Sarah Forsyth

There where times in the book I wanted to yell at the pages, shake Sarah and just save her. The book is honest and makes clear the realities of being a sex slave, it's heart retching in so many places.
I would recommend it because I feel Sarah is a brave women and her story deserves to be heard. There are images this books has given me that 2 years later are still with me, though I can picture and believe I understand them, I truly can't.
For taking me somewhere I have never been before, and show more hope I never go I thank Sarah for sharing her story with us. show less

I like a good bit of true crime and over the past few years I've read a good few titles and particularly enjoyed 3,096 Days by Natascha Kampusch at the start of the year. Based on this and the great reviews this got on Amazon I decided to read this. The book is the true story of Sarah, a British woman who is kidnapped and forced into prostitution in Amsterdam. She was also abused by her father and by a care system that was meant to protect her.

I found it to be a very fast read but I have to show more say that I am at a loss to how it got such good reviews. There is nothing wrong with it in particular but it brings nothing new to the table in my opinion. The writing is particularly weak, perhaps understandable for Forsyth but Tim Tate worked as a researcher and was part of the Roger Cook investigative team. I assume he was brought on board or took the decision to write the book due to the fact that this is his field. If I compare it to 3,096 days the writing is years apart.

The story is wretched and pretty horrific but I just can't help but feel they missed a trick. Occasionally emotion creeps in but its far too occasional. Also unlike 3,096 Days we don't get behind Forsyth's thought process during the experience but perhaps I am being too harsh, she was a drug addict at the time. The flow of the book is a bit of a mess as well, it follows a time line but its a bit all over the shop. I had far higher hopes for this book than it delivered and I would be unlikley to recommend it to anyone. It could have been so much more than it ended up being. show less

This is a shocking but compelling tale that I found difficult to put down. It is written in the first person and the narrative is easy to follow throughout, with an afterword given at the end of the book giving an interesting perspective on some relevant laws and police operations relating to human trafficking.
Having walked around the red light district in Amsterdam as a tourist, I have to say I would never do so again. This book exposes a truth that the majority of tourists are completely show more naïve about. The author has bravely written this account and made her experiences public. Lets hope the authorities take note and appropriate actions to prevent similar experiences for other innocent girls. show less

De negentienjarige Engelse Sarah Forsyth werkt op een crèche in een provinciestadje. Op een dag ziet ze een advertentie: leidsters gezocht voor kinderdagverblijf in amsterdam. Ze is wel toe aan wat avontuur en reageert onmiddellijk. Na een serieuze sollicitatieprocedure wordt ze aangenomen. Het lijkt wel een droom.

Die droom verandert in een nachtmerrie op het moment dat Sarah op Schiphol aankomt. De mensen die haar ophalen duwen haar in een auto, nemen onder bedreiging haar paspoort af en show more rijden regelrecht naar de Amsterdamse Wallen. Daar wordt ze zonder pardon achter het raam gezet. Haar ontvoerders laten er geen misverstand over bestaan: als ze probeert te ontsnappen, zal dat haar dood worden. Anderhalf jaar lang ondergaat Sarah de meest vreselijke vernederingen, tot ze uiteindelijk dankzij puur geluk een onbewaakt ogenblik vindt om te ontsnappen. show less