“This book held my heart and soul and both gripped and hugged them both.”
Five-star reader review, NetGalley
“An unlikely group, an impossible situation and a story that kept me turning the pages long after bedtime. A FINALIST and highly recommended!”
The Wishing Shelf Book Awards
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Reviews28
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The Story
She escaped the traffickers. Now the real chase begins.
When Vân throws herself into Stuart Henderson's car on an ordinary evening in Guildford, she drags him into a world he never knew existed: hidden networks, bought police officers, and men who make people disappear.
Now the men who owned her want her back. And they will hurt anyone who stands in their way.
Outmatched and unprepared, Stuart, his husband Martin, anxious IT consultant John, and sharp-tongued seventy-three-year-old Barbara refuse to abandon her. As the night spirals into violence, this unlikely group discovers that courage doesn't always look like heroism. Sometimes it simply looks like showing up when it matters.
Literary crime thrillerHuman traffickingFound family
She escaped the traffickers. Now the real chase begins. It was supposed to be an ordinary Thursday evening in Guildford. But when a terrified young woman throws herself into Stuart Henderson's car begging for help, his comfortable life shatters in an instant. Her name is Vân. For twenty brutal months she has been traded like property across Europe - sold …She escaped the traffickers. Now the real chase begins.
It was supposed to be an ordinary Thursday evening in Guildford. But when a terrified young woman throws herself into Stuart Henderson's car begging for help, his comfortable life shatters in an instant.
Her name is Vân. For twenty brutal months she has been traded like property across Europe - sold in warehouses, hidden in basements, and erased by a system designed to make people disappear. She has survived by becoming invisible. Now she is running, and the men who claim to own her want her back.
Stuart, his husband Martin, and their eccentric neighbour John quickly become the only thing standing between Vân and the people hunting her. Outmatched, unarmed, and driving a battered Nissan Micra, they find an unexpected ally in seventy-three-year-old Barbara Patterson - sharp-tongued, stubborn, and haunted by ghosts of her own.
As the night spirals into violence, the group is forced to confront what courage truly looks like. Sometimes it doesn't roar. Sometimes it is six people in a broken car refusing to give up.
Unflinching in its darkness yet disarmingly warm in its humour, The Other Lotus Girl is a story about chosen family, unexpected bravery, and the price of survival. Perfect for fans of Mick Herron's dark humour and Denise Mina's gritty, emotional realism.
The premise is dark — very dark in places — but the characters bring so much warmth and personality to the story. Stuart, Martin, John and Barbara are such an unlikely group that I found myself smiling at their interactions even when everything around them was going horribly wrong. The human trafficking element is handled with real seriousness, but the …The premise is dark — very dark in places — but the characters bring so much warmth and personality to the story. Stuart, Martin, John and Barbara are such an unlikely group that I found myself smiling at their interactions even when everything around them was going horribly wrong.
The human trafficking element is handled with real seriousness, but the book never feels like it's simply trying to shock you. It feels like a story about people making the decision to help when it would be much easier — and safer — to walk away. Barbara was probably my favourite. Seventy-three and absolutely not interested in anyone telling her what to do!
There were a couple of moments where I thought the plot stretched credibility slightly, but honestly, I was having such a good time reading it that I didn't really care. Fast, tense, funny and surprisingly moving. A very enjoyable read.
A battered Nissan Micra. A terrified trafficking survivor. A seventy-three-year-old woman with attitude. What could possibly go wrong? Well... pretty much everything. This is one of those books that starts with a simple situation and then keeps adding complications until you're thinking, How on earth are they going to get out of this? I really liked the balance between the …A battered Nissan Micra. A terrified trafficking survivor. A seventy-three-year-old woman with attitude. What could possibly go wrong?
Well... pretty much everything.
This is one of those books that starts with a simple situation and then keeps adding complications until you're thinking, How on earth are they going to get out of this? I really liked the balance between the darker subject matter and the humour. It gives the book some breathing space without making light of what Vân has been through.
Barbara completely stole the show for me. I could have read an entire book about her. My only criticism is that a few of the supporting characters could have been developed a little more, but that's a minor complaint. The main story is gripping, the pace is excellent and I was definitely guilty of saying, "I'll just read one more chapter" several times.
I ended up finishing it much later than I intended. Always a good sign.
I loved this. Not an easy read, obviously, because of the subject matter, but it is incredibly readable. The story moves quickly and there is always another problem waiting around the corner. I liked that Stuart isn't some kind of action hero. He is an ordinary man who suddenly finds himself in an extraordinary situation and has to decide what …I loved this.
Not an easy read, obviously, because of the subject matter, but it is incredibly readable. The story moves quickly and there is always another problem waiting around the corner. I liked that Stuart isn't some kind of action hero. He is an ordinary man who suddenly finds himself in an extraordinary situation and has to decide what sort of person he wants to be.
And the group of characters? Brilliant. There is a lovely sense of found family developing between them, even though most of them probably wouldn't have chosen each other under normal circumstances!
The humour worked really well for me, too. It stopped the book becoming relentlessly bleak. I did find one or two of the plot developments a little convenient, but the emotional payoff more than made up for it. Tense, humane and surprisingly funny.
I picked this up expecting a thriller and got rather more than I bargained for. Yes, there is plenty of danger and suspense, and the story certainly doesn't hang about. But what stayed with me were the characters. Nobody is perfect. Nobody is particularly well equipped to deal with what happens. They simply keep going. That, for me, is the …I picked this up expecting a thriller and got rather more than I bargained for.
Yes, there is plenty of danger and suspense, and the story certainly doesn't hang about. But what stayed with me were the characters. Nobody is perfect. Nobody is particularly well equipped to deal with what happens. They simply keep going.
That, for me, is the strength of the book.
The story deals with an appalling subject without turning the victim into a plot device. Vân feels like a person, not merely a symbol of the terrible things that have happened to her. I also enjoyed the humour, particularly when the various members of this very unlikely rescue team are forced to spend time together.
A few scenes felt slightly over the top, and I occasionally wondered how they were going to get away with some of it, but I was thoroughly entertained. A gripping and compassionate thriller with a great deal of heart.
The bit I liked most: the characters. The bit I liked least: having to put the book down to go to work. This is a tense, fast-moving story about a group of completely mismatched people who end up trying to protect a young woman from the people who believe they own her. That alone would make for a compelling thriller, …The bit I liked most: the characters. The bit I liked least: having to put the book down to go to work.
This is a tense, fast-moving story about a group of completely mismatched people who end up trying to protect a young woman from the people who believe they own her. That alone would make for a compelling thriller, but the book also has a real warmth to it.
I particularly enjoyed the contrast between the seriousness of Vân's situation and the often wonderfully awkward conversations between the others. It felt very human. People panic, say the wrong thing, argue, make bad decisions and then somehow carry on.
Barbara is fantastic. I want her in my corner if things ever go badly wrong.
There are a couple of places where the action becomes a little larger-than-life, but I was too invested to complain for long. A gripping read with plenty of heart and some genuinely memorable characters.
Human Trafficking FictionFound Family ThrillerLGBTQ+ ProtagonistsKitchen Sink Realism Meets Crime ThrillerRoad Trip ThrillerBritish Crime FictionDark Humour in Crime FictionVietnamese ProtagonistOrdinary People in Extraordinary Danger
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