I liked the characters. I totally loved Dox and Livia working together. This had a good setting , a good plot and a very engaging story going on. And yet , it lacked punch. Like you could feel it trying too hard to cover too much .. I feel the first book should be read to get a better connect. But I still liked the book.

3.5 stars

The Night Trade is the second book in the Livia Lone series. I strongly suggest reading Livia Lone first, so you have the entire back story on Livia's character and her need for vengeance and revenge for what happened to her and her sister.

Detective Livia Lone works is a sex-crimes detective who has been given a position with a government anti-trafficking case. She jumps at the chance to return to Thailand so that she can seek out Rithisak Sorm, the man who was responsible for what happened to her and her sister (and hundreds of other kids as well). When a takedown goes wrong, she learns that she is not alone on the hunt for Sorm. A man by the name of Dox is also hunting him. Dox and Livia are nothing alike and it takes them some time to trust each other and realize that they have the same goal in mind - justice.

Those that have read Eisler's John Rain books know Dox well. He is my favorite character in the series, so I was extremely happy to see his aww-shucks good ole boy Texas persona once again! Dox is a sniper with a witty personality and for a big guy he can hide in plain sight due to his ability to blend in and looks like a harmless tourist.

I thought Livia Lone was a great book. I had high hopes for this book but there were parts that just felt flat for me. Dox is what really saved this book for me and pushed it to a 3.5-star rating, again mainly because I loved his character so much from the John Rain series. Some readers may not be familiar with him, so I don't know how they will embrace Dox. Again, reading the John Rain series will help readers know and love Dox. Livia is a tough chick, but she has her issues and while reading this book, I kept thinking how she passed any psychological background checks. She had to have undergone them to do what she did for a living. But I digress....

It's not a secret that Eisler once worked for the CIA and has a huge martial arts background. I have always loved his fight scenes and tales of international intrigue, inter-workings of the government, spies, etc. but for some reason they did not work for me in this book. I also did not care for Livia as much in this book. I found her to be more likable in the first book.

3.5 stars

Livia Lone has a reputation as the best closer in the Seattle P.D.’s sex crimes unit. Other than that, few know much about her or her past. Readers of the eponymously titled first book are all too familiar with the story of her journey from Thailand to America as a trafficked child. Her sister wasn’t so lucky & in this outing, Livia gets a chance to return & exact a little payback on those responsible.

Special agent B.D. Little from Homeland Security is hoping Livia will add her expertise to his investigation into a major trafficking ring. Oh, did he mention it was based in Thailand? What are the odds? Livia immediately begins to wonder how much he knows about her & if he just might have a hidden agenda. Either way, it’s too good to pass up & she’s agrees to go on a fact finding mission.

Meanwhile in Bangkok, a familiar face from this author’s John Rain series reappears. Dox is an ex-military sniper who uses his talents as a covert “problem solver” for a branch of American intelligence. He comes across as an affable good ol’ boy unless you’re in his crosshairs. He’s currently in a bit of a pickle. After an attempted double-cross, the good news is he’s still breathing. The bad news…a bunch of other guys aren’t. With his cover blown, Dox is pissed & sets out to find the guy behind it all. What he doesn’t know is there’s a cop from Seattle in town who is hunting for the same man.

What follows is an action packed & intricate chase story full of corruption, political intrigue & hidden alliances. Half the fun is trying to figure out who is on the same team & why. Even the good guys are capable of acts of extreme violence but when their prey are those who profit from the sale of trafficked children, it’s hard not to cheer them on.

The biggest revelation (if you read book #1) is Livia herself. She’s been waiting a long time for revenge but perhaps underestimated how being back in country would affect her. The sights & smells of Thailand bring old memories bubbling to the surface. Her cool, distant veneer develops some major cracks & her emotions lead her to acting impulsively instead of strategically. This took some getting used to as she’s very different from the character I met in the first book.

The pace drops in the middle as the MC’s spend time doing the mental gymnastics required to figure out the whole snarly mess before amping up for an explosive finale. In the end, Livia is a changed woman & it will be interesting to see where the author takes this character next.

The Night Trade by Barry Eisler
The Night Trade (Livia Lone, #2)
by Barry Eisler (Goodreads Author)
U 50x66
Lou Jacobs's review
Dec 20, 2017 · edit

it was amazing

Magnificent! Bad ass femme teams up with the annihilator. The action and tension provided by Barry Eisler's plot and dialogue reach an explosive crescendo of delicious violence. Eisler utilizes two
characters from his other books ..... Dox, an ex-marine sniper frequently encountered in the John Rain, Japanese-American assassin novels, with Livia Lone, emotionally damaged sex-crime detective from Seattle. The mix proves to be delightfully volatile.
Livia is offered a job to join the anti-trafficking task force ... but convinces her would be superior to allow her to scope out the situation by a "fact-finding" mission to Thailand. She utilizes this opportunity to seek revenge and hopefully terminate those men behind the abduction and rape of herself and sister Nason .... traded by their parents at age 13 and 10 from a remote village in Thailand.
She systematically is able to track and terminate those responsible .... and learns the identity of
Rithisak Sorm, the king-pin behind the child trafficking network. Her first effort of destroying Sorm is thwarted with an apparent set-up. However, more important is the appearance of Dox, intent on the same goal. They save each others skin and lives.... and slowly realize their purpose is compatible, and yet their assets info has somehow lead to the set-up. They correctly suspect that a high level intelligence agency is protecting Sorm.
Eisler provides an amazing, page-turner of a denouement that exhausts the reader in the last quarter of the book. I can't wait for more Livia Lone. Although this is her second appearance in Eisler's books ... it can be read as a standalone ... But, after this tale you're enticed to uncover more of Livia's past.
Thanks to Negalley for supplying an ARC to enjoy this marvelous book ... in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 stars

“Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster.”

Kick-ass Livia Lone is back in The Night Trade to seek revenge on the men who were responsible for trafficking her and sister into sex slavery. This is an action packed thriller brimming with emotion.

*I highly recommend reading Livia Lone before reading The Night Trade to gain a full understanding of Livia’s character*

An opportunity to assist a Homeland Security agent takes Livia to Thailand. She uses this time to track the men who tortured and tormented her and her sister, Nason. Her investigation leads her to a notorious trafficker named Sorm. Also on a mission to find Sorm is Dox, a former Marine Sniper. Circumstances bring Dox and Livia together, and they decide to pair up to find Sorm. The two develop an intense relationship, resulting in a genuine friendship--a rarity for Livia.

It took a bit for The Night Trade to get going. I was a little bored in the beginning, especially when it came to Dox’s POV, but his character grew on me. I liked the dynamics of Dox and Livia’s relationship. Some of the technical details of their missions went way over my head, once again boring me. However, Livia’s complex character salvaged the boredom and made this into a worthwhile read.

I received a copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced copy in exchange for this review.

This is book two in the Livia Lone series. I LOVED the first book. Livia is a bad ass with so much strength and resiliency as she tries to save children and kill those that harmed them.

In Night Trade, Livia is offered a position with a government anti-trafficking task force. Before she can make a decision on this offer, she goes back to Thailand to face her demons and hunt down the men in charge of the trafficking ring that took her and her sister. She runs into an American also looking for the men she wants to kill, and the two decide that working together is the only way of taking these men out.

I liked this book as well, but there was something missing here. In the first book, there is so much character development of Livia as she becomes the person she is today. In this book, there is somewhat a lack of that. Don't get me wrong, Livia is still a bad ass and it is nice to see some vulnerability in her as she connects with her "partner" in Thailand. I think that because this book is set in a smaller time frame, there was not a chance for the reader to see much more of Livia than a justice hungry evil hunter. Still worth a read though and an excellent addition to the series!
Note: These books contain details of sex crimes that are very uncomfortable and triggering to read.

Best if you have read other Eisler books. It is not a standalone book. Even with knowledge of the John Rain books and Livia Lone book, the first couple of chapters were difficult to follow. The pacong of the book was much better when Lone met up with Dox, a character from the Rain series.

"Beware that, when fighting monsters, you yourself do not become a monster."

After introducing Seattle sex crimes detective Livia Lone in a sizzling, eponymous novel last year, Barry Eisler drops her into another sensational story of revenge and trying to put your demons to rest.

For most of her life, Livia has been haunted by the events of her childhood and teenage years, when she and her younger sister Nason were sold by their parents and forcibly taken to America, and horribly abused both by the men who trafficked them and then others. What they endured was beyond anything imaginable, and those incidents are what led Livia to pursue a career in law enforcement, particularly sex crimes, so she can right some of the wrongs she and Nason experienced.

When she is offered a position on a government task force combating sex trafficking in Thailand, she jumps at the chance to return home and exact revenge on the men who took her and her sister from the only life they had known. The government is trying to hunt down Rithisak Sorm, a notorious criminal kingpin and trafficker, whom Livia has learned was behind her own ordeal as well. It is an opportunity that seems almost too good to be true for her.

Returning to Thailand proves to be emotionally challenging, but she focuses on the overall objective of the mission. One night, when she has tracked Sorm to an exclusive nightclub in a Thai resort town, she discovers she's not the only one hunting Sorm. In the midst of a gunfight that goes spectacularly awry, Livia meets Dox, a former Marine sniper and mercenary-for-hire, who is consulting with U.S. intelligence to take Sorm down.

While the last thing Livia wants is a connection of any kind, she starts to realize that perhaps two hunters are better than one. And as reluctant as she is to open up to anyone, Dox's simple kindness and empathy helps her make him understand just how important meting out her own form of justice for Sorm truly is for her. He doesn't question her motives or her intent—he too understands that sometimes the only resort you have is killing someone.

But the deeper Livia and Dox dig into tracking Sorm down again, the more they realize they are up against forces more nefarious than they could have imagined. It seems that Sorm is a key component of a massive conspiracy which involves branches of U.S. intelligence, and not only do they want to keep Sorm alive, but they're willing to protect him no matter what the cost—and no matter how many people need to be harmed in the process.

The Night Trade is an action-packed yet emotional thrill ride by one of the best crime and thriller writers out there. Eisler's John Rain novels are among some of my absolute favorites, and now with two Livia Lone books under his belt, he proves he can write thrillers with equally kick-ass women as well. It was so terrific to see Dox (a character from the Rain novels) and Livia team up, so I hope a John Rain/Livia Lone pairing won't be far behind!

Livia is an absolutely electrifying protagonist, and while you worry that her demons may lead her too far down a path of retribution, the fine line she walks is so poignant and compelling. She reminds me a bit of Lisbeth Salander, in that they're equally badass and sadly, equally damaged, but still vulnerable.

Eisler's John Rain series is absolutely amazing, and so are his Livia Lone books. But there's a downside to his prolificness: the more he writes, the more impatient I get when I finish his latest book. Don't let these books, or these characters, pass you by!

NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

Barry Eisler is a favorite author of mine. I was exceptionally happy to receive the ARC from NetGalley and the publisher as I looked forward to more of the Livia Lone series. Eisler did not disappoint, but added to the excitement by adding the character Dox from his John rain series. Readers unfamiliar with Dox might be confused as his presence has no meaning until it is finally disclosed why he is there. To help Livia, of course! The issue of human trafficking is dealt with in sad detail here, but the efforts to take down the largest perpetrator are what keeps the novel ticking. Dox and Livia work well together, so I suspect we will see them again. Highly recommended.

Ok... seriously you guys I waited a year for this book after reading Livia Lone (first in the series). I absolutely LOVED that book.

The Night Trade by Barry Eisler is the second in this series. I strongly recommend you read the first in the series because you will be a little lost trying to understand characters and Livia's story if you don't :).

First off, Livia is of course back in action and bad ass as ever! :). Livia Lone is a sex-crimes detective in Seattle that is given the chance to go back to Thailand to track down the remaining men that were involved in her horrible childhood. Along the way, she stumbles across former sniper marine Dox and ironically he is somehow hunting the same man that she is.

Dox and Livia team up..... (ok not sure how I felt about this in the book)... But, I ended up really liking Dox so Barry Eisler I give you a pass on this one ;).

I wasn't that thoroughly engaged in this novel as the first in the series. Honestly, I didn't love it nearly as much as the first. I have come to the conclusion that I really don't like mobishhhy/ thrillers. I don't even know how to categorize them? But, I found myself getting lost with the background about leads and CIA/DIA blah blah blah. It unfortunately went over my head and I felt like screaming at times to try to understand the story. I was NOT a fan of this at all.

Additionally, the chase went on way TOO long in my opinion. The last 20 percent of the book... I was just thinking come on already can't we just find the damn guy?!!

So, if you are into mobishhhhy (lol) type thrillers this definitely is for you. That sounds so weird haha but there has to be a category for this type of thriller....

Overall, 3 stars for this one. Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advanced arc in exchange for an honest review.

This was full of action, conspiracies, and suspense. I loved diving back into Livia's world and seeing her plot her revenge against the ones who'd wronged her and her sister. She meets Dox, who has a very similar goal as her in hunting down Sorm. Dox was funny and sweet, but lethal when he needed to be. It was interesting to see just how deep the roots went in the trafficking business and how corrupt the 'righteous' people were. Looking forward to the next book.

Thoroughly Entertaining. I really enjoyed the first book in this series ‘Livia Lone’, and this second book was even better. Especially since ‘Dox’, one of my favourite characters from other novels written by Barry Eisler, makes an appearance in this story. The plot is quite tense, and it’s full of interesting and diverse characters. I also quite enjoyed that this story is based in a couple of different countries, and the lighter moments that Dox always provides.
Livia Lone would do anything to seek revenge on the last men alive, who were responsible for the abduction and rape, of her and her sister. The three men that sold Livia and her sister when they were only 10 and 13 years of age, were still involved in Child Trafficking all these years later. Now she has been given the chance by a Homeland Security Agent, to investigate the ring leaders in Thailand, and bring them to Justice. Dox manages to survive a hit in Phnom Penh, and he soon finds out that Rithisak Sorm is responsible. Of course if it was up to Dox he would kill Sorm without a second thought, but Vann wants him brought in alive to face justice. Of course Dox has no idea that Livia is currently also trying to track Sorm down for her own reasons, and that she has no intention of letting him live. I really hope the Author continues on with Livia Lone as a character, as she will certainly be worth following in the future. Hands down this is a brilliant story, and well worth a read.

Detective Livia Lone is back and this time she’s out for revenge against the Rithisak Som, the trafficker that destroyed her childhood. The government anti-trafficking job she’s on plans a take down that goes very badly wrong. That’s when she meets Dox, a marine sniper who’s wants Som as much as she does. The two team up, even though their methods and motives may differ. The only thing they want is justice….and maybe a little revenge. What they don’t expect is to find themselves working against their own government, as Som’s is connected to some of the most powerful men in the United States. I love the fact that Eisler, as a man, isn’t afraid to create a strong independent heroine more than capable of taking care of herself.

The Night Trade refers to the dirty business of trading young children, human trafficking if you will. In this second book in the Livia Lone series, Eisler pits a dedicated Seattle police detective with a tormented past against an array of sex traffickers in Cambodia and Thailand. It is an action-packed extravaganza with Livia acting as an assertive one -woman army to wreak vengeance. It is similar in many ways to Eisler’s John Rain novels particularly the exotic locales, the spies and assassins operating in a secret netherworld, and the advanced technologies used. If you are looking for action and adventure, you can’t go wrong with this. I would have lacked the background to develop a bit more slowly without Livia being suddenly whisked to Southeast Asia, but it generally worked otherwise.