In Currents of Sin by Arleen Alleman, a teenage girl is missing in Las Vegas and Darcy Farthing uses all her skill and connections to try to track her down in the seediest parts of town. Joined by her friend, Tom, and others in a unique group of friends, Darcy investigates Pammie’s return to Las Vegas after briefly being rescued from life on the streets by Don and Charlie. This only leads to more intrigue with Asian gangs, a police task force, and the remnants of the old mob at one of the hotels on the strip. With Darcy’s history of finding trouble, it is no surprise when things start going wrong. A pimp is murdered, Darcy and her friend, Sidney, are involved in a devastating car crash, and an attempted police action almost results in tragedy. Along with her husband, Mick, Darcy and the others work together with the authorities to try to free the girls held as sex slaves and show them the way to a better life. Can they possibly succeed when the deck seems stacked against them?

Darkly engrossing, Currents of Sin paints a stark picture of the reality of life on the underside of Sin City. Even as Book 6 in a series, it stands alone well with strong characters and non-stop action that keep you anxiously turning pages. Well researched and in depth, Currents of Sin offers you a close look at an all too real problem – from the eyes of the girls themselves as well as the law enforcement professionals trying to bring the criminals to justice. This is by far one of the best books on the market that takes this shameful issue out of the dark and treats it with heartfelt intensity. The writing is excellent and the story is gripping.

Currents of Sin by Arleen Alleman is the sixth and, she says, final iteration of her investigative, crime-fighting, freelance journalist Darcy Farthing. This time, Darcy takes a short vacation back in Florida to try to get her head around the difficulties she is having in her marriage to her current husband, Mick, when an old friend, Tom, drops a potential story into her lap. Any plans she had to investigate the missing Pumas story are quickly thrust into the background by an urgent call from another friend, Don, whose foster daughter is missing and he believes in serious trouble in Las Vegas. Quickly flying to Las Vegas to help, Darcy, her previous husband, Brooke, and her best friend, Sid, are soon drawn into a web of criminality that defies belief. Asian gangs, drugs, teenage prostitution and sex slavery, not to mention international people trafficking confront Darcy head on, as she begins the search for seventeen-year-old Pammie, who is just maybe somewhere in Sin City. So begins this tale of crime, intrigue, and violence.

Having not read anything before from Arleen Alleman, I was surprised and thrilled at the stand-alone nature of the story. Backstory to Currents of Sin is generously provided by the author, sprinkled throughout the plot, and not only adds to this current journey, but gives the reader every encouragement to delve further into the author’s previous works and discover more about these fascinating characters. The characters Alleman has fashioned in this tale have doubtless grown and matured over the course of the six stories and perhaps that’s why they feel so real and warm to the reader. The author clearly has a real grasp on her characters' true natures and their foibles as well as their endearing traits. Although this is primarily a mystery crime story, it also is a treatise on the human condition and the base elements of good and evil. As a reader I found the balance between action/adventure and character development/life philosophy to be well achieved. If this is indeed the last in this series, based on the final book, I can commend Alleman on a well-researched, well written, easy to read and enjoyable adventure. I highly recommend this book to readers of all genres.

Currents of Sin by Arleen Alleman is a mesmerizing conclusion to the Darcy Farthing adventures, a story that explores disturbing themes like human trafficking and the dark underworld of violence. Human traffickers target the homeless in the streets of Las Vegas. Darcy and her colleagues are out to locate a runaway girl when they find themselves enmeshed in a fight they never saw coming. In an effort to find out if teenager Pammie Fleetfoot has become a victim, Darcy befriends two young prostitutes who will make them travel unexpected routes. The conflict escalates when her best friend is attacked and Darcy makes the decision to leave no stone unturned until she gets to the truth. But the truth will be more than anything she imagined and now she finds herself in a crossfire between two gangs and law enforcement.

One of the greatest points of appeal for this book lies in the strong conflict and how well it is handled. A story that begins with the search for a runaway girl quickly morphs into a high scale conflict, unveiling the dirty world of human trafficking. The plot is intelligently done and the characters are real. The author leads readers into the world of crime and compels them to see the dark reality as it is. The narrative is in a captivating first person and it is filled with real and exciting dialogues. The protagonist is a character that readers will root for and I enjoyed the fact that it’s a woman because she aptly represents the sex that is often at the mercy of human traffickers. She is intelligent, persistent, and she’s got some nerve.

The human side of this story comes out with great clarity, with themes like murder, manipulation, religious fanaticism, love, and prostitution handled expertly. Here is a book that is psychologically exciting and loaded with action. Currents of Sin will make readers aware of the evil that eats into many societies. The emotions are strong and this author allows readers to touch — in some way — the misery and pain to which many lives are subjected.