PROFITS from a chilling Scottish crime thriller are going to human trafficking charities.

Dunbar writer Lorna Hill published The Invisible Chains last month, with the book set in Glasgow and following journalist Megan Ross’s investigations into the death of a young Nigerian girl whose body is pulled from the River Clyde.

As she delves deeper, she discovers the girl’s death is not an isolated incident.

Another body, found in the city’s Botanics with similar markings to the first corpse, connects her to some very powerful people.

Megan’s quest to report the truth, however, becomes a terrifying fight to save her own reputation – and the lives of those she holds dear.

The book is told from two points of view from two different worlds and Lorna hopes it will raise awareness of human trafficking.

East Lothian Courier: Lorna Hill has released her second book, The Invisible Chains

She told the Courier: “I began researching and writing a version of this book in 2014 as part of a creative doctoral research project at Stirling University which focused on the role of women in Scottish and Nordic crime fiction.

“During this time, I was lucky enough to meet and interview writers including Val McDermid, Lin Anderson and Anna Smith, who were hugely encouraging and inspiring.

“Louise Welsh has kindly provided a cover line.

“My unwavering focus with this novel has always been about raising awareness of human trafficking, an appalling abuse of human rights which is the world’s fastest growing crime.

“It is a hidden crime which traps people through the use of violence, coercion and deception, and exploits them for financial gain.”

The Invisible Chains is Lorna’s second book and follows her debut, The Girl I Left Behind, which was published last year.

All profits raised from the sales of The Invisible Chains will go to the Trafficking Awareness Raising Alliance (TARA), a support service in Glasgow for trafficking survivors, to help identify and support women who may have been trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, and to Survivors of Human Trafficking in Scotland (SOHTIS).

Lorna, who lives in Dunbar with her family, told the Courier modern-day slavery was found in almost every country in the world, with people held against their will and put to work in domestic settings, agriculture, fishing and nail bars, as well as being forced into prostitution and marriage.

A former journalist, Lorna now works as a project facilitator at the University of Edinburgh and runs a social enterprise, Sharing a Story CIC, using creative writing and shared reading to reduce social isolation.

She said: “Over the past 20 years, I have worked closely with survivors of abuse, asylum seekers, people traumatised by war crimes and those affected by gender violence.

“The importance of sharing stories, no matter how difficult and complex they are, is something that will always be at the heart of my work.”

The Invisible Chains can be found on Amazon.