re:mote voices

Title: The Pleasure Express
Author: Sara Sheridan
Publisher:Arrow

As a child Kate has determined that she will leave the small Scottish town of Coatross for London. With little idea of what she will do once she gets there, the fact that she ends up in Hong Kong as a high class call girl for the Triads leading up to the handover, probably wasn’t part of the plan. But that is what happens, living in the lap of luxury with a Chinese woman of her own age, they are both on the game and become the closest friend the other has.

As far as Kate and Rosie are concerned life is good, non-stop drugs and parties, and being paid loads of money to have sex. Which is great until Rosie is sold off to a Chinese drug lord, who lives in some arse-end-of-nowhere village in mainland China . From here things come crumbling down, with Kate as narrator being forced to face up to her weaknesses and the real fragility of the lifestyle she has found herself in. The Pleasure Express takes a while to get going as a thriller, even with the prologue being the turning point of events.

From that point events flash back, following Kate’s childhood, move to London and on. This section building up to that turning point is more a diary of a call girl style. Philosophically slanted and laid back, covering the ease of getting into the lifestyle, and the suggestion of glamour at the top end of the market, while avoiding dwelling too much on the cocks and all. Once momentum starts to build it does go beyond the characters control, so that at times Kate becomes more of a witness.

Essentially The Pleasure Express is about Rosie and her resilience and determination, with Kate as commentator and Hong Kong as backdrop. The Pleasure Express while being less of a thriller than it could have been, remains a decent enough read.