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Priceless: A Novel on the Edge of the World

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I finished reading Priceless yesterday and am still processing the truth and call to action that God is speaking to my heart. The details of what transpires in sex trafficking of children boggles my mind. I cannot comprehend such ugly, awful sin. I realized how naive I am. It is hard to look sin in the face and stand up for truth. It is our nature to want to turn away and not look upon things that are hurtful. If we as Christ followers are not willing to stand up for truth - who will? I was struck throughout the book about the need for prayer warriors to pray for the children who are isolated and unprotected in this outrageous sinfulness brought on by man, to pray for those that God has called to step in the line of action and fire to rescue and care for these children. They are God's children - they are priceless indeed!!
Proverbs 3:27 Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Thank you Tom for your obedience to write about this topic. It is a beautiful story of God's redemptive love and power. There is much to be done. I am praying for each and every person who reads this book. God will give you the opportunity to respond in action for His children.
:)

I'm thankful to have received a review copy of this captivating, surreal, suspenseful book that could have been ripped out of today's headlines. It was horrific to think the topic of this book is real and happening in current time. Although the story concentrates on the sex-trafficking business in Russia, this unthinkable industry is thriving world wide. Tom Davis states in his book Russian girls are taken and sent out of their country with promises of going to America, to enjoy the good life. Only one catch, they do go to American but end up in some of the booming sex-trafficking places such as Atlanta, Dallas and Seattle.

You might be tempted not to read this book because of the subject matter and the fact that it might make you feel uncomfortable. It's not easy to read about little girls being promised one thing and forced into another. My heart ached for these dear ones as these evil doers promised them the moon, only to get sold into a lifestyle of no return. The only way out was death.

Stuart Daniels returns in this book and is sent on another job. Stuart agrees to go to Russia because he feels this assignment is not as life threatening as the one he went to in Africa (in the last book Scared). After meeting his contacts in Russia, he's whisked into an unthinkable mission - one he can't turn down - not after having his world turned upside down in Africa, after meeting Adanna.

"Adanna may not have meant much to many in this world. But meeting her was the beginning of life for me. It changed the way I saw God. It changed the direction of my life. She taught me that the small things I do matter. My decisions today can save a life tomorrow."

I believe I've been disturbed to the core of my being while reading this book and I hope that you are gloriously disturbed too. Just as bothered as Stuart was when he met Adanna. Troubled in such a way it moves you into action and keeps you from turning your eyes and pretending this isn't happening to innocent children every day. Stuart Daniel's describes Adanna (above), a child he met in Africa who rocked his world, I pray your world is rocked as mine was and you begin to tell others about this novel and its message in hopes of bringing awareness to this global disturbance - a disturbance of epic proportions. Author Tom Davis lists ways we can get involved here in the states and overseas in the back of Priceless. He gives practical ways for us to love our neighbor as ourselves and shine the hope these children desperately need. Be Jesus' hands and feet! I believe Priceless is a must read novel for everyone.

Nora St.Laurent
The Book Club Network [...]

Tom's first book Scared was good, but his second book Priceless is incredible! Though it is a novel in format the truths he brings forth are so revealing and heart wrenching. You can't read this book and remain unmoved. At times I had to put down the book and let what I had just read sink in. Other times, I had to read out loud to my husband passages that moved me to tears, only to see him moved to tears. Many times, I ended up in sobs, crying for the girls in the story, crying for my girls, whom I adopted as teens from Eastern Europe. This could have been their story. Tom's writings were so descriptive that I felt like I just jumped into the book and was involved myself. I felt as if I were in those scenes with the characters. I think every emotion I own rose up within me as I read this book. I cried with them, felt their pain and spewed angrily at the thugs. I cheered the girls on and rejoiced when they were found or rescued. I gasped, I prayed, I held my breath.
The beauty of redemption, love and sacrifice are wonderfully portrayed in this book.
I think Everyone needs to read this book. I've heard comments,when I've tried to tell others about the book, "I just can't read a book like that". I think everyone HAS to read a book like this. We can no longer ignore evil and let our children die. The Church has to step in and save them. Melissa Carter

Photojournalist Stuart Daniels found purpose and faith when he helped an African orphan (see Scared). Now he heads to Russia on his latest project. There his friend Katya asks him to say yes when someone calls him at his hotel room offering him a girl; she also says she will explain further.

However, Stuart soon learns that the orphan child he met on his last stay in Russia is in trouble. Human traffickers are selling Marina Smolchenko to the highest bidder in a sex slave auction. His efforts to rescue Marina lead him to freedom fighter Katya who risks her life to liberate the sex slaves. His faith in the Lord is reduced with his observation of humanity's cruelty and he wonders how God can allow this to happen to the innocent.

Like Stuart on his latest journey, readers will be stunned with what happens to people sold like commodities by human traffickers (Mr. Davis states 27 million with 1 million under eighteen years of age). The lead protagonist and the audience will ask why God allows such atrocities to occur while readers will also wonder if Stuart will rescue Marina and the others, and regain his faith. Thought provoking yet fast-paced and loaded with action, Priceless is not an easy read as this is Marina's profound shocking tale and the story of her "sisters" sold as sex slaves to wealthy clients around the globe (including Americans).

Harriet Klausner

American photojournalist Stuart Daniels on assignment in Russia unexpectedly steps into the world of organized crime via sex trafficking. At first a reluctant participant in a rescue operation, Daniels discovers he is compelled to help these children who are being exploited by a system he never dreamed possible. In the process he finds his own faith in God.

Priceless effectively captures the dark and demonic world of trafficking tied in with old Russian roots of communism and religion, an unlikely mix, but chillingly portrayed in this haunting novel.

Priceless reverberates in the soul long after the last page is read and the cover closed. Eileen Rife, author of Chosen Ones

If you've never read Tom Davis, you are in for a real treat! I have read ALL of his books, with this being my most recent. We adopted our daughter from Russia @ the age of 8. That made this book somewhat of a difficult read, realizing this could have been her life. Although it is fiction, it is about real life. This book, along with Scared, will OPEN your eyes, as well as, your heart. We feel so strongly about Tom Davis' books, we've bought multiple copies to share with others, as well as, have given them as birthday & Christmas gifts. I always keep one copy @ home & if I don't get the others back, that's ok - - - knowing that those who read them will have a better understanding of the plight of the orphan. A MUST READ - you won't regret it :)

"Priceless: A Novel on the Edge of the World" A novel which I generally never read and usually don't like. But this is one I can highly recommend, I could not put it down once I started it. It is a story of an American photojournalist who travels to Russian for an assignment, but ends up involved in a bigger job than he ever expected. He becomes involved in trying to free girls, specifically orphans, who are caught up in the sex trade/slave business.
The author, Tom Davis, is president of `Children's Hope Chest' a organization that helps care for orphans in a number of different countries ([...])
I enjoyed this book so well I am tempted to get his other novel, "Scared:A Novel on the Edge of the World"

This book's title says it all. Priceless: A novel on the edge of the world. The story it contains is one of a horrific life for millions of children each day. Although we hardly ever hear about sex trafficking and sex slaves here in America, this book opened my eyes to the injustice that is happening right under our noses. The plot captured me in the first chapter. Tom Davis' writing style puts you in the action, although at some times, I wanted to close my eyes and skip past some of the scenes, but knowing that these things are going on RIGHT NOW made continue through it. This is a touching story, one that shows us that no matter where we are in life, someone else needs us to be brave for them, to risk everything for them. This is what Stuart had to do in this book. Although he had a wife and a young daughter at home, this one girl's life was priceless, and that is how God sees us. It reminded me that each day is a gift and each day I should make the choice to be someone's "Stuart," and be the one to help bring them out of their circumstances. After reading this book, I had to purchase the one before it, Scared, and am excited to see what else is in store for our friend, Stuart.

This is the story of man who find himself in a dangerous attempt to rescue helpless girls who are trapped in the Russian sex-slave industry. I could not put the book down, and several times, found myself brought to tears as I read about the hellish plight of these young girls.

I don't care what book you are reading right now; put it down and read this book.

The only complaint I have is that the book takes place in Russia. I found myself thinking at times, "Well, that's Russia."

The tragic fact is that the story could happen right here in the United States, or any other country. This is not a problem that happens on the other side of the world. It probably takes place in your city.

What are you going to do about it? Reading this book won't rescue any girls, but educating yourself about the problem might be the first step.

As humans - and it seems even more so, as Christians - we often find it easier to ignore the ugly things in this world than to face them head on. That is not the case with Tom Davis, the author of `Priceless: A Novel on the Edge of the World.'

Here is the synopsis of this novel:

American photojournalist Stuart Daniels has found purpose in life. After enduring the fallout of a tragic assignment, Daniels has rediscovered his faith while helping a young African orphan. Now his photo works carries a greater mission: to educate people about social injustice happening around the world.
Daniels' next assignment carries him back overseas and into the heart of Russia, where an old friend persuades him to help save two girls from a desperate situation involving the Russian mafia. Soon, he becomes a key player in a dangerous campaign to rescue helpless girls trapped in the sex-slave industry. What Daniels encounters during his journey will shake his faith, test his courage, and even threaten his life. Yet as Daniels travels deeper and the stakes become higher, he discovers that hope can be found in even the darkest of places.

Here is the biography of the author:

Tom Davis ([...]) is the president and CEO of Children's HopeChest ([...]), a global ministry that empowers individuals, churches and business to care for orphans in Africa, Russia, India, Latin America, and Eastern Europe. He is the author of `Red Letters,' `Fields of the Fatherless,' `Confessions of a Good Christian Guy,' and the first book in the `Novel on the Edge of the World' series (this is book two of three). Tom and his wife, Emily, live in Colorado with their seven children, two of whom they adopted from Russia. He has a website devoted to the topic of this book - the sex slave industry/human trafficking - at [...].

Here is the book trailer for `Priceless':

[...]

The main character in this novel is Stuart Daniels, a celebrated and award-winning photojournalist. He has grown weary from seeing horrors all over the world. However, his life was forever changed in his adventures in Swaziland (as shown in `Scared) and his encounter with a little orphan named Adanna. Here is Stuart reflecting back on how his life was profoundly changed:

Adanna may not have meant much to many in this world. But meeting her was the beginning of life for me. It changed the way I saw God. It changed the direction of my life. She taught me that the small things I do matter. My decisions today can save a life tomorrow. That's why I'm here now. (p. 88)

Stuart's assignment is in Moscow. Tom Davis paints such a vivid portrait that I felt as though I was there with Stuart:

Gold and silver church domes appear majestically behind the walls of the Kremlin as if holding true control of the country, like the wizard behind the curtain in Oz. There are seven churches including the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the church of Moscow's princes and tsars over the centuries. I step out onto the cobblestone road leading down the middle of the square, bracing myself against a cold that's harsh and exhilarating.
Every time I walk in this square, I think the same thing: I'm walking on centuries-old blood. If the stones under my feet could talk, they would tell violent stories of riots, assassinations, and war - of all the blood that's been spilled here over the centuries. The Lobnoye Mesto, a platform where the tsar would address the people, sits directly ahead. It's also a place where many men and women lost their heads. Literally. (p. 41)

I had never really considered the fact that human trafficking is prevalent all around the world - and the United States is not immune. The characters in this book decided to do more than sit back and lament the problem; they took action to make the world a better place.

Here are some statistics on human trafficking:

* 8.4 million children are sex trafficking victims
* 2 children are trafficked every minute
* Up to 300,000 prostituted children live on the streets in the U.S.

The main character is based on the life of a real person. Stuart Daniels is inspired by the life of Kevin Carter, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer who was so haunted by the images he saw in Sudan that he took his own life. Stuart saw many haunting images in the first book in Swaziland; fortunately, he met the Lord while he was there, or he may have had the same fate.

Another main character in this story is Marina Smolchenko, an orphan whom Stuart met years earlier when she was a little girl. She is featured prominently in the story, as Stuart learns that she is now one of the many children who is enslaved in the sex trade.

One of the most insidious characters I have ever encountered in a novel is Father Alexander Shapov, an Orthodox priest who leads the parishioners at the Lady of Kazan. Here is how Stuart describes his first encounter; the conversation is between Stuart and his good friend (and orphan rescuer) Katya:

"Man, did he give me the stink eye when my cell phone went off when you called during the service. He doesn't look like any man of the cloth I've ever met. Eyes like a snake."
"That's why I wanted you to get out of there. He is not a good man. In fact, on bolnoy chelovek [he is a sick person]." (p. 73)

In this same conversation, Stuart learns the fate of Marina:

Katya points to one of the girls in the picture with the priest. "Do you recognize that girl, Stuart?" She's as tall as the priest, with long blond hair loose, hiding half her face. Her skirt is micro, barely there.
I take it from the wall to look more closely.
"Is that? Oh, God." I look at Katya's face, and I know. It's Marina.
"This is what I wanted to talk to you about, Stuart."
I can tell she is trying not to show emotion, so I keep my face turned away. She loves Marina, the first orphaned child that squeezed Katya's heart. Katya would give me reports about her over the years as if she were a proud aunt. (p. 73)

Katya explained how Marina fell into the abyss:

"It is appalling. When girls like Marina leave the orphanage, they are prime targets for kidnapping. Nobody misses them - and there's no family to report them missing. Of course, I blame myself for her disappearance because I was out of the country when she left the orphanage..."
A wave of emotion chokes the rest of her words away.
"So they don't exist. They're nameless." I scan the board again. "Is it mostly by force?"
"Sometimes. Other times, and this is what I think happened in Marina's case, the girls think they are applying for legitimate jobs in Russia or abroad. These traffickers are very clever at how they trap them." (p. 74)

It was interesting to see how the author imparted Marina's story. He had filmed a documentary about her, and the transcript is interspersed throughout the book. Here is Marina sharing part of her story:

I can't even repeat what happened next. Not just to me, but to all of us. No human being should ever have to endure that kind of torture. To get my mind off the pain, I thought about other people who have suffered. Like the people we studied in school who suffered more than anyone in the world. The Jews.
I thought about the Holocaust. About how those innocent people were taken from their families, beaten, thrown in prisons, and gassed in death chambers. What I went through, what the Jews went through, tells me one thing. It tells me evil is real and so is the Devil. (p. 145)

Stuart finds himself being pulled into a couple of situations where he is able to rescue some orphans; it comes with risks to his personal safety, but he understands the importance of the work. Later, he meets Sister Irina, a Mother Theresa-type figure, who has some words for Stuart about his future:

"...I have been given a vision from God about you, Stuart. Your work is not yet finished." Then she turns, and we continue to walk.
I choose not to ask what she means. Frankly, I'd like to pretend she didn't say it. (p. 233)

She goes on:

"I knew it from the moment I met you... Most people squeeze their eyes shut and pretend the Devil doesn't exist. You know better, don't you?" She looks directly into my eyes, and I feel as if she can see my soul. "They live their lives as if there were no problems in the world, no hunger, no orphans, no child sex slaves. They don't do what God calls every single one of us to do, to redeem mankind."
"What does that have to do with me?" I ask.
"It's what you're called to do. Pursuing Marina for example. That's about much more than the redemption of one child. It's about you establishing the kingdom of God in a significant way by finding freedom for the captives. All of this is the beginning of a new life for you." (p. 235)

Sister Irina explains that there is a history in Russia of deception in the name of God:

"We've had a cast of characters throughout our history in Russia who have used the name of God to perpetuate the greatest of evils. Take Rasputin for example. A so-called mystic healer who was responsible for the fall of the Romanov dynasty and eventually the death of the entire Romanov family. This priest is another."
"Why does God allow it?" I say this almost under my breath. It's my greatest struggle.
"We live in the middle of a war, Mr. Daniels. If your experiences the last few days have taught you anything, they should have taught you this: Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light quite easily. (p. 240)

A feature in David C. Cook published novels is the section in the back entitled `After Words.' This book features discussion questions, then a section where Tom Davis answers the questions from his point of view. I loved this question and answer:

Why (or how) is Sister Irina essentially "protected" against the evil of the bad men in the story?

Sister Irina is "untouchable." This is playing on a physical and spiritual reality. Mr. M represents a very powerful man on earth who utilizes his power to see than nobody harms the Sister, lest serious repercussions come screaming down on their head. But this is also a spiritual reality. God takes care of His own. He provides serious heavenly protection to his sons and daughters who do the work of His kingdom on earth.
Evil can scare us, tempt us, and lead us astray, but Jesus came to "destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). This issue of sexual slavery is certainly a work of the Devil, and it can be destroyed. That's why God sent His Son. But it takes people of God understanding this truth, believing it, and implementing it.

`Priceless: A Novel on the Edge of the World' is the second book in a series of three; `Scared: A Novel on the Edge of the World' is the first book in the series (you can read my review here [...]). This book, in my opinion, was darker than was `Scared' (primarily because of the satanic elements). They were both equally compelling. In the `After Words' section of the book, Tom explains what is in store for his readers in Book Three:

Right now, the third book in this Novel on the Edge of the World series looks like it will be a book set in Haiti. Stuart decides to take an assignment with the United Nations on the water crisis, because so many people die in that country from water-borne diseases. He is in Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010, when a devastating earthquake strikes and he's caught in the rubble of his hotel. I can't wait to write this book!

And I can't wait to read it! I love Tom's writing style - and his story lines are always so intense and thought-provoking. He takes an important world issue and educates as well as entertains his readers with exciting and suspenseful plot twists.

This book was published by David C. Cook and provided by Wynn-Wynn Media for review purposes.

Reviewed by Andrea Schultz - Ponderings by Andrea - [...]