The Detective

Not living in America I always thought that slavery in the southern states of the USA ceased in 1865 with the end of the American Civil War. The Thirteenth Amendment stated that neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. The exception in the amendment led to the creation of Convict Leasing in the southern states which allowed prisoners to be used as unpaid labour. With the official abolishment of slavery, plantation owners needed another way to obtain cheap labour. This system officially continued into the twentieth century to be replaced by chain gangs in some states.

Slavery is the theme in Matthew Reilly's latest crime thriller set in Louisiana and Texas. Seven years earlier, private investigator, Sam Speedman, unsuccessfully investigated the disappearance of a young woman who had vanished with three other prostitutes. When the body of a baby, enclosed in a doll, is found in a river, DNA tests link the child to Sam's missing person. Sam is now back on the case.

The Detective by Matthew Reilly leads the reader on a dangerous journey through swamps and rivers infested by alligators plus car chases along highways pursued by men hired to ensue that Sam does not find the truth. Sam has discovered links to six similar disappearances occurring in 1877, 1905, 1930, 1958 1988 and 2018. In each case the men investigating the case also disappeared. Sam does not want to join them.

Once you start reading The Detective you will discover that, despite entering at times a dark world, it is a book that is difficult to put down. The book is also laced with humour as Sam and his colleagues investigate the case.

Convict Leasing - Equal Justice Initiative 

Convict Leasing System - Library of Congress 

Convict Lease System -New Georgia Encyclopedia