If you haven't met Alice Vega before, fasten your seatbelt. She finds people. She does whatever she needs to do without thinking twice about it.

This served her well in "Two Girls Down" and "The Janes," but less so in "Hideout." In the earlier books she teamed with Max Caplan, a former small town cop. A modest man, he's a fine balance to Alice as he exclaims "you did what??" when she pulls her latest favorite tool out of the trunk, wielding giant bolt cutters or a baseball bat against someone she fells deserves it.

In "Hideout," Vega searches for a vanished football player who made a touchdown for the opposition and ran out of the stadium into the void. The last sighting was in a small Oregon town where Vega finds layers of deceit, white supremicists, violence, and hoplessness. Her ties to Cap seem to have loosened. Her hyperfocus is unnerving. And where is that football player?

If you are new to Louisa Luna's books, start with "Two Girls." Her voice is so unusual and exciting that you will pick up "The Janes" immediately. I'm looking at this new novel as a missed step. But knowing Vega, she'll find her footing again soon.

Much too graphically violent for me. I didn't like Vega at all and her self-reflection whispered him to her lover's ear was disturbing to say the least.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc

Private Investigator Alice Vega, takes on a cold case, not her typical kind of thing, but the money is good.

Zeb Williams has been missing for 30 years. A rising football star, who in 1984 took the ball and ran to the rival team's goal post and kept on running--out of the stadium and out of the lives of everyone who knew him.

Zeb Williams became a cult figure and while initially there were occasional supposed sightings, thirty years later, no one knows if he is alive or dead.

Alice Vega was given one photograph that showed Williams in a small town in Oregon. After failing to induce Max Caplan to accompany her, Vega goes alone.

For several reasons, this third book in the series did not resonate with me. I did not want to abandon it, but Vega didn't feel as genuine in this installment. Caplan, at home with his daughter, had some problems of his own. Hideout isn't bad, but I didn't find it as enjoyable as the previous two books. Maybe Vega needs Caplan to help make her believable.

NetGalley/Doubleday
Mystery/Suspense. March 8, 2022. Print length: 368 pages.

I love this Alice Vega series by Louisa Luna. Vega is a unique private detective; her lifestyle, eating habits, socialization, and nonexistent hobbies make her sound like a boring individual. But her skill and expertise in her line of work, punishing the bad people, helping the helpless, makes her larger than life.
This is the third book of the series, and all three have been nail biters for me. I race through them then pout when I reach the end. I really hope a production company out there is paying attention to this storyline, it’s perfect for the climate we’re enjoying today, where women are (finally) being placed in stronger (and meaner) roles.
Alice is hired to find a person who’s been missing for 30 years. She travels to Oregon and quickly learns she’s stepped into a viper pit of a Nazi-type hate group. As her interactions with these neanderthals escalate, she’s given less opportunity to focus on her original task. But intricate is the web Luna weaves.
I love the three constant characters: Vega, her sometimes partner Max, and his inquisitive and intelligent daughter Nell.
The writing is excellent, the stage is set with detailed care, the plot is intricate but not baffling. If you like strong, mean women, you’re not squeamish, you love a good mystery thriller, then THIS IS YOUR BOOK.
Sincere thanks to Doubleday for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is March 8, 2022.

Hideout is 3rd book in the wonderful Alice Vega series from Louisa Luna.

"Alice is hired to find Zeb Williams. A man missing since running off the field at the end of the Cal-Stanford game many years ago. Alice has one lead that sends her to the small town of Ilona. Alice stumbles into a White Supremacist group. A brutal beating sends her home as a warning. But Alice will not give up. She will heal and be back. And her attackers will not know what hits them."

Vega is such an interesting character. She recognizes that she misses a lot of social cues but she knows there's more. She is relentless and fearless in trying to accomplish her mission.
The story is fast-paced even when the book veers in a different direction from the beginning. There are clues about what happened but Luna springs a little twist. I really liked the final ending - good to see that resolution.

More great crime fiction from Louisa Luna.

Review of Uncorrected eBook File

When Anton Fohl retains private investigator Alice Vega to find the long-missing Zeb Williams, the one-time football star has been missing for some thirty years. The long-cold trail ultimately leads Alice to the tiny Oregon town of Ilona. Here she finds the beleaguered community at the mercy of a cruel and vicious white supremacist group, the Liberty Boys.

With the sheriff more of a hindrance than a help in keeping order in the tiny town and everyone keeping secrets, will Alice find the information she needs to locate the legendary Zeb? Has he been hiding out in plain sight for three decades or is there a more sinister explanation for his disappearance?

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Third in the Alice Vega series, “Hideout” works as a standalone, but with references to the previous two books, readers may find themselves going back to read the earlier books in the series. Here Alice, primarily working on her own, is likely to leave readers wondering why Cap remains essentially eliminated from the investigation.

The action-packed plot keeps the suspense building and the tension high as the unfolding story focuses on Alice and her investigation. Cap and his daughter, Nell, and some of the trailer park residents are particularly nuanced characters; Dart is sure to be a favorite with readers.

There’s a bit of a disconnect in the story since Alice has come to town in search of Zeb Williams but seemly abandons that search in deference to taking on the white supremacists. She makes several un-Alice-like missteps in evaluating the dangers associated with the group leaving her open to some extreme violence.

Readers may find the denouement a bit of a disappointment in a story that requires perhaps a bit too much suspension of disbelief on the part of the reader. Nevertheless, fans of the earlier books in the series are likely to enjoy seeing Alice in action once again.

Recommended.

I received a free copy of this eBook from Doubleday Books, Doubleday and NetGalley
#Hideout #NetGalley

I really enjoyed the first two Alice Vega books but this one just didn’t quite work for me. It follows two tenuously connected storylines that intersect in ways that made no sense to me. Because of the multiple storylines, there are a ton of names and characters and I struggled to keep everyone straight. This book really tries to do ALOT - too much - and it doesn’t work.

I also didn’t love the aspect of Vega working solo for the majority of the story. I wanted more for her and Cap and had a hard time getting past the early brush off between them.

Overall, not the most solid installment in this series but worth a read if you’re already into these characters and their growth and development.

This ARC was provided to me via Kindle, Doubleday Books and by #NetGalley. Opinions expressed are completely my own.


I liked didn’t love this one. I feel it will improve as the series progresses.

The author continues her Alice Vega series. Unfortunately, this one does not meet the expectations from her first two novels in the series. It was a struggle to keep reading at times with parts that were confused and uninteresting mixed with parts that were interesting and engaging. Hopefully, her next effort in the series will regain the pace and interest of the first two books.

I received a free Kindle copy of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher with the understanding that I would post a review on Net Galley, Goodreads, Amazon and my nonfiction book review blog.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Once I started, I couldn’t put it down! Vega is asked to take on an old missing person’s case that takes her to a small town in Oregon, the last place Zeb Williams was seen. While there, she gets caught in the crosshairs of a hate group, the Liberty Boys.

Hideout can be read without the rest of the Alice Vega series but it has a few references to past cases - now I’ll need to go back and read the first two!

Thank you to @doubledaybooks and @netgalley for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review.

#netgalley #doubledaybooks #netgallyreviewer #netgalleyreader #netgalleyarc #fiction #booklover #bookreviews #whatimreading #whatiread#bookish #bookstagram #bookworm #booknerd #bookaddict #bibliophile #bookgram #bookstagrammer #instabooks #bookreviewer #hideout #alicevega #louisaluna

Unfortunately this one was a miss for me. I found it difficult to follow and get into. I didn’t realize this was a part 3 in a series. That’s my fault I should have paid more attention. This left me feeling like I was missing something. I couldn’t connect with the characters or the overall story.
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I’d this is one that interests you, I recommend checking out the first two books in the series.
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Thank you to Doubleday books for the opportunity to read this early copy of Hideout in exchange for an honest review.

This was another great Alice Vega thriller. I really like the rapport between Vega and Max Caplan, although we don't see enough of it in this book. I suspect we will see more of them working together in the future though...

In Hideout, Vega is hired to investigate this disappearance of a Stanford football player that went missing after he raced off the field running the wrong way. After a picture leads her to Ilona, Oregon, she doesn't expect to find a town full of white supremacists that are obviously hiding something. As she starts asking questions, things quickly take a turn. Why do they want her to leave? Are they hiding what happened to the football player, Zeb? Or is it something else?

I was curious to see how badass detective Vega would figure this one out. I didn't enjoy this one as much as I did the previous 2 books, and the ending was a little corny for me, but since I really like these characters, I still kept reading to the end. Can't wait to see what's next for Vega and Cap!

The Alice Vega series is a great thriller series with lots of action. Alice finds missing people - it's her thing. But this time she's hired to take a cold case and find a man who has been missing for 30 years. In 1984, Zeb Williams was playing in the Cal-Stanford football game with the score tied and seconds left in the game. When the ball snapped, Zeb grabs the ball and runs in the wrong direction, running through the marching band, then out of the stadium and through the parking lot. He is never seen again. Oh there have been sightings, but nothing confirmed except for one picture - two men and a woman and Zeb in Ilona, Oregon. Alice heads that way and begins her investigation.

Alice is quite resourceful and I found some of her methods disturbing and violent. I don't remember feeling this disturbed by her actions in the first two books. Normally I like the character, but this time I'm not so sure. I will keep reading though, if there is another in the series. Despite this, Alice does have good intentions and goes after the bad guys. Her sometimes partner Caplan appears in this one too, although most of the time he's home dealing with family issues. I enjoyed the character Dart, who added some levity to the tension.

Thanks to Doubleday Books through Netgalley for an advance copy. This book will be published on March 15, 2022.

"Evil people always support each other; that is their chief strength." (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn)

The bottom feeders of life seem to gravitate toward one another. They sustain their life style living in the muck and the mire of their demented ideas convinced that they are far superior to the rest of us. They wear misery like a second skin.

Alice Vega, private investigator extraordinaire, takes on the crud of life. She's been recently hired to find an ex-football hero who has been missing since 1984. With not much to go on except for Zeb Williams' "take no prisoners" antics on the field at UC Berkeley, Alice has her work cut out for her.

Alice leaves Sacramento and dogs it to the small town of Ilona, Oregon where Zeb was last seen. This time Alice is moving about without her dedicated partner, Max "Cap" Caplan who has family matters brewing. I've liked the creation of the vigilante persona of Alice Vega, but I've also appreciated the sage advice and experiential background of ol' Cap. I think this novel slid a few rungs on the ladder because of this.

Alice sticks out like a sore thrumb in Ilona. Can't do too much sleuthing without getting some notice. The minute she starts bringing up Zeb's name, the locals start taking notes. And with that comes the stirring of a slime bunch called the Liberty Boys. Let's just say that from here on out, Hideout now becomes formulaic and almost predictable. Bad dudes and lone, tough chick. Each will take turns getting busted up. I did like the trailer dweller character of Dart who was an old buddy of Zeb's and more than willing to hang with Alice.

Although not my favorite edition to this series, the character of Alice Vega should be checked out especially in the first offering of Two Girls Down. Hideout just tried too hard to lay the ground work that Vega is a force to be reckoned with. The ending just didn't cut it as well. Bring back Cap or introduce a new partner for Vega next time, Louisa Luna. The originality of this series is its selling point.......not the carbon copy of toughie female P.I. with a chip on her shoulder the size of Sacramento. Alice Vega just needs to find an out-of-the-ordinary case that gives back her bite. It's out there. We dedicated fans will be on the ready when she does.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Doubleday Books and to Louise Luna for the opportunity.

3.5 rounded up

Private Detective Alice Vega is hired to find Zeb 'Wrong Way' Williams, a Berkley football player who, in the 1981 game against Stanford, famously grabbed the ball and ran to the Stanford endzone, giving the win to them. However, Williams didn't stop there, but rather kept on running, right out of the stadium, and disappeared, never to be heard from again. Upon arriving in Ilona, Oregon to begin her investigation, however, Vega soon realizes that there is more to this town that meets the eye, and that Williams' disappearance might go beyond football and into hate groups and white supremacy.

The Alice Vega series has solidified me as a fan of Louisa Luna, with Hideout being the third book in the series. While I overall enjoyed myself, and continued to like Vega as a character, I had some mixed feelings about the setup and subsequent execution of this story. I was interested to see how this story would differ from the previous books, as this had Vega investigating a cold case as opposed to the newly missing persons cases she has taken in the past. Yet, it became apparent pretty quickly that finding Williams wasn't really the focus of this story. Yes, the issues with white supremacy and hate groups in the town of Ilona all relates back to his case, but pretty much as soon as Vega got there, she switched her focus to the hate group and it felt like Williams was put on the backburner.

However, Vega is still a badass character, and I thoroughly relished reading about her taking down supremacists and making them feel the fear they inflict on others. It was fun to once again experience Vega's strategies and skills for getting information and manipulating people into giving her what she wants. I was also happy to once again get the perspective of Max 'Cap' Caplan, who is dealing with the trauma of the previous case he worked with Vega, and trying to navigate his relationship with his daughter, Nell, as she reaches adulthood.

Despite this probably being my least favorite installment of the series plot-wise, I thought the character insights were really good and I am still so happy I read it. If there are more Vega books to come, I will definitely be picking them up, and along with any other works that Luna might release.
Thanks to NetGalley and Doubleday Books for access to this in exchange for my honest thoughts. Hideout will release on 03/08/22!

Vega Dives Down A Rabbit Hole Into A Hornet’s Nest

The ’81 Berkeley football them had just scored a touchdown against Stanford to tie the game at 6-6 with four seconds to go. The Berkeley’s kicker, Zeb, came on the field to kick the extra point and win the game. The ball is snapped, Zeb approaches the ball but instead of the kicking the ball, he pushes his friend, the holder, over and picks up the football. He runs to the Stanford endzone for a touchback, and Stanford wins. He keeps running out of the stadium and disappears. His girlfriend at Berkeley wants to know what happened to him, so her rich father hires a private investigator who tracks him to a small town in Oregon but no further. All the years later the ex-girlfriend, now married, would like to try him once more. The novel proceeds from here.

There are main storyline has two threads. There is the search for Zeb. When Vega arrives in the Oregon town where Zeb was last seen, Vega starts talking to residents trying to find some leads, but quickly bumps into the local white supremacists. This thread of Vega interacting with the white supremacists becomes the dominant thread through the rest of the book. The rising reprisals between Vega and the local and their expanding scope quickly rises the tension. Vega never lets anyone get the best of her, but she was severely tested in this novel. For me, the intricacy and tension of this thread alone quickly captured my interest and did not let it go. This is a major criterion for a high star rating from me.

The B-storyline is very strong in this novel. While Vega spends much of the novel at full throttle, Vega has to patch up long standing estrangement with her parents and with her sometime partner and boyfriend Caplan when her actions directly affect them. Vega suffers an incident that she must overcome before she can return to full throttle operations. I saw more of her human aspects than in the previous novels. I saw a multi-faceted character in this novel. Another rich thread deals with Caplan’s and Vega’s interaction that reveals much about both of them. Lastly, the thread covering between Caplan and his teenage daughter. He is torn between a strained relationship with Vega and his daughter who is becoming more independent. I liked both Caplan’s and his daughter’s characters. Reading these threads progress added to my reading enjoyment of this novel. This is another major criterion for a high star rating from me.

The novel even has a visible C-storyline with Vega changing to improve his relationship with her parents and Caplan. Vega’s one-sided and blunt personality is still there with her job, but she is softening with her personal relationships.

For some aspects of novels that can trouble some readers, there are not any intimate scenes. Vulgar language is present but minimal. There is violence, and it is described in the more edgy as it occurs but never reached the level of being gratuitous. I believe most readers will not have an issue in these categories.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel, my third major criterion. The story is very detail rich in its storyline, but the pace is not slowed down by it. The author wrote in a manner that kept me interested to read what was going to happen next. An issue that may bother some readers that most of the story is that why Vega was in that small town seemed to be the minor thread. To tell you the truth, I really enjoyed reading about Vega diving down the rabbit hole and into the hornet’s nest. As for was the reason that Vega was hired, all I will write is that there were no loose ends in this novel. One particular delightful character I found in this novel Dart. He always added a delightful touch to each scene in which he appears and regularly made me smile or chuckle. I really hope that this series continues.

By the power of this novel and the previous two novels, I have moved this author from the Will-Read category to Must-Read. If you liked the previous Vega novels, this is a must read. I rate this novel with five stars.

I received a free e-book version of this novel through NetGalley from Doubleday Books. My review is based only by my own reading experience of this book. I wish to thank Doubleday Books for the opportunity to read and review this novel early.

Alice Vega is a kick butt character and I quite enjoyed her third adventure. Can't wait to see what happens next.

Alice Vega is good at finding missing persons. And when Zeb Williams grabs the ball at a Cal-Stanford game, with only seconds left on the clock, it looks like a great win. Only Zeb runs the wrong way, off the field, and out of the stadium, and disappears. I admit I thought this kind of a strange and unlikely scenario. Alice Vega is a strong female character which I usually love, and the suspense and intensity are there, however, something was missing for me. There is tons of action and somehow she comes out on top of it all. It tends to feel a little unrealistic. Thanks to NetGalley and the author for a chance to provide an honest review.

In the first book in the series, I described Alice Vega as a female Jack Reacher kind of character. The description still fits, even more so in this book. Here, the plot even smacks of a JR story - an outlier comes to a small town and takes on a group of white nationalists, including the sheriff. I can’t say it worked for me. The premise seemed a stretch - that she’d tackle this out of the blue when she comes to the town on an entirely different mission.
The case she’s meant to be working is of some college football star that went missing 30 years before, after purposely running the football for a safety during the big game. And the ending was so unbelievable I almost laughed.
Sorry, but none of this really made sense to me. It was so ridiculous I doubt I will try the next book in the series, even though I enjoyed the prior two. Bear in mind, I’m not a big fan of thrillers. I do think this will work for those that like over the top, fast paced thrillers. (Again, I’m thinking of Jack Reacher). You just can’t be looking for anything realistic.
My thanks to Netgalley and Doubleday Books for an advance copy of this book.

Well I enjoyed the ride, Alice Vega is one tough cookie, smart and aggressive and risk taking. She takes on an unusual cold case and accidentally gets involved in pursuing white supremacists as she goes. There is also a prickly romance, apparently this is part of a series, but I was fine following it without having read the other boosk, one pet peeve though, while does this author and many others use similar names., esp in the beginning of the book, vega and vera. cara and carmen, makes it more confusing for the readers