This was a very entertaining story that could’ve been clipped down by about 60 pages. I was in the rested in seeing where the story went but it felt like it dragged quite a bit along the way. There’s was a bit of a reveal near the end that surprised me which was nice. It was a good read but not something that knocked my socks off, unfortunately.

A must read! There is sex trafficking, so it could take you down a dark road, but I found it very well done. As tasteful as it gets. It was jam packed with action and so many twists and turns I could hardly keep up, but I did. I can’t wait to read more from this author, as this was my first. Provided by NetGalley.

Alice Vega's name is on a piece of paper in the hands of a dead girl and the FBI is asking for her help in locating missing girls. This could be a human trafficking issue and Alice has help with a private PI named Cap. Once Alice starts getting close the FBI wants them to stop doing what they are doing but Alice and Cap don't listen to directions well and do their own thing which creates not only the bad guys looking for them but others are also now breathing down their necks. This book was good but I wasn't as sucked in as I wish I could have been. I liked it and would read more by this author.

This author really knows how to combine all of the good stuff. Dead bodies, pulse-pounding timelines, surprises, twists, and deadly turns all merge to create The Janes.

Writing: ★★★
Plot/Pacing: ★★★★★
Surprises: ★★★★
Enjoyment: ★★★★★

Alice Vega and Max Caplan are back, and this time it's more than a kidnapping: it's two dead girls.

Two young girls have been discovered dead and the police realize that they are most likely related. One of the girls has a small scrap of paper with Alice Vega's name on it. Alice is a private investigator and overall bad ass. She can work well with police but also does whatever she needs to in order to close the case and solve the mystery. If she does work with the police, she has her friend "Cap" join her, as he is retired from the police. THere are ups and downs with the case, and I couldn't put the book down until I finished.

Two young girls bodies are found. The police call in Alive Vega to help identify the killers. She, of course, calls in Cap, who assisted her in the first of series. In that one there was definitely an attraction developing between the two and I enjoyed watching them become even closer. These are both great, well developed characters, and a well developed plot. Of course, as in many of these type of stories some belief needs to be suspended in certain sections. The first half of the book centers on their police work, beginning investigation. The second half accelerates and it is a wild ride to the finish. Conspiracy theories abound. a super-fast read that kept me captivated until the end!

Very gritty, but compelling. Read it almost straight through. Author Luna knows how to keep the pages turning! Could be a stand-alone, although part of a series.

Thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for a first-read.

This is book 2 of the Alice Vega Series. Two bodies are discovered near San Francisco, they have no IDs, but one of them has a note saying "Alice Vega" This leads the FBI and police to PI Alice Vega. Can she and her partner, Max Caplan, find out who the women are and solve their murders?

I love this duo of detectives. They’re just so entertaining themselves. Vega is such a badass and cap is just funny. It was a bit of a slow burn but loving the characters helped me keep going.

I love a good mystery and there was some surprises in here and i thoroughly loved the ending which made the slow burn totally worth it!

I love Louisa Luna's writing style and this series is a great series. I can not wait for the next book.

Absolutely loved this - it was a whole mood. The characters, the motivation, the plot - like diving into a pool on a hot day and holding your breath all the way to the far side. You turn the last page, come up for air and want to submerge yourself again. I can't wait for more.

The Janes is book 2 in the Alex Vega series. Alex a wisecracking private eye works alongside the charming and possible love interest Max “Cap” Caplan. Together they work on a case involving two murdered girls, one of whom died with a piece of paper revealing Alex’s name. The case takes them down a murky path of sex trafficking, violence, and corruption all the while brewing an attraction between the two. I haven’t read the first book in the series “Two Girls Down”, but I can say that this book can be read as a stand-alone. The book was fast-paced, and I think the relationship between the protagonist's works. I need to read the first book to get a better background on the characters. The mystery was engaging and shed light on the world of trafficking.

The Janes by Louisa Luna was a wonderful read! The author kept my attention to the end with the suspenseful plot. The detectives Cap and Vega are on the trail of a trafficking case and the dynamite duo won't give up until the case is solved. The plot was gripping and suspenseful and it left me wanting more from this duo.

Really liked this one; I thought it was even better than book 1 Two Girls Down. A very well-written thriller. I am writing this review months after I read it, so apologies for the lack of detail! I just like it and I recommend it!

Thank you to Doubleday Books for a free digital galley via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I'm a fan of Louisa Luna's writing, especially the Vega and Cap stories and this one didn't disappoint.

Always a bit roguish and never by the book, Vega seems to find things no one even thinks about.

By the book, Cap is like Vega's conscience, always trying to keep her in line. The two together seem like oil and water, but have an amazing, yet complicated, dynamic.

As they are looking for the identities of the found dead Janes, Vega and Cap have to come face to face to their past in order to move forward.

Well written and superbly gripping, you will not want to put this book down until you know every little detail.

Having read the first book of the Alice Vega series, I was interested in reading this next installment. The first book in the series, Two Girls Down, was a good mystery with a memorable duo to root for. Since I especially enjoyed the Alice Vega and Max Caplan camaraderie in the first installment, I had elevated hopes for The Janes. This book met my expectations for the most part, but left me a little underwhelmed at times.

I must say that I still enjoy the characters of Alice Vega and Max Caplan. Alice Vega, who I am sure most people would identify as an equivalent to Lee Child's Jack Reacher, is rock solid and always on the hunt. This story gives you a tad more information about her personal life and lets you see behind her steely facade more than the opening installment. Max Caplan, who reminds me of Chief Hopper of Stranger Things, is perpetually tired of everything and always underestimated as a retired cop turned private investigator. I've enjoyed their solid partnership and friendship and how the trauma they have endured has given them a certain bond over the course of the past two books. I'm not sure how I feel about how their relationship evolved in this book and will leave it at that for now.

In regards to the actual story, it definitely had good bones and I was invested in the outcome of the people involved. However, the first half of this book, particularly the latter part of the first half, seemed to slog along for me. This book seemed a little too long for what I though it needed to be for a good story. If you're looking for a story that details the thorough scenes of an investigation then this may be a book for you. For the most part, especially in that first half, there is no "Cut to four scenes later with no explanation of how they found out the results of the autopsy or lab results." No CSI shortcuts here. Luna has the characters going to the morgue, the person of interest's house, etc. No having a throw-in character explain it in two sentences as a way to cut to the chase. I'm not saying this is a negative aspect of the book, just that it slowed the story for me during parts of the book. However, once you hit the second half of the book, it jogs through the main scenery of the plot at a clipped pace.

Overall, I give it a 3 out of 5 stars. I enjoyed it as a mystery and second installment in the Alice Vega series. I still enjoy following Alice Vega and Max Caplan. I still enjoy Caplan's sweet relationship asides with is daughter, Nell. It met my expectations for the story and the series. Wouldn't mind reading the next installment, if not to see where the two main characters are heading.

I would like to thank NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

I recently read book one in this series, and am happy I read these close together, but sad that I now have to wait for the next book to come out. I have said it before and am saying it again now, Alice Vega is one of my easy favorite female leads in a series, this gal is tough. She has a moment in each book where you are just like whoa that was insane and I am here for it. Cap is a good partner for her and I enjoy these two very much, and especially love that Vega is the one that keeps him on his toes.

Alice is a PI that helps to find missing children, and folks, this is not for the faint of heart, so be warned. I am liking my thrillers dark during these quarantine times so this worked for me, but it will be a lot for some folks. In this book, we start off with two girls’ bodies, but there are additional missing girls to be found that are tied to a trafficking ring. This is a little slow in some parts, but Vega has her moments, and the resolution is extremely satisfying. And just as I was excited to find some key things out at the end and get settled in with what is to come, I heard the unwelcome “we hope you have enjoyed this presentation” and I just said noooooo as I knew that meant the book was over, and I am left waiting until the next book in this series came out.

I highly recommend not only this book but also the first in this series if you have not read it yet, and Louisa Luna has just moved to auto buy status for me. Thanks to @Netgalley and @doubledaybooks for the egalley to review.

Doubleday Books and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Janes. I voluntarily chose to review this novel and my opinion is freely given.

Private Investigator Alice Vega is asked to help investigate the deaths of two Jane Does, for a very specific reason. Negotiating a pay boost which includes the use of her on-again, off-again partner, Max Caplan, Alice soon realizes that everything is not as it appears at first glance. Will her no-holds-barred style of investigation and interrogation put both Alice and Cap in danger?

I liked the first novel featuring these characters more, as The Janes really did not add more to the development of either Jane or Cap. Coupled with a jumbled mess of a story, with multiple hot-button issues that are all too common in police procedural books as of late, I barely slogged through the novel. Alice's vigilante style of justice is already wearing thin, especially considering how unrealistic her actions are in comparison to her real world counterparts. The novel went to places that I expected and nothing was really a surprise. Overall, The Janes was a missed opportunity to develop Alice Vega and Max Caplan more, so I hesitate to recommend the novel to other readers.

As I usually do with a series I went and read the first book, "Two Girls Down" in the Alice Vega series before I read "The Janes." Now that I have read both, I can say if you don't have access to the first book, you can read this one and not feel like you're completely lost. They've worked together on a previous case to find two missing girls in Cap's hometown. I did enjoy "Two Girls Down," though. More so than "The Janes," actually.

I really want to like Alice Vega. She's strong and independent. She gets the job done by any means necessary, even if that means at great risk to herself. My issue is, she has no personality. It makes a large part of the story less interesting. As the plot unfolds, the cases themselves are interesting. Two books in and we know almost nothing about Vega. I don't particularly like Cap. Sure, he's a father who loves his daughter. That is a great quality. I think he's a little too dependent on her insight though, and I find myself just wanting to yell at him to grow a backbone. I see how Vega's and Cap's qualities could balance each other out, but I don't see much chemistry between the two like other readers have pointed out. In all fairness though, I didn't read either book for the romance.

I do enjoy the cases as they unravel so I will probably read the next book, but I think both characters are in desperate need for some development. Something, ANYTHING, to make them more interesting.

I really enjoy the Alice Vega and Cap collaboration. They are both so different, yet they work so well together. I liked how they were able to find out what was happening to the girl sex trafficking and find the missing girl.. I look forward to seeing more of Alice Vega in the future.