Initiative Road: blurb
When the lines between government, business and organised crime become blurred, who decides what is legal and moral?
Bailey McLean is a grieving mother, anti-gangs campaigner and newly elected councillor. Ash McKelive, a seemingly streetwise sixteen year old, escaped from a drug gang. Initially fearing for her life, Ash approaches Bailey with evidence of high powered people exploitation and abuse. However those highest up, at the political level, see huge potential in young Ash. She’s groomed to become “the voice for exploited children” those doing the exploiting want, set up in opposition to Bailey’s grassroots campaign and persuaded to help destroy her.
Ash is torn as Bailey’s son was a friend, in the same gang, but the lure of power, wealth and security is stronger. Secrets about powerful people can raise you up or kill you, a threat or an opportunity.
How high can her knowledge take her; how far down can it drive Bailey?
The novel is a contemporary upmarket thriller, narrated mostly by characters on the margins. It’s a stand-alone novel but intended as the first in a trilogy.
"a gripping story, but also a searing commentary on institutional power, systemic abuse, and the way trauma is reframed for public consumption" - Helen Francis