Daphne du Maurier Award-winner Patricia Bradley has captured readers by keeping the suspense taut and the stakes high in her Memphis Cold Case novels. The latest in the series is Justice Delivered (Revell): A victim of sex trafficking, Carly Smith wants to build a new life and move on—but she can’t escape her haunting past. When her own niece is kidnapped, Carly must decide if she can overcome her fears and go after the man who ruined her life in order to save others from suffering the same fate. In this interview, the author explains why she wrote a crime novel about human trafficking, how she became involved in Advocates for Freedom, and the difficulty she had writing from the main character’s point of view.
Can you tell us about Justice Delivered?
Justice Delivered is a story about forgiveness and how sometimes we have to reach into the depths of our souls to forgive a grievous wrong. That’s what Carly Smith has to do. Along the way, she learns that forgiveness is more for the wronged person than the one being forgiven.
Justice Delivered is also about realizing that past mistakes do not define you. That you can move forward and have a rich and rewarding life.
Why did you choose to write about human trafficking?
A volunteer for Advocates for Freedom came to my church and gave a program on human trafficking. I had no idea of the extent of the problem until then, and I felt God’s nudging to write about it. Since that time, I’ve become a volunteer for AFF.
What type of research was required to accurately write about this issue?
AFF has a wonderful website with the testimonies of people who have been trafficked. In addition to watching those videos, I interviewed volunteers and read several biographies of people who had been trafficked.
The main character, Carly Smith, has a haunting past. Was it difficult to write the story from her point of view?
It was extremely difficult. It’s a hard place to put your heart and head, but I felt it was important to put myself there to do justice to the story.
What do you hope readers gain from your book?
Forgiveness frees the one who has been wronged, and that our past mistakes do not hold us hostage, that we can make the choice to start over.
Visit Patricia Bradley’s author page:
https://www.familyfiction.com/authors/patricia-bradley/
Justice Delivered
Memphis Cold Case #4
Patricia Bradley
Revell