves her and she is not going to let Lupe go until she is sure that is what Lupe really wants. The trail leads to New York and Natalie finds herself searching for a needle in a haystack. Then when she finally get a lead, the trail brings her up against organised criminals who are trafficking girls for sex.

What I really enjoyed:
The characters. I really like Natalie as a character and it was a delight to get back into her head in this book having read ‘Revenge’. And the supporting cast are just as strong and believable. They feel like real people with real problems navigating a very dangerous and uncertain world.
The story. The author is a born storyteller. This is a rip-roaring tale and has all the elements of a mystery and a thriller combined. As a reader you are caught up in the events and just have to know what happens in the end, which gives the book a real page-turning quality - although sometimes when the events were not progressing the plot that would mean several pages at once…
The big issues. What I really like about the Natalie McMaster’s books is that they go straight for the throat in confronting the big issues in the world today. In this case, such things as the position of illegal immigrants in the US and human trafficking.


What I struggled with:
Character sexuality flip. This was a real issue for me. Natalie is a lesbian married to a woman and fully committed to her. She clearly and repeatedly - and with the experience and self-knowledge to do so - self-defines as a lesbian. So for me, having Natalie being suddenly shown as attracted to male physique was a character turn I could not fit in with my knowledge of her: ‘He looks like a bodybuilder or a male model with those gorgeous pecs and six pack. Lesbian or no, the man’s hot!’ I really dislike books written about LGBT characters when they suddenly start acting straight or bisexual having been presented as exclusively same-sex attracted. It diminishes their sexuality and reeks of the untrue and patronising implication that a ‘good man’ is all a lesbian needs to go straight or a ‘good woman’ for a gay guy to do so.
Present tense writing.The author handles it better than most, but there were still plenty of those grating moments that would break my immersion as he struggled to make the present tense work around events.
The pace. This was patchy. I really could have done without the scenes of playing tourist in New York or details on meals being eaten or playing computer games. They killed the pace and ramped down the tension. But that is another issue with present tense writing, you can’t leap time very easily without it jarring and the result is having to slow the book to a crawl at some crucial times in the plot.

Overall thoughts:
Despite its flaws, I enjoyed this book and think you will too if you like adult thrillers. I struggled a bit on star rating, that sudden sexuality shift was a real issue for me. In the end, I went for 3.5, which rounds up to 4.

[Robert Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fiction readers must suspend disbelief to enjoy the characters and the journey they’re on. Trafficked by Thomas A. Burns, Jr. made that difficult. Much of the story is raw, brutal, sadistic, yet at points the author went to great lengths to describe scenes in loving detail and with flowery prose such as, “The mist coating the city streets shines with an eerie opalescence in the little islets of illumination created by the scattered streetlights.” It was a battle between the art of writing and being true to the story. Not an easy situation for any author.

Given the rush at the end of the book to wrap up the story, it appears Burns surrendered the battle. But no harm done.

Readers who enjoy tough cops, tough PIs and/or tough lady protagonists will enjoy the heck out of this steamy, rough, fast-paced book. Few humans could survive the mayhem, but these did, most of them anyway. There was blood, whipping, love making, sewer stench, a tour of Manhattan and Kosher food, honor, despair, and a healthy dollop of deceit and mystery solving.

Burns is a good writer and is on to something good with his Natalie McMasters Mysteries. Highly recommended for fans of young, tough, good-looking women and the trouble they can get in.

[Madelon · Rating 5 out of 5]

TRAFFICKED! will make your skin crawl, and, at the same time, it will demonstrate the value of loyalty and commitment to purpose. You may or may not have noticed that Natalie is surrounded by ex-Marines. In TRAFFICKED!, this becomes abundantly clear. They seem to be the counterpoint to her petite, 5'1", 95-pound, frame.

I do hope that you are reading this series in order. Although there are no cliffhangers, one book does flow seamlessly into the next. If you haven't, you might want to skip over this next bit as it contains a teeny, tiny spoiler. Natalie McMasters, along with being a bit of a hot head, is also a young woman at odds with her sexuality. In TRAFFICKED!, her fluid gender identity seems to come full circle.

Parts of this book will leave you emotionally raw when you stop to consider the vicious abuse of women portrayed here. I am finding that Thomas A. Burns, Jr. is good at plucking his readers out of their favorite reading place and putting them viscerally into the action. There were several sections that brought me to tears.

As difficult this book was to read, it presents subjects that are too often avoided in 'polite company' which only serves to foster abhorrent behavior. Although a work of fiction, you will find yourself better informed after reading it.

[J.E. Rowney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this series out of order - this is the third Nattie novel that I’ve read - but it’s so easy to pick up and enjoy that it really hasn’t mattered.

Nattie heads off to New York in search of her wife Lupe in this book. I have to admit that I didn’t find the plot as compelling as Stripper! Or Sniper! but the writing style is so compelling and the characters (particularly Natalie herself of course) are so engaging that this is still a solid four star read. There are so many little quirks of her personality, not just in this book but in the whole series that I’ve read so far, that flesh out this strong character, and I think that’s really what makes me enjoy these books.

If you’re just starting out with the series, read Stripper! First, but if you’ve enjoyed the other books you’re going to love taking this trip with Nattie...

[Lucretia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book picks up with Natalie as she tries to determine where her wife is. There are really two main threads. One an exploration of emotions with Danny and the other as they try to find Lupe. The closer they get to her, the more dangerous things grow. There are seriously bad people, tense situations, and light shined on the worse kinds of fates. The secondary characters, good and bad, are well-drawn and really add the the intensity. Irish was one of my favorites for so many reasons. You don't have to have read the other parts to enjoy this. However, it did add to the emotion and understanding of why Natalie is willing to do anything to find Lupe. Great read.

[Rebecca Winkler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Trafficked, by Thomas A. Burns, Jr., picks up where Revenge ends. This third book of the Natalie McMasters series reveals that her wife, Lupe, has disappeared, hiding from the ICE queen that threatens to deport her. Clues lead her to New York City and into the territory of the Albanian mob. Nattie will do anything to find her. I recommend this book and encourage you to read the first two. Burns has created a unique character in Nattie, and I can't wait to see what she gets into next.

[Betsy Ashton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas Burns’ TRAFFICKED! was not what I expected. I thought I’d bought a thriller with an amateur private investigator trying to find a missing wife. What I got was a hair-raising ride with Nattie, the P.I., searching for her wife who had run off ahead of an ICE agent coming to deport her. Leads take Nattie to New York City, a place as foreign as any for a woman from a small city. Aided by one of the licensed P.I.s from her uncle’s firm, she tracks the runaway through the seamy sides of multiple boroughs, through strip clubs and back alleys. Along the way, she trusts a homeless man who claims his network of fellow street-dwellers should be able to help. Still okay. Tension is ratcheting up. And then, enter the Albanian mob of human and drug traffickers, and you have a story you hope you won’t read on the front page of your local paper.

TRAFFICKED! is a dandy good yarn, well worth reading deep into the night. With the lights on. I did.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thomas A. Burns Jr.'s "Trafficked!" delves deep past the headlines and uncovers the dark world of sex trafficking. In his third Natalie McMasters novel, the protagonist searches for her significant other in a crime-invested underbelly of New York. McMasters finds allies along the way as well as enemies as she navigates various leads that take her to unexpected places. Burns has crafted a graphic and gritty page-turner that will keep readers guessing to the end. This reviewer recommends the novel for mature audiences.

[James Gault · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie McMasters is a young, hard-drinking, foul-mouthed, cynical, lesbian private detective and you’ll love her. She is a twenty-first century female version of the ‘private eyes’ you can find among the works of the 1940s’ greats like Micky Spillane, Dashiell Hammet and Raymond Chandler.

Coming back from recovering from the results of a previous adventure, ‘Nattie’ finds her wife, an illegal immigrant, has abandoned her, having fled from the attentions of the US Immigration Service. The story follow her to the cesspits of New York as she tries to find her. It’s a tale of violence, abuse, and corruption, but also a story of love and loyalty. The pace is frenetic, it bounces along at 100 miles an hour and the twists and turns of the plot keeps you engrossed right to the end - a tour de force of storytelling.

It’s an engrossing detective mystery with great characters, I can’t envisage any lover of the genre not enjoying it. But there is some extra depth to it.

As the title suggests, the main theme of the story is human trafficking, but the author casts his social consciousness far wider, with frequent little by-the-way comments on city poverty, the treatment of veterans and the US immigration policy. But the overriding theme is the role of women in modern society.

So is it a candidate for the accolade of a ‘feminist’ novel? With a strong, feisty principle character it would certainly seem so, but there are undertones of machismo. The author surrounds the heroine with a protective cocoon of tough ex-marines, ready to come to her rescue whenever needed. Her previously confirmed sexuality is challenged by her relation with her male ‘sidekick’. You get the impression that the author has a grip on the ambiguity of the gender issue. He respects the power of women but appreciates they are different from the male species. I wonder what feminist activists, with their black and white insistence on equality, make of the novel.

Not that feminist approval matters that much. This is, I would say, a boy’s book. The sex and violence are very explicit, and although romance has its part to play, I’m not sure the majority of women would agree that it’s compassion for women as victims would be adequate compensation for the condescending male tone that, for me, permeates the novel.

So what’s my recommendation? Guys, don’t miss it! Babes, give it a try. If the author gets up your nose, he’s still around so you can get to him on his Facebook page.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book Trafficked! is the third in the Natalie McMasters crime/mystery series. It’s heavy on the erotica as detective Nattie tries to find her runaway wife, Lupe, in NYC.

Then there’s Danny Merkel, a serious ex-Marine hunk who is so in love with Nattie that he puts his own life at risk to help her.

The sexual tension between Danny and Nattie adds to the many questions swirling around in Nattie’s head. In between trying to ditch an ICE agent looking for Lupe, dangerous run-ins with the Albanian mob and some outrageous pole dancing, Nattie is constantly wondering who she really loves, Lupe vs. Danny, girl vs. boy. And she is prone to crying. Not your typical hard-boiled detective.

The writing sagged a little with logistics, especially when wandering around NYC, whether in the subway or underground. But the author more than makes up for it with how well he tortures his characters. There were many times I just wanted to shake Natalie for making stupid choices. Of course, that would have ruined the storyline.

To me, the ending was flat because we left Nattie still questioning whom she really loves. But I suspect there’s a fourth book in the works.

This story will definitely work for readers who enjoy LGBTQ crime/mystery novels.

[Susan Buchanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bluntly put, this ain’t your average mystery book. It’s gritty, raw, and “human” in the worst way possible. And I enjoyed it every dark minute of it!
Natalie McMasters is one tough cookie, she’s also a smart quick-thinker and not to be trifled with, and I want to be in her fan club. You can’t help but root for her and family of PI’s as they enter this dark journey to find Natalie’s wife who’s on the run from Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
The book travels into some seedy places and runs into some even seedier characters, who are portrayed in shocking and beautiful detail by the author. The story manages to display the very worst of us as humans and show the best of what we can be at the same time, though Natalie, she’s our moral compass through this journey.
This author knows exactly how to paint characters and scenes for his audience and how to drive a story, you’re just along for the ride. I say; yes please, and thank you.
Is this book enjoyable, and should you read it? Ab-so-freaking-lutely! If you love a mystery, noir-type story with some twists and turns.
I’ll be waiting for Natalie’s next mystery because I know it will be just as good as this one.

[D.M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Natalie McMasters is a young character with an old head on her shoulders at times. She is married to a woman named Lupe who has disappeared / runaway. Is this what Lupe really wants? Natalie is convinced not.

Natalie’s uncle runs a detective agency and she convinces them to help her find her one true love. I love dark reads and this book had that, especially when the trail leads to New York and its ugly underbelly.

The writing is good, the scenes are fleshed out and the author keeps us engaged, occasionally there is a little too much detail, but that’s better than not enough. I wasn’t sure about a lesbian being attracted to a man? But it’s fiction and anything can happen.

I didn’t realise that this was book 3 but don’t let that put you off as it can be read as a standalone.

[Elizabeth Hamilton-Smyth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great story featuring the tough, devil-may-care Natalie McMasters. This is the third I have read in this series, and author Thomas Burns has nailed it again. This time, Nattie is on a quest to find her love, Lupe; a journey which leads her into all kinds of danger along the way. While transporting us into the seedy world of sex workers, this fast-paced thriller leaves us gasping for breath on each turn of a page. Filled with action, superb description, and scenes not for the faint-hearted, this novel will not disappoint. Better still, the cliff-hanger ending leads us to believe Nattie's adventures are far from over, so I am hoping to soon read the fourth in this excellent series.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Trafficked!, Thomas Burns gives us a thrilling adventure with an appealing main character, Natalie McMasters. Natalie is a young millennial: complex, feisty, resourceful, fearless, and determined. She doesn’t let social conventions get in her way---or much else, for that matter. Mr. Burns paints vivid settings and writes with a freedom that many writers lack. He knows a thing or two about millennials (you’ll find plenty of that generation’s unique vocabulary throughout the story).

It sags a bit in the middle, but then it picks up and SOARS!

[Sam Fury · Rating 5 out of 5]

Natalie is back!

And she’s determined to find her wife.

But New York is a big place, and Lupe’s been missing for 6 months already.

Luckily, she’s not alone. With help from some friends she just may accomplish her mission.

Of course, there’s the Albanian mob, corrupt police, and immigration on her ass.

Has Natalie bitten more off than she can chew?

Will she find Lupe?

Can she even get out of this alive?

You love this action-packed thriller, because the first half will hook you, and the second half will blow you away!

Get it now!

[Isabel Rivera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some words are intrigued to know.

The first book I read from the author, and Trafficking is an interesting subject. The story is very intense,dangerous and dark . The characters are good and bad, who play the intense and light shined on the worse kinds of fates situations. Recommended.

[Sandra Burns · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some graphic sex, be forewarned.

I enjoyed this. Natalie cries a little bit too much for me. She needs to be strong. She was looking for her missing wife. With help from Danny and others. Got into all kinds of trouble.

[Donna Jahr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

I found i could not put this book down until the end! It was so very informative about new york...that i feel i could walk around the borough's right now knowing exactly where I was . This was a great book with a difficult subject.

[Linda Schnetzer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fascinating, but poorly written.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

This third book in the Natalie McMasters Mystery Series by Thomas A Burns, Jr was definitely an emotionally grabbing story as Nattie attempts to find her wife Lupe in the big city of New York while also trying to keep herself alive. It is also a story about torn love as Nattie is struggling with her feelings for Danny as well as remembering she is married. There is plenty of action in their bed for her and Danny during their time in NYC which is only mentioned in passing and not described in any detail. There is also physical peril for the duo as well as forming an unlikely alliance with a homeless man called Irish. There is a heart-rending emotionally charged unfinished ending which I presume leads to book 4 in the series which I have eagerly added to my TBR. This is a voluntary review of this book.