Coming soon

An Unthinkable Crime

"An Unthinkable Crime" is a character-driven narrative that traces the evolution of child sexual abuse and exploitation in America from the 1970s to the present, drawing on the stories of victims, law enforcement officers, lawyers, advocates, and psychologists and exposing the systems that perpetuate it, all with an eye toward identifying ways to stop these horrific crimes. It will be published by The Crown Publishing Group in January 2027.

The book builds on a decade-long reporting effort I published in 2022 in the Boston Globe Magazine about a woman named Kate Price, who was a survivor of childhood sex trafficking. The story was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in feature reporting, and won the Dart Award for Excellence in the Coverage of Trauma from Columbia Journalism School.

The book follows the path of three child sexual abuse victims into adulthood as they fight for survival, pursue accountability for their abuse, and grapple with the devastating aftermath of their trauma. And it follows the work of the many sentinels who have been fighting on behalf of sexually abused children for decades, many of whom have faced denial, backlash, and anger from a public unwilling to acknowledge both the reality and scope of these crimes. Throughout the book, the stories of the survivors and sentinels intersect, creating an engrossing, exhaustively researched narrative that unfolds like a true crime novel.

“An Unthinkable Crime” is a sweeping cultural history that is the culmination of 15 years of reporting. It arrives at a critical moment, as a new technological revolution is upon us, and calls upon readers to act to ensure more children will not be harmed. 

Janelle is represented by Elyse Cheney of The Cheney Agency. Her editor is Amanda Cook at The Crown Publishing Group.