Member Reviews
So glad I saw early rave reviews of this one and decided to see for myself! The mystery of two sisters disappearing in small-town Denville, against the backdrop of the opioid epidemic in America was a fresh spin on what could have been a “by-the-book” procedural mystery. Alice and Cap are two great characters and I enjoyed seeing the story from their eyes. I hope to see more of these characters in the future and I’m definitely looking forward to what comes next from Louisa Luna.
This is a great mystery/thriller releasing in January that you will want to add to your list! Vega - the kick ass female bounty hunter women been waiting for teams up with Cap a “retired” cop turned PI to find two little girls who were abducted. I see this as the beginning of what could be a great series. I hope the publisher puts some media behind this release.
Two Girls Down
A novel by Louisa Luna
Alice Vega is a bounty hunter who specializes in finding abducted children. She is headquartered in California but has a national reputation because of her success rate, 18 out of 18. Ask, “How many were alive?” And she will tell you 16, one dead and one alive but “dead.” Her job is what she lives for, and she pursues it with a single-mindedness that is feral. So when two girls go missing from a Pennsylvania shopping mall parking lot Alice gets a call and a job offer. She will bring absolute dedication to bear and will brook no B.S. from anyone, not even a local police captain.
This story has a quirky, human quality to it that I have not encountered before. And what can I say about Alice, Cap, Nell, Jamie and the rest of the characters? Major personalities are vivid, vital and well rounded. Even the minor ones have a spark that makes them live in their moment. Like a real police investigation, the storyline has a chaotic feel that kept me guessing right until the last moment. I could say that I had no clue, but there were clues, I just didn’t pick up on them.
I highly recommend “Two Girls Down” and hope that somewhere there is a real Alice Vega kicking ass and taking names.
I received a digital copy of this novel from Doubleday and NetGalley in exchange for this review.
This book is full of tough, possibly triggering, topics, but does so in a way that packs a punch and will have readers glued to the page. Alice Vega is a troubled bounty hunter and investigator who has been called in by the family to help solve the disappearance of two sisters. Max Caplan is a former police officer whose disgraced exit from the force still has people talking, but when he and Vega team up they are a powerful investigative team.
Kidnappings and missing children are really difficult topics for me to read about, but Luna has written a narrative that is both immersive and harrowing. The setting of a small, down-on-its-luck Pennsylvania town is appropriately dreary and uncomfortable. The primary characters, Vega and Caplan, are fairly well developed, but there is enough mystery left around Vega that I'm hoping she's going to become a series character. The pacing is pretty good throughout, and there are enough big breaks or changes in the case throughout the story that keep it moving.
This is a new to me author, and I was pretty impressed with the story and the writing. I'd like to see Alice Vega in more stories, but I expect I'll be intrigued by whatever the author does next.
What a great book!!! A definite must read. I give it five stars. I didn't see the shocking ending coming at all. What I really liked about this book was the relationship that Cap and Vega had. They really bounced off each other in such a great way. I really loved what the author did with these characters. I also liked the relationship that Cap had with his daughter, Nell. What makes this story so great besides the characters was the shocking twist in the end. I would have never guessed who or why they took those girls. The author did such a great job of hiding on who it can be. I would definitely recommend this book.
It's such a great feeling to come across a new thriller (which is easily my favorite genre) from an author I have not read before, and actually end up loving the story and recommending it to everyone I know! The story begins with a single mother of two daughters who can, at times, be a handful. Jamie, the mother, finds herself longing for a few moments of peace, which she rarely gets to enjoy. That is, until her daughters are taken from her vehicle while she has ran into a store. The panic and suspense starts to build from there, and never slows back down. The introduction of Alice Vega, a bounty hunter with an excellent history of locating the missing, is requested for help, all while trying to work against the towns police officers who are trying to keep her out.
First off, I LOVE suspense, I love nail-biters, and I love when I'm actually antsy while reading! This all totally happened during this story! I was FURIOUS during the section where Jamie leaves the girls in the care alone, thinking that only something bad can come of this. But then while she was frantically asking around from store to store, I only felt her pain.
The character I enjoyed reading about the most was Alice Vega. Although we didn't get much to go on for her, I thought she seemed so interesting, and that could be because we didn't find out much about her.
A brilliantly written story that I will be recommending to all my friends in hopes that they get as much enjoyment as I have! And a huge thanks to Netgalley and Louisa Luna for allowing me a chance to read an ARC copy of the book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Jamie left her girls in the car at the strip mall for just a moment... and in that moment her life changed. The girls are gone- no one can figure out anything, the police don't seem to be getting anywhere. She calls in Alice Vega, a PI with a reputation for finding people. Shut out by the police, Vega partners up with Max Caplan (Cap) a disgraced former cop. As the two work the case, it seems like it may be linked to other missing girls. The clock is ticking... can they find the girls before they disappear?
First, I loved these characters. Vega and Cap were well developed and interesting, both with their own demons and past. I fell hard for these two, desperate for more information and time with them. I loved the plot, and was instantly drawn to this fast paced story. So far this is a stand alone... but we have the makings of more. (Please?) I would love to see this as a series, even a short one. It was a definite five star book for me.
As far as the adult content scale goes, there's a lot of violence, drugs, language and some sexual content. Trigger warning- the sexual content, while only hinted at, refers to one of the girls. I give it an eight.
I was lucky enough to receive an eARC of this book from Netgalley and Doubleday Books in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.
The book comes out on December 9th- if it isn't on your radar, it should be.
An enjoyable, well-written murder suspense that features two sympathetic central protagonists. The plot line keeps moving, and the interactions of the characters are engaging. I hope there will be more Alice Vega books to come, but they better include a deepening connection to Cap.
Jamie runs inside a store for a few minutes and leaves her two girls Bailey 8 and Kylie 10 year old in the car . She comes back to find them missing with nobody having a clue where they went . The police department is short staffed so Alice Vega, a private investigator, who has a great track record for finding missing kids is hired by the family . She enlists the help of an ex-cop Max Caplan to help her with the search. A lot of suspects and very few clues makes finding the girls an almost impossible task for Vega and Max.
A fast paced, good mystery book with great but flawed characters makes it an interesting read. Vega is a tough no-nonsense detective lacking some social skills while Cap is a family loving detective who misses his job as a cop. The dynamics between Cap and his teenage daughter was also fun to read . I would definitely look forward to more by this author
I would like to thank Doubleday Books & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.
This and more reviews at https://chloesbooksblog.wordpress.com/
It's always a good thing when you try a new author, at least new to me, and you get a good, gritty crime thriller!
When mom Jamie, leaves her 8 and 10-year-old daughters in the car to run in for a quick birthday gift, the girls disappear. Her parents hire Alice Vega, who has a reputation for finding children. Shut out by the local cops, she hooks up with Cap, a former cop who took the fall for a friend.
There were so many plot twists you couldn't put it down even if you wanted to. Which I did not.
All of the characters were real, honest and imperfect. And I loved them all. I can only hope that the author gives us more!
Thanks Netgalley/Doubleday Release Date January 9, 2018
This was a really good book. I didn’t expect it to end the way it did. The “who” definitely surprised me.
For those of us with children, the fear of losing a child to kidnappers, serial killers, pedophiles, or some other murderer (or miscellaneous freak) out there is an ongoing fear. This book not only plays on that fear, but reminds us that we need to remember to fear people we know far more than strangers lurking on the street. This tale is frightening in all the normal ways, but also has a mother that I often wanted to slap. Clearly, the author had great character development. The plot was strong, and the tension remained high enough through out the book that I read it in a single sitting.
4.5 stars
First Line – Jamie Brandt was not a bad mother.
Summary - When two young sisters disappear from a strip mall parking lot in a small Pennsylvania town, their devastated mother hires an enigmatic bounty hunter, Alice Vega, to help find the girls. Immediately shut out by a local police department already stretched thin by budget cuts and the growing OxyContin and meth epidemic, Vega enlists the help of a disgraced former cop, Max Caplan. Cap is a man trying to put the scandal of his past behind him and move on, but Vega needs his help to find the girls, and she will not be denied.
Highlight - This is the kind of book that has you sitting on the edge of your seat, unable to put it down until you finish the last page. Great original characters and so many twists and turns! I hope this spins off into a series.
Lowlight – I can’t really think of any.
FYI – Some graphic scenes involving children.
I loved Alice Vega as a character, though I don't feel like I got to know her as well as I would have liked. I hope this means there will be a sequel because she can definitely support more books. This was a very twisty mystery with some true surprises, the "who-done-it" most of all. Truly evil villains for the protagonists to face. I hope to read more from this author.
Two sisters are missing from a local mall in a rundown Pennsylvania town. The family hires Alice Vega, noted for her ability to find missing persons. To find the girls, Alice teams up with a local PI who resigned from the town’s police force under a cloud.
Although I initially had a difficult time getting into this book, I really liked it. It is a fast paced story with good character development and a plot that hangs together. I definitely would recommend it to mystery fans.
Louisa Luna is known for her Young Adult fiction; she has made a successful transition to writing for adults. I think this would make a great series; I’d love to read more about Cap, the divorced PI with a precocious daughter, and Vega. There are a lot more adventures they could have and so much of their history to learn about.
I really enjoyed the character of Alice Vega. She was a badass. The plot didn't engage me as much as I had thought it would but it was an interesting story. I liked it but didn't love it. Would still recommend to friends.
I could not put this book down. I loved the characters and the quick pace. I’d read many more books with Cap or Vega in them.
Free copy courtesy of Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Louisa Luna's Two Girls Down is a binge-worthy whodunnit crime fiction novel that realistically paints how rural America is affected by today's drug epidemic. The story starts off with single mother Jamie Brandt taking her two daughters Kylie and Bailey to the mall so they can get a gift for Kylie's friend's birthday party. Jamie is a struggling single parent in a town where income inequality is rampant. Denville, Pennsylvania is a small town outside of Philadelphia—modest, poor, ignorant, and proud, 'Murica. After Jamie returns from the mall to get her daughter's friend a gift, she is startled to see that her daughters are missing. The kidnapping of Kylie and Bailey Brandt has received considerable attention in the news; throwing the town of Denville on a loop. The police force is struggling to find any leads, so the Brandt family hires private investigator Alice Vega to help with the case.
Alice Vega is a no-nonsense Californian who acts first and speaks later. She has an impeccable track record in finding missing children, arriving to Denville and ready to investigate. The town doesn't take to Alice very well—they too proud to accept her services. Alice quickly starts figuring out that things in Denville aren't exactly what they seem. Everyone has an alibi, everyone has a story, but who has something to gain from these two missing girls?
Two Girls Down was a very interesting read for me because when I first picked it up, I was initially thinking, "oh this will be just like every other crime fiction/detective novel", but I was happily mistaken. Alice Vega might actually be my favorite heroine of all time. She is a bad ass to the Nth degree! She is witty, strong, funny, smart—ugh I can keep going. I really hope Louisa Luna continues writing stories including Alice Vega because she really is just amazing and nothing I can say here can perfectly describe how much I fangirl over her. Alice Vega easily gives me the ability to give this read a 4 star rating without even batting an eye.
I also really enjoyed the way the plot began to unfold before my eyes. I really thought this story was going to take a certain turn, but I was pleasantly surprised to be proven wrong. It kept me on my toes and captured my attention. The story unfolds in an interesting, unique way; without the gimmicky plot twists that many novels are throwing out there to try to shock the reader. Ms. Luna also intelligently mentions the drug epidemic sprawling throughout America; showcasing it through the town of Denville and its inhabitants. I really haven't picked up anything recently that portrays that aspect of American society and it was something that actually made me take a second to think about. It was a really robust story that pieced everything together seamlessly.
Two Girls Down will be released January 9, 2018. Thank you Netgalleys, Doubleday Books for my advanced copy for my honest review. You can find this review at https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2190415637?type=review#rating_140129550 and it will also be on my bookstagram and on thesuspenseisthrillingme.com early next week.
(2 1/2). With the exception of the first and last 10 pages his book cooks right along. A not totally unusual storyline is handled really well with a terrific, kick ass protagonist in Alice Vega. A serious helping hand from a (incorrectly) disgraced cop, his precocious daughter and an unbelievable, phantom IT guy keep the layers of the onion peeling nicely. A touch of local yokels and an exciting conclusion made this little book much more fun than I anticipated. Exceeded my expectations.
This was a quick read with an interesting, but difficult, storyline. The story focuses on Vega, a private investigator, and Cap, a former cop, who she partners up with to find two girls who have gone missing. Vega seems to have a knack for finding missing children, but it's never really fleshed out as to why. It sort of hints at her having special abilities, but then never goes down that path. There are so many characters introduced throughout the story, I had a hard time keeping track of who was who and what relevance they played, so that took me out of the story many times. Overall, it was interesting, but could have been better.