To Protect the Innocent is a very difficult
book to read. This book is not hard to read because of the
actual writing. In fact, the writing is splendid and the characters act and react in realistic ways creating a well crafted
story. No, the challenging part of this book is the actual topic, sexual
abuse of children. This book follows the
lives of several interconnected
individuals. These people include a
child activist touched by such abuse; the parents of a child who was abused and murdered; police assigned to these cases, a pedophile in therapy, and several individuals in the child sex trade. All of these stories are frank giving the reader insight into the lives of these individuals and what drives them. In each case, the reader will likely feel very strongly about the words and actions of each character. Very powerful, very scary, and very important.