Little Boy Lost

Written by J. D. Trafford

Narrated by JD Jackson

An Amazon Charts bestseller.

A broken city, a missing young man, and a lawyer searching for truth when nobody else cares.

Attorney Justin Glass’s practice, housed in a shabby office on the north side of Saint Louis, isn’t doing so well that he can afford to work for free. But when eight-year-old Tanisha Walker offers him a jar full of change to find her missing brother, he doesn’t have the heart to turn her away.

Justin had hoped to find the boy alive and well. But all that was found of Devon Walker was his brutally murdered body—and the bodies of twelve other African American teenagers, all discarded like trash in a mass grave. Each had been reported missing. And none had been investigated.

As simmering racial tensions explode into violence, Justin finds himself caught in the tide. And as he gives voice to the discontent plaguing the city’s forgotten and ignored, he vows to search for the killer who preys upon them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Brilliance Audio
• Release date: Aug 1, 2017
• ISBN: 9781536649123

J. D. Trafford

Award-winning author J.D. Trafford, described as “a writer of merit” by Mystery Scene magazine, has topped numerous Amazon bestseller lists, including reaching #1 on the Legal Thrillers list. IndieReader selected his debut novel, No Time to Run, as a bestselling pick. Trafford graduated with honors from a top-twenty law school, and he has worked as a civil and criminal prosecutor, as an associate at a large national law firm, and as a nonprofit attorney. He’s handled issues of housing, education, and poverty in communities of color. Prior to law school, he worked in Washington, DC, and lived in Saint Louis, Missouri. He now lives with his wife and children in the Midwest, and he bikes whenever possible.

Reviews for Little Boy Lost

[darcia_10 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This book started with lots of promise. I expected to love it, but ultimately I barely managed to get through to the end.The description and title lead us to believe that the story centers around a murdered child, and, eventually, a group of murdered children. This is true only in the broadest sense. The children are a vague backdrop. We learn little about Devon Walker and pretty much nothing about the other dead boys. These dead children only serve to give the plot a launching point on the topic of racism.We have several prominent subplots, giving this story a convoluted feel. We spend too much time on the issues of bullying, grief, extramarital affairs, and politics. These subplots distract from, rather than support, the main plot. We also spend a whole lot of time on a local homeless man's court case that Justin Glass takes on. This case has absolutely nothing to do with the dead boys and, again, only takes focus away from what is supposed to be the main plot.The issue of racism is the main focus throughout the book. By midway, this becomes too heavy-handed. Parts read much like nonfiction sociology books. The facts are correct and sad, and it's indeed a topic that needs to be discussed, but the writing feels preachy. Ironically, the author inadvertently ignores the dead boys in his effort to show that racism is responsible for everyone else ignoring the dead boys. In the end, this isn't a thriller or even a crime novel; it's an exposition on racism within the police force and politics. Sadly, this comes at the expense of character and plot development.

[debkrenzer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the opening of this book. An 8 year old girl comes to Justin Glass, a lawyer, with a pickle jar filled with coins and a few bills. She wants to hire Justin to find her brother who has been missing for a month.When Justin decides that he will look into it, what he finds is shocking. Someone is kidnapping and murdering black teenagers and burying them in the woods outside of St. Louis. Their one connection? They have all been in and out of the justice system since a very young age.I really liked this book a lot. It reminded me of the Thomas Mullen books that deal with racial tensions and narrated by the blacks that are being prejudiced against. So there is actually a lot more going on in this book than just finding the little girl's brother.An enjoyable read that I just sped through. The first book I've read by this author and it definitely won't be the last.Thanks to Thomas & Mercer and Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

[dokfintong · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Unlikely endingThe Glass family has been an important political force in the racially tense city of St. Louis. Two brothers, Justin and Lincoln, are in line to inherit their father's political machine and continue the family tradition. Justin the lawyer has been on a downward personal spiral for years since the death of his wife, but he picks himself up to help a little girl find her lost brother. When the lost brother's body is found in a mass grave, and when one mass grave leads to a horrifying series of similar murders, Justin's inner fire begins to burn.I found the identity of the murderer a bit unlikely but overall the book reads well and promised to be the start of a series we will enjoy.I received a review copy of "Little Boy Lost" by J. D. Trafford (Thomas & Mercer) through NetGalley.com.

[auntmarge64 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Justin Glass, whose father and brother are influential politicians, is a widowed single father just beginning to recover after his wife's death. His legal practice in St. Louis is failing, but he agrees to help a little girl find her brother, a delinquent missing for several months. The police ask him to serve as a liaison to the black community, which trusts him as one of their own but won't cooperate with law enforcement. When the boy's body is found with numerous others it becomes obvious there's a serial killer targeting young black recidivists, and Justin and the cops try to find a common link. Meanwhile, his daughter is being bullied by classmates and his family is pressuring him to get into the family business.I enjoyed this well-written and absorbing story right until the rushed ending, which kind of ruined it for me. It should have been drawn out much more in keeping with the rest of the tale.

[lostinalibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Justin Glass is a member of a prominent black family in St Louis. His father is a US Congressman, his brother is a Senator and Julian is a lawyer doing mainly pro bono work for those who are unable to pay. But since the death of his wife, he has not been coping well. He has spent most of his days struggling with grief, letting his work slip and ignoring his daughter, Sammy who is being bullied at school. In fact, things have gotten so bad that he and Sammy have had to move into a guest house at the home of his white father-in-law.But his life is about to change drastically when eight-year-old Tanisha Walker tries to hire him to find her missing brother. Although he tries to convince her he can’t help, he decides to phone a friend in the police department. He learns that Tanisha’s brother is just one of several teenaged African-American boys who have disappeared, all with criminal records going back to their pre-teens. Not exactly a priority issue for the police who assume that they have run away and, frankly, are not unhappy they are gone. But then bodies of several of these missing boys are found, all clearly the work of one killer and Glass is asked to help find him since many of the families and friends of the dead kids refuse to talk to the police. Despite strong reservations, Glass decides to help. He soon finds himself up against racism, and a legal system that seems to have no interest in finding the killer especially as the clues that Glass uncover appear to point to one of their own. Little Boy Lost by author J.D. Trafford is listed as a thriller but, as several other reviewers have pointed out, it is more a legal/murder mystery. Much of the story is about Glass’ relationship with his daughter, his brother, and his father’s efforts to get him to run for his seat in Congress as well as the Bosnian refugees who run his favourite coffee shop and introduce him to his new secretary/office manager. There is also a great deal about his daughter’s bullying and a client who refuses to plead guilty to a misdemeanor offence because, although this is hardly his first arrest, it is the first for a crime he is innocent of. All of this seems like it should have taken away from the story but, for the most part, it didn’t. These characters were interesting, mostly likable, and added to the story. The book is well-written and gives an interesting look at race relations in America both inside and out of the judicial system although, again judging from other reviews, if you tend to be on the more Conservative side of the issue, you might want to give it a pass. For the rest, I give it a high recommendation.Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review