Book 4 in the highly entertaining Scavenger series about Benfu and Calla Lily's family of daughters.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review. ( )

Life in Beijing can be hard, and more so when your husband has turned into an addict on pain-killers following a back injury, forcing Mari to make ends meet by taking photographs of tourists on a mangy camel at the Great Wall. Things start looking up a little when an American photojournalist hires her to be his translator and bring him to a few local sites on what seems like his China bucket list. But a tragedy occurs which threatens her happily-ever-after.

We're also introduced to 2 young girls who were kidnapped by an adult syndicate who force them to beg on the streets to avoid being beaten and starved. They are often bullied by the older boys or worse. Their lives take a toll for the worse when the older girl, An Ni, breaks her leg during an escape during a risky train heist. It's left to little Xiao Mei to find help, which comes from an unexpected meeting. The Chinese government's disinterest in the known situation of child kidnappings takes an abrupt 360 when certain photographs and a story published by a foreign journal goes viral.

The children's resilience are admirable as is the determination of one man facing his own demons to make a difference. ( )