Enjoyed this book. I thought there were a few too many characters to keep track of but the main characters of Alice Vega and Caplan were great. A good team and look forward to reading more books featuring them.

A fast, intriguing thriller with two gritty, realistic investigators on the trail of a dual kidnapping. I can see why Lee Child liked this book! A new author to me, I'll be looking out for the next book in what I hope will become a series of books.
The theme of the book is pretty dark as it is about the kidnapping of two girls but it is not so gruesome to put you off reading.
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.

I love smart characters and fortunately this book gave me many. The main characters and side characters are smart and quick. The plot is also smart and quick. The only slight quibble I have is that there are so many characters coming and going that I got confused. And because of vast cast of characters I was surprised by the identity of the the kidnappers.

When two girls go missing, their family hires Alice Vega , a PI who's had success finding missing children, to find them. She enlists the help of Max Caplan, a former policeman. I thought this book was just ok- didn't really care for the characters of the way the story played out.

TWO GIRLS DOWN is an intriguing thriller that revolves around the disappearance of two young girls. Who took them? Why? Are they still alive? Enter Alice Vega, an expert in tracking the missing, and Max "Cap" Caplan, a former homicide investigator and now P.I. The story has so many twists and turns the reader could get whiplash and the ending will be both surprising and inevitable. In particular, Vega is an interesting character. No BS, no patience, no fear, laced with a slice of sociopathy. She will do and say whatever she feels is needed at that moment in time and worry about the consequences later. Laws and rules are merely suggestions in her world. Makes for an unpredictable story.

Alice Vega finds missing people. Max Caplan is a former cop turned private detective in a small Pennsylvania town. When two young girls go missing Vega gets a call from the family and quickly finds herself on the wrong side of the local police. She teams up with Caplan to track down the missing girls but the search is not without danger. What’s the connection between the girls, a local ballet studio, and the drug trade?

This is an edge-of-your-seat read. The deeper you get into the story, the closer you get to edge of your seat. The author has created a complex story that at first seems to make no sense but comes together beautifully in the end. Alice Vega is a hard-edged, bad-ass kind of female character but the more you get to know her the more apparent it becomes that she is much more complex that she at first appears. Max Caplan, when we first meet him, seems very defeated. It appears that his only reason for living is his precocious teenage daughter Nell. But maybe he just needs someone to reignite his spark. Both Caplan and Vega really grew on me as the story developed. Nell is a real treat in the story. She doesn’t play a huge part but when she does show up she adds an element of fun and liveliness to the otherwise rather dark story. Finally, I thought the interplay between the police and the PI’s was unique and added a level of tension to the story that enhanced the drama. Overall, I really enjoyed this story and I would highly recommend it, especially if you feeling the need for some thrills.

A good suspense story, kept me guessing as to how they would rescue these 2 girls. Can’t wait to read more stories with Vega as the lead character. Well written.

Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna is a mystery thriller that becomes a race against time as two girls disappear without a trace. The story opens with Jamie Brandt, a struggling single mother, taking her two daughters, Kylie, 10 years old, and Bailey, 8 years old, to a birthday party. She stops quickly at a local store for a birthday present and leaves her daughters in the car. When she returns, the girls are gone. The family hires private investigators, Alice Vega and Max “Cap” Caplan, to find the girls when it becomes obvious that the local police are overwhelmed with the investigation. Soon Vega and Cap are hot on the girls’ trail, following every clue while battling hostilities from the police department. When the trail leads to the most unlikely place, they must race to save the girls. Will they find them in time? Will the girls be returned alive?
Two Girls Down is a suspenseful hunt with many twists and turns that will keep the reader on his or her toes. Every clue is important and the hints will keep the reader guessing until the very end. While I can’t talk about a lot of details in the book, as it would give away too much, I loved each and every character from the hostile cops to the seemingly minor characters. I especially loved the chemistry and camaraderie between Vega and Cap. It was great to see how their relationship builds and how they become a seamless team. I look forward to more books featuring these two. It is a great book that I highly recommend. If you love mysteries, this is a book for you.

Two Girls Down
will be available January 9, 2018
in hardcover and eBook

Two Girls Down
Louisa Luna


MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️▫️
PUBLISHER Doubleday Books
PUBLISHED January 9, 2018

A riveting and entertaining page-turner that will keep you guessing all night long.

SUMMARY
Two young sisters, Kylie, age 10 and Bailey, age 8, disappear from a strip mall parking lot in Denville Pennsylvania. Jamie Brandt, the girls mother was not a bad mother, but she was not a perfect mother either. Jamie’s wealthy aunt hires Alice Vega, a tireless private investigator from California who specializes in child abductions. The local police department refuses to share information with her, so Vega hires a former detective, Max Caplan to assist her in untangling the web of lies. With little to go on Vega and Caplan relentlessly follows one clue to the next in a heroic attempt to find the girls before time runs out.


REVIEW
TWO GIRLS DOWN is a riveting and entertaining mystery and the pages practically turn themselves. The story is intriguing, and it is next to impossible to figure out who had taken the girls. We are drawn to the answer just like a moth is drawn to a flame.

LOUISE LUNA’s character ensemble was perfect, the bad-ass private detective, the disgraced former cop, the not so perfect mom, all came to life as real people on the page. Vega’s self-confidence and her take charge attitude was arresting. You never knew what she was going to do next. She was definitely not a predictable character. She’s a woman who wants to get things done, and get them done in the most expedient way possible. When it comes to finding the missing girls she doesn’t have time for niceties. Teaming her with the more sensitive Caplan was brilliant. Caplan’s relationship with his teenage daughter Nell, was endearing and a cleverly layered part of the story.

Mystery lovers will appreciate this story. While there were some abrupt and surprising jumps backward in time to fill in characters’ backstory it was not enough to detract from the overall goodness of the story.

Thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Jamie Brandt is a single mother who just wants a break from her 8 and 10year old daughters. She gets a break, but not the kind she wants. Both girls disappear from a mall parking lot and the race is on to find them.

It is always good when I discover a new author. This book starts out great and held onto me right to the end. I didn’t see the ending coming at all. It is full of twists and turns and has some great characters. I would give this book 4 1/2 stars. I will definitely read this author again. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy of this book.

They may get on our last nerve, they may exhaust us, but one of a parent’s greatest nightmares is that their child could be kidnapped. It happened in the parking lot in a small Pennsylvania town, two young girls were taken from the car while their harried mother di a quick run in to the local Kmart.

The clues are almost non-existent and the police are ill-equipped to handle this. Enter Alice Vega, private investigator, a woman who will stop at nothing and use any means necessary to find the girls, including bending the law when she needs to. Alice is driven by her own demons, her own nightmares and her need to save the lost.

When Alice brings ex-cop turned PI, Max Caplan on board he becomes her conscience, her voice of reason, her restraint as their methods clash. One thing they will learn is that they make a great team, the young and fiery woman and the older, damaged cop.

Incredible twists, turns of events and the trails that meander to the final resolution. What I found was these characters were more human, more flawed and NOT the “fairytale” version of humans, from the mother to both Alice and Max. If you are looking to make a martyred saint out of any of these characters, forget it, they are too real and THAT is what truly makes this tale of mystery and intrigue! No cardboard cutouts, real characters that breathe, make mistakes and loose control.

TWO GIRLS DOWN by Louisa Luna is edgy, dark, and filled with a labyrinth of trails to follow, will one of those trails finally lead Vega and Cap to the end of their journey before it is too late? Edgy and frightening, read this and you will NEVER let your child out of your grasp, because this is every parent’s nightmare come true.

I received a complimentary ARC edition from Doubleday Books.

Publisher: Doubleday (January 9, 2018)
Publication Date: January 9, 2018
Genre: Mystery | Suspense
Print Length: 320 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

"Vega washed her hands in Cap's bathroom. She looked at herself in the mirror and thought about death. Which is what she usually did when she looked in strange mirrors in strange bathrooms. It made her think of hospitals and morgues, how a body could look peaceful but only in the way a piece of luggage looks peaceful-it was simply an item that didn't move."....


Kylie and Bailey are 2 little girls left alone in the car outside a KMart. When they disappear, they’re great aunt hires a well known bounty hunter. Alice Vega is good at finding lost children.

When Alice comes to town she gets a former cop, turned private detective, to help her with the case. Max Caplan has a few of his own secrets, like why he really left the force. A drinking problem, a divorce, and maybe a desire to redeem himself in his daughters eyes.

The characters felt real. The story was one you just fall into and can’t let go until you know the truth. Alice is a tough girl, but is she tough enough to overcome the obstacles to the missing girls? The girls grieving mother is falling apart at the seams. Media coverage isn't helping the stress and strain its putting on everyone. Everyone who knows them is suspect.

Descriptive, detailed account of a town that could be Anywhere, USA. With rampant drug issues, an overworked, understaffed police department, they’re going to need the likes of Vega and Cap if they ever hope to find these little girls again. They can get answers in ways cops might not be able to. The police aren't exactly thrilled to have them involved and it shows. Even the FBI is coming to town for this. Getting everyone to work together will be tough.

A thrilling suspense story from start to finish. I couldn’t wait to see what happened next, or how it all would end. The story definitely took a turn I didn’t see coming. It didn’t end the way I expected either. I love a good book that is not always predictable.

Thank you Louisa Luna, Doubleday Books, Netgalley.

Thank you to Doubleday Books and NetGalley for the advance reader copy Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna in exchange for an honest review. I love mystery and detective stories and this book did not disappoint! Alice Vega is a successful bounty hunter hired by the family of two young girls who went missing at a mall. Alice is tough to figure out, very savvy when it comes to doing things her own way and she has plenty of resources and a tech guy who can get almost any information she needs. But when it comes to Witness Statements, Alice decides to hire/approach Cap, a disgraced cop who now has his own private investigation firm with a teen daughter who is just as interested in her father’s cases. Mystery lovers will be spellbound by the many twists and turns the case takes as many clues evolve, with Cap and Alice working overtime with no sleep to win over the police department, so they can ALL share clues to find these girls. There are surprises aplenty, but together Cap & Vega keep digging, as time ticks agonizingly fast. Will they find the girls? Will they be alive? If alive, will they be emotionally stable? I also liked the element of romantic interest between Cap & Vega that grows as the tension mounts. Luna’s major characters are well drawn and minor characters in the police department and suspects, friends and families questioned are all interesting and integral. I want to see Alice Vega turn into a mystery series. This is a riveting, mesmerizing detective thriller and will keep mystery lovers turning the pages; highly recommended!

I can already see who would play Vega and Cap in a movie adaptation. Solid story line. Believable characters. I usually get irritated with inner monologue, but these were relevant and helped develop the characters. Epic climax. A must-read.

Jamie Brandt is taking her daughters to a party when she stops at the Kmart in small-town Pennsylvania to pick up a gift. When she returns to her car, the girls, Kylie and Bailey, are gone. Alice Vega, a private investigator from California with success in finding kidnapped children, is called in by Jamie’s wealthy aunt to find the girls. Vega is no-nonsense, terse in both questions and answers and unwilling to listen to unnecessary conversation. When she goes to the police department, she gets a frosty welcome - although stretched thin from budget cuts and a heavy caseload, they want nothing of an outsider and let her know. So she turns to Max “Cap” Caplan, a private detective who resigned from the police department five years earlier under pressure after a suspect in custody dies. Vega and Cap’s relationship is a subplot, but one that is not distracting and helps define both characters. Using a hacker friend, Vega gets information that she and Cap can use in the rush to find the girls. Racing against time, they move across the Pennsylvania landscape chasing leads and overcoming frustration. Lots of suspects and an intriguing ending make this a good read. But there was one thing that really bugged me - what was with no capitalization in the first paragraph of each chapter? Thanks to Doubleday and NetGalley for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for my review.

Talk about how to grab a reader. “Jamie Brandt was not a bad mother. Later she would tell that to anyone who would listen: police, reporters, lawyers, her parents, her boyfriend, her dealer, the new bartender with the knuckle tattoos at Schultz’s…”.

What Luna does is get the characters exactly right. In just a few pages, she was able to nail the main characters. I loved Cap from right off the bat. An ex-cop and current PI, he loves his teenage daughter and the two of them together just seemed real. And Alice Vega, as well, unsuccessfully trying yoga to calm herself down. By the end of the first chapter, Luna had me sold.

This is a fast paced book that kept me totally engaged. One of those books i was loath to put down. Lots of phrases that would just nail a scene or a character. Like this “he saw Jamie for what she was: an unstable element, a cut wire spraying sparks”. Yes, Alice is a tad unbelievable, in a Jack Reacher kind of way; she always has a solution to getting what she needs. And I didn’t quite connect with the little bit of romance in the book. But overall this book gets a definite thumbs up and I will definitely seek out the next book that Luna writes.

My thanks to netgalley and Doubleday Books for an advance copy of this book.

2.5 stars

This book had the potential to be terrific, with an enigmatic female PI who specializes in finding missing kids, a disgraced ex-cop, and a couple of missing little girls for them to find. Unfortunately, the anticipation was far better than the delivery.

The problem was with the main characters. While it’s perfectly fine to weave some mystery around the protagonist, the character’s actions and thoughts need to be consistent to draw a sharp picture of her and to hint at the secrets. But Alice Vega supposedly was this incredibly successful PI who actually was a total mess in both thoughts and actions. She was a loose cannon who sporadically was violent, her thoughts boomeranged from past to imagined conversations to weird sexual thoughts at inappropriate times, and she was TSTL on at least a couple of occasions. Through most of the book, she seemed barely functional, with the only hints of her past being the deaths of her mom from cancer, her mentor being killed (with no inference that she was even present), and the fact that she joined the army but went only through basic training. Nothing even to hint at why she’s such a mess. While damaged heroes/heroines can be very appealing, they only are so if they manage to function fairly well while suffering mostly behind the scenes. Instead, Alice appeared to crash around and rely on the services of a hacker until she solved the case.

Max “Cap” Caplan was a bit, though not much, better. He sacrificed his career to cover for a colleague because that co-worker had a wife and family, but so did Cap, and his own marriage and family suffered instead. He was more level-headed and competent, but he also had weird sexual thoughts at odd times and seemed almost to wag his tail whenever Alice or his old boss appeared to approve of him. Not a flattering portrayal for a grown man. The only bright spot as far as characters go was Cap’s daughter Nell, and she was almost too good to be true.

Even the case itself was puzzling, with some very obvious points completely ignored. <spoiler>After Alice acknowledging that one of her recovered victims was severely damaged by sexual abuse, why was Kylie so unaffected after being held, and one must believe abused, by a pedophile? Her mother was more emotionally distraught.</spoiler>

All in all, the emotions and actions did not ring true for too many characters, making for an unsatisfying read.

I liked this book and it was a great read but the only problem was that it triggered me. I was triggered because of certain events that happened in my rough past but I know this can happen with some thrillers and it’s not the book’s fault. The book was very suspenseful and had a very surprising ending that was very unexpected. I am sure that a lot of people would thoroughly enjoy this book but for me it was hard to enjoy it at times because of the triggers. This book was well written and would recommend to readers who love a chilling suspense.

4.5 stars, actually.

I've always maintained that declarations of whether or not a book is well written shouldn't be soured by how much you love, relate to, or even like, the main characters - ttttthat's my story and I'm sticking to it. But when you do, it sure sweetens the whole experience - as was, happily, the case here. In fact, perhaps the primary strength of this book is the exceptionally well-developed characters.

The top two are Max Caplan, a private investigator and former cop who left the force under a cloud; he's divorced and has a smart, headstrong daughter named Nell. Complementing "Cap" is Alice Vega, perhaps more of a bounty hunter than private eye. She's single, extremely focused, somewhat psychic and weighs in with a hefty load of emotional baggage of her own. They come together when Alice is hired to find two young sisters who have gone missing in Denville, Pa. (not far from Philadelphia).

Vega, asks Cap for help with the case, but he turns her down - claiming he's busy chasing a bad guy who's from New Castle, Pa. (which, for the record, isn't far from my own home in northeastern Ohio), but in reality more because he doesn't want to interact with his former cronies on the police force. Not to be deterred (she's intensely focused, remember?), Vega takes off and finds the guy, thus removing Cap's reason for not jumping into her own fray. Apparently, she's very good at what she does; at one point, she tells Cap that she expects to earn $50,000 for finding the missing girls - and she's willing to split it 50-50 with him.

Somewhat reluctantly, Cap recapitulates, making them something of a team (which, depending on the situation or who's thinking about it, can be for better or for worse). Clues ferreted out and followed up by Vega and Cap turn out to be productive enough that the local police and FBI opt to at least consider them serious players in the chase (albeit grudgingly). While there's never any romantic interaction between the two, the potential chemistry is there - if only in Cap's mind. When it comes to investigation, they're not always on an identical wavelength; here, score one for Cap, and there, the edge goes to Vega.

There's plenty of action as well as false leads and twists to make for a hard-to-put-down story with an ending revelation that I didn't predict ahead of time (neither did Cap nor Vega, at least until the last couple of chapters, so I don't feel too bad). When I finished the last page, I said two things to myself: First, this is a really good book; and second, I sure hope I'll see these two characters again. Meantime, a big thank you to the publisher, via NetGalley, for the opportunity to read and review an advance copy.

When a distracted single Mom makes a quick stop at a local store, she tells her young daughters to stay in the car. When Mom returns, the girls are gone. Not trusting the cops in this small, understaffed, drug-ridden Pennsylvania town to get results, the mother’s Aunt hires Alice Vega. Alice doesn’t come cheap but she has a record of results and the Aunt has the resources to lure her. But Alice is from the West Coast and needs someone who knows the locals. She teams up with Max Caplan, a former local police officer who left the job after a volatile incident.

Alice has a certain skill set, unusual resources, and a one-track mind. Max has a way with suspects and a good cop’s intuition. Together they face a ticking clock to learn what happened to these girls. Along the way, they build an uneasy relationship with each other and learn to play off each other’s strengths.

Secondary characters are terrific. They include the missing girls’ family, Max’s precocious teen daughter, Max’s former co-workers, Alice’s mysterious cyber friend and many of the leads the team hunts down.

Can’t wait for more Alice, more Max and more insight into these two unique characters. Highly recommended, up all night thriller!

Thanks to Negalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this title.