Valarie and Sheila by John Benton

From the back cover of Valarie:

Arrested for prostitution, Valarie was unable to stop the horrible suicide of another inmate.  But what she saw and knew about her friend's death made her a very real danger to her captors, who arranged for her to be released in custody of "Uncle Harvey."  In return for her freedom, she was forced to work in Harvey's massage parlor, where she found life to be as dangerous as ever. 

There seemed to be no way out for Valarie—no place of safety—no friend who could be trusted —no future.  Would she be better off back on the streets?  Valarie will show you that there is always hope and help available, if you will only reach out to claim it.

Content: prostitution, suicide witnessed by protagonist, physical violence, gun violence, theft, drug abuse

The suicide in this book is highly likely to be triggering.  Valarie witnesses her friend commit suicide by hanging in the adjacent cell.  Valarie screams for the guards repeatedly as she tries to stop her friend.  The guards ignore the cries for help.  The scene is quite disturbing and infuriating.  These books are based on true stories, so this happened.

This is another typically thrilling John Benton book.

My summary of Sheila:

Sheila is addicted to heroin and uses prostitution to fund her habit.  Sheila is so addicted that she can only get straight instead of high.  Sheila must leave her little girl, Robin, alone in their apartment while she walks the streets looking for a trick.  Child welfare begins asking questions, so Sheila flees with her daughter.

Sheila gets an apartment on the second floor of a strip club.  Her employer takes her to conventions where she services all the rich businessmen, making plenty of money for her habit.  But finally, Sheila's lifestyle catches up with her, and she risks losing everything.

Content: child abuse, prostitution, stripping, drug abuse, gun violence, theft

The publisher's summary focuses on around the last 50 pages of the story, so I opted not to use it.  I cannot stand it when publishers choose to focus on the ending instead of the main part of the story.

This is another excellent John Benton book.