Social unrest, racial divide help define thriller “Little Lost Boy”

J.D. Trafford has penned a satisfying mystery with social justice at its heart. 'Little Boy Lost” takes us to St. Louis where street lawyer Justin Glass finds himself embroiled in the search for a killer who targets black boys who have had trouble with the law at an early age.

In Glass, Trafford has created a winningly complex protagonist. He is the son of a black father and a white mother. He's a single father who has lost his wife to illness. Broke, he lives in the carriage house of his wealthy maternal grandfather's estate. His father is a congressman who imagines his son following in his footsteps while his brother wants that legacy for himself. His love life is illicit, his practice is in shambles, and his daughter is having trouble at school.

All of that adds up to a well-rounded, believable character who is easy to root for. On top of that, Trafford weaves together his plot with seeming ease, never letting the pace drag even as his protagonist deals with a host of issues, personal and professional, over the course of the book.

Trafford also captures the social unrest foundational to his plot. His St. Louis is a city divided, where residents - particularly black residents - have a troubled relationship with law enforcement. Glass must traverse a variety of worlds, from violent streets to the lush enclaves of private education, and his struggle to bridge those gaps is a contributor to the success of 'Little Boy Lost.”

A case could be made that Trafford's efforts to misdirect the reader as to the identity of the killer backfires to certain degree. I was confident I knew who the killer was well before the truth was revealed. It's a sign of the quality of the book that this fact bothered me not at all. I'm hopeful 'Little Boy Lost” is the first entry in a series.