THE FOUNDATION

A young lawyer neglects her friends and family as she stubbornly tries to help a sex trafficking victim in Carr’s (The Vernazza Effect, 2013) second novel.

Attorney Tara Collins unexpectedly receives a large sum of money as a gift from her newly married best friend Ella. With it, she decides to create a nonprofit foundation within her San Francisco law firm to help those who can’t afford legal aid. Its board is made up of Assistant District Attorney Brett, who happens to be Tara’s secret boyfriend; social worker Chad; and journalist Jordan (who bizarrely reports on both the law firm and the foundation, in a seemingly textbook case of conflict of interest). For the foundation’s fourth case, she convinces the board members to take on Ashlee, a young teen who was found beaten and left for dead in an alley. Ashlee is too frightened to talk, so Tara begins spending nights with her in the hospital and playing private detective in between visits. Her actions begin to concern Brett and her other colleagues, who insist that she involve the police. Some readers will admire the go-it-alone bravado of the workaholic, emotional Tara. Others, however, may be less impressed by her lack of sense as she jeopardizes her relationships as well as the personal safety of everyone around her. She also undermines her chances of putting away a very bad man due to her dogged insistence on solving the case alone. On the surface, it’s a noble cause, but it may become difficult for readers to applaud her as she continues to take misstep after misstep. (Relief comes, however, when the narrative focuses on Alexander, Ashlee’s high-flying pimp.) The novel’s opening and closing chapters are also lengthy and uninspired. However, patient readers may still find a compelling story about surviving forced prostitution here.

A potentially gripping tale undermined by its frustrating heroine.