After a really long time I read a crime fiction novel and this one had everything to keep me intrigued! Not only the story but the environment added to character to the story setting. It's dark and twisted. However, there were some things which are were typical of crime fiction novels, the protagonist is some one who is returning to their home town and gets dragged into a case, starts accusing their own family and has past trauma. These things made the book slightly typical hence I rated it three stars, but its fast paced and well written. One can easily finish this in one sitting.

Nell Flynn couldn't wait to get out of Suffolk County. She doesn't have good memories from her childhood there after her mother was murdered when Nell was seven. Her father was a homicide detective and was briefly suspected but he and Nell were miles away, camping in the forest. Afterwards, though, her father was cold and distant as her mother had supplied all the warmth and color a little girl loved.

Now Nell has returned after the death of her father in a motorcycle accident. Nell is now an FBI agent; she lives her life on the road, consulting with police departments across the country on serial killers. The life suits her; she has no interest in forming relationships with anyone. Her last case left her wounded so she is out on leave to heal and has time to settle the estate and decide whether or not to sell the house and sever the last ties with her childhood.

When a body is found, a detective who was a childhood friend comes calling. Lee wants Nell's help and expertise. When Nell finds that there was another body found a year earlier and that her father was working on the case, her interest is piqued. Soon she finds the pattern. Both victims are young Hispanic women, both were occasional escorts hiring out to party with the wealthy men who inhabit Suffolk County and its beaches in the summer. Both were dismembered then tied up in burlap and buried. Is there a serial killer at work? And horrible as it sounds, was that killer Nell's father? The clues could point his way and he was hiding a lot of secrets. Can Nell discover the truth?

Alger has written an interesting novel about how our childhood influences our choices in life. Nell is wounded by her early loss and her father's coldness and distance. Her mother's murder pointed the way to Nell's career and her father's skills and early influence made her a skillful investigator. This book is recommended for mystery readers.

This book was the surprise of the year. I thought I wouldn't like it since thrillers aren't my thing but I loved this one. The story has a good plot development, it focuses more on the progress of the story than on knowing who the killer is. It seems to me that the book has a similar plot to CSI or Law and Order, and I think that's why it has been entertaining.

I liked the author's writing style, I found it quite interesting and easy to read. The characters are intriguing, I was fond of the main character, I just wanted to know what happened to her mother and see her real relationship with her father.

What I didn't like was that the book left something unfinished that I think was important to the plot, which I cannot say because of spoilers... and being honest, I hate when authors do that.

Anyway, I would love to read any other book written by Cristina Alger because I did enjoy Girls Like Us.

TW: Human Trafficking (mention)

Girls Like Us by Cristina Alger is fast-paced crime fiction taut with murder, family drama, police corruption, and human trafficking. If you think that's too much to pack into a 276-page novel, you'd be wrong. Alger weaves all the threads together in this novel. Thank goodness it rained today, so I could read it in one sitting. Well-placed clues scattered throughout led me to some guilty parties. I did solve one crime correctly by the end, but I definitely got the murderer wrong.

Nell Flynn, an FBI agent who works for the BAU, returns to Suffolk County, New York, for her father's funeral - a man she's been estranged from for over ten years. Marty Flynn, a cop with a drinking problem and a bad temper, died in a motorcycle accident after drinking too much. Case closed. Police officers Nell has known her whole life sing her father's praises and offer their condolences.

While Nell finalizes her father's meager estate, a body is found in a nearby wealthy enclave. Marty Flynn's most recent partner, Lee, asks for Nell's unofficial assistance with the case. The victim is a young escort found shot once in the forehead, bound , and encased in burlap. The disposal method and location echo a case from the year before. A case Nell's father failed to solve, and now, Lee suspects they might have a serial murderer preying on young escorts who cater to the wealthy residents.

As Nell picks away at the case, she uncovers corruption that stretches from the local police all the way to men in power in Washington, DC. Nell comes to suspect her father may have played a bigger part in the deaths of the two working girls and possibly the murder of Nell's own mother years ago.

I liked Nell as a protagonist. She is flawed by her past, but not in a "I'm so damaged that I drink and act like a man to hide my weakness" way that so many authors get wrong. I also liked that there was no romance except for a fleeting moment of interest. Nell doesn't need a man to rescue her or muddy the waters with too much sexual tension.

This was an edge-of-your-seat psychological mystery which tears away the privilege of wealth and seeks justice for the undocumented and working girls who often go unseen. I recommend this novel for those who enjoy grittier mysteries. Not quite a thriller, and definitely not a cozy, it satisfies the need for the guy, or in this case, the woman in the white hat to win against the bad guys.

I would recommend this title to anyone who wants to dip their toes into a thriller, or just know they can’t hand,e much, but want a light thriller. While the book had an interesting premise, the actual action and danger always seemed far removed from our main character. The author did a great job os spreading suspicion and motive to several characters, so I had no idea who the actual murderer was, which I thought was great.

An edgy thriller that will keep you guessing until the very end!
#GirlsLikeUs
#NetGalley
#EdgyThriller

I've been excited about this book since I first heard about it, and it did not disappoint. The characters sucked you into the story and the story kept you turning pages as fast as you could. I devoured it in a day. I loved it.

So tense so chilling questions pop up all over.An investigation that kept e guessing.A book I could not put down.An author I highly recommend.#girlslikeus#netgalley

I love a good thriller, especially those with characters and relationships that the reader can really care about. This one wasn't as twisty and quick as I sometimes enjoy, but it was a satisfying read.

FBI agent Nell Flynn returns home after the death of her estranged father, detective Martin Flynn. Beyond her strained relationship with her father, Nell’s hometown holds bad memories of her mother’s death. She doesn’t intend on staying longer than she has to, but her father’s partner, Lee Davis, asks Nell to look into the murders of two women. To Nell’s horror, her investigation leads her to believe her father is the killer, and that the blue line of silence is protecting him. Despite their rocky past, Nell can’t believe her father is culpable and begins her search for the real killer and the answer to her own mother’s murder. A complex and intelligent thriller