DNF @is 34%

Content warning:
Rape: female, male, child
Child sexual exploitation
Drug abuse
Overdose

I was approached by Random House to review this prequel as they'd seen my review of the first in the series on netgalley. I'd loved that book, but it's follow ups left me cold.
I was hopeful for this, but ultimately could not continue.
Scenes of rape, threats of rape or child exploitation feature in almost every chapter and it's merciless. And also bloody lazy. It seems that the only thing Johansen can conjure up for her characters to either threaten, commit or suffer is sexual assault.
She also seems to relish in repeating certain aspects of the abuse: the fact a girl working in a brothel is only 9 years old is mentioned twice within several pages, as well as the repeated recount of two characters standing as 4 Yr olds, naked and scared as they are sold on.
Johansen's obsession with the nasty and grim actually backfires in a major way. Not only will this be flung away by many unprepared for the content (it seriously needs a CW at the beginning) but it's boring AF. Any shock, hatred, or disgust you feel is diminished by the fifth occurance, and totally destroyed by the twentieth. (Bare in mind I dnf'd at 34%...just over a third through)
I get that the narrative is that it's so awful that the hero rising up to save the day becomes more effective, but Christ... There's a 1000 better ways to do it than this.
I'd like to say there's some good in this, but it's a genuine struggle to find it amongst the ick.