Little Boy Lost

by J. D. Trafford

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781503943940
Publisher:	Amazon Publishing
Publication date:	08/01/2017
Pages:	316
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

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.

Editorial Reviews

★ 06/05/2017
The beaten-down Rust Belt city of St. Louis provides the setting for this tense, powerful thriller from Trafford (the No Time trilogy). Arthur Glass, a member of a prominent African-American family, went from fighting in the civil rights movement of the 1960s to decades of service as a U.S. congressman. Arthur now plans to retire and wants his lawyer son, Justin, to campaign for the seat. But Justin is a mess: mourning the death of his beloved wife, neglecting his nine-year-old daughter, and running a legal practice in a poor part of town. Then eight-year-old Tanisha Walker brings Justin a jar half full of coins to pay for him to find her missing brother. A bunch of youths of unsavory reputation have disappeared, Tanisha’s brother among them, and the police have done little to locate the boys. Incensed, Justin embarks on a dangerous quest that changes his life forever as he runs up against entrenched racism, corruption, and political chicanery. Happily, he has the support of a few good people. Readers will remember Justin long after closing the book. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Summer Books Selection

“Trafford delivers…” —Booklist

“J.D. Trafford’s smart, nuanced and highly entertaining new legal thriller…Little Boy Lost is a thoughtful look at the American legal and political systems and how they serve, or increasingly fail, the public. Alive with fascinating details of the implementation of the law, it provides an even-handed look at all sides…Above all, it is a fine piece of entertainment!” —Criminal Element

“J.D. Trafford does for St. Louis what author Michael Harvey does for Chicago. Both writers make the Midwest cities, where their crime/mysteries are set, come to life with brilliant detail. Trafford shines his literary light on St. Louis in Little Boy Lost, a fast-paced paperback liberally spiced with recognizable places in the city—restaurants, bars, suburbs, neighborhoods and parks are described with the expertise of a local, which Trafford once was. This, combined with a crackerjack narrative, make the mystery a must read.” —The Missourian

“Little Boy Lost is an exciting and thoughtful read. Trafford’s writing style is brisk and no-nonsense with a dash of introspection and a lot of keen observations…” —Bookreporter

“J.D. Trafford has penned a satisfying mystery with social justice at its heart.” —The Gazette

“A tense and punchy legal thriller with a great lead, a visceral setting, and a compelling plot.” —Crime Thriller Hound

“[J.D. Trafford’s “Little Boy Lost] sparkle[s] with local color—even if that color sometimes looks drab…But for St. Louisans, the local color will grab them—everything from Crown Candy and Clementine’s Creamery to KMOX and the Post-Dispatch.” —St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Little Boy Lost isn’t just an engrossing novel; it’s one that enlightens as well.” —William Kent Krueger, New York Times bestselling author and Edgar winner

From the Publisher