Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
When 10-year-old Darryl Carter was seemingly robbed of his mobile phone by three youths, it appeared to be yet another low level crime in the decaying semi-urban community town of Moorton, but when the police returned Darryl home and discovered the squalid conditions he was living in, lives began to unravel, revealing a sophisticated county lines drug operation and child abuse network that stretched deep into the heart of the local police force.As a recently appointed officer in a crisis ridden social work department, Paige Emerson's personal and professional boundaries were to become blurred as she was drawn into the fractured lives of those she worked with; some families on the edge of disintegration, others who were prepared to go to any lengths to hide their activity below the sight of even the criminal underworld with a callous disregard for the safety of others, however vulnerable. Then there was Clynton, a seemingly charming teenage orphan, who invited himself into Paige's life and wrapped himself around her family changing it forever as his own shocking past unfolded, a past that those in power had fought to keep hidden lest it exposed their own corruption. Written by a former child protection social work manager, Forces at Work, whilst a work of fiction, is based on true stories of child abuse and explores social work practice with children and families including children in foster care dragged into county lines drugs operations wrapped within a gritty urban crime drama as lives become exposed resulting in ultimate tragedy.
Synopsis
An air of urban decay lingered over the northern community of Moorton and when 10-year-old Darryl Carter was seemingly robbed of his mobile phone by three youths, it appeared to be yet another low level crime. However, when the police returned him home and discovered the squalid conditions he was living in, lives began to unravel, revealing a sophisticated county lines drugs operation and child abuse network that stretched deep into the heart of the local police force and other agencies at the highest level.
As a recently appointed officer in a crisis ridden social work department, Paige Emerson's personal and professional boundaries were to become blurred as she was drawn into the fractured lives of those she worked with; some families on the edge of disintegration, others who were prepared to go to any lengths to hide their activity below the sight of even the criminal underworld with a callous disregard for the safety of others, however vulnerable.
Then there was Clynton, a seemingly charming teenage orphan, who invited himself into Paige's life and wrapped himself around her family changing it forever as his own shocking past unfolded, a past that those in power had fought to keep hidden lest it exposed their own corruption.
Exploring social work and child protection practice, Forces at Work, written by a former child protection social worker manager, is based on true foster care and child abuse stories wrapped within a gritty police crime mystery thriller as lives become exposed resulting in ultimate tragedy whilst a heart-warming tale of love and friendship endures.